Sizwe Sibiya
After producing Swallow in 2020 and Naija Christmas last year, Nigerian filmmaker and actor Kunle Afolayan is set to release his third movie with Netflix, titled Anikulapo, next month.
This week, the streaming giant debuted the trailer of the film, which stars the award-winning actor Kunle Remi.
Centred on the Yoruba people of the old Oyo Empire during the 17th century in Nigeria, Anikulapo follows the journey of a strange man who has the power of resurrecting the dead.
The young man’s real name in the film is Saro, but he quickly gets his new name, Anikulapo, because of his magical powers. It is a Yoruba name meaning “one who has overcome death” or “one who holds death in his purse”, according to names.org.
Saro (Remi) finds himself in the Oyo kingdom after having travelled to different places searching for “greener pastures”. Upon finding a second chance in life, he lands himself in trouble that could end him for good, or so the movie synopsis tells us.
The trailer was released for the first time on CinemaxNG and Netflix’s YouTube channel on Monday, 15 August. It mentions “unfolding events and his affair with the (Oyo) king’s wife … his untimely death and … Akala, a mystical bird believed to give and take life”.
“Can the one who controls death save his own life?” asks director Afolayan on Instagram. The movie will premiere on 30 September on Netflix.
Other actors featured in Anikulapo include the Hollywood star Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sola Sobowale, Bimbo Ademoye, Taiwo Hassan and the Ikorodu Bois who are famous for making gimmick short videos on social media.
Image source: Instagram
Video source: YouTube
