Firm premieres Nigerian movie in Kenya

Screen Connect, a new Pan-African distribution company aiming to bring high-quality, culturally relevant African films to cinema screens across the continent, is set to premiere Nigerian psychological thriller, ‘Over the Bridge’, in Kenya.

The movie directed by Tolu Ajayi and starring Ozzy Agu, Segilola Ogidan, Joke Silva, Deyemi Okanlawon, Chimezie Imo and Paul Adam will screen in Kenya throughout June.

The film centres on Folarin, an accomplished investment banker with a beautiful wife and a life most people can only dream of. When a high-profile government project for which his firm is hired to manage goes awry, he begins to question everything he’s ever known to be true.

‘Over the Bridge’ received 12 nominations at the 2024 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, including Best Director, Best Movie and Best Editing. It won the Best Cinematography and Best Production Design awards.

It will now screen in Kenya courtesy of Screen Connect, founded in 2024. It seeks to bridge long-standing distribution gaps and connect African audiences with African stories.

“It’s unfortunate that even with the growing global appetite for African stories, African audiences still struggle to access films from other parts of the continent,” said one of the co-founders, Nigerian, Cassandra Onwualu.

“We want Kenyan audiences to be able to watch great Nigerian films, and vice versa. Through strategic partnerships with filmmakers, distributors, and cinemas, Screen Connect will bridge these gaps, elevate African storytelling, promote local talent and contribute to the growth of the African film industry,” she added.

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 The other co-founders of the initiative are Kenyan, Marete Selvin and Rwandan, Mizero Kabano Yannick. ‘Over the Bridge’ is their first theatrical release under the Screen Connect banner.

 “Over the Bridge is a modern parable that moves from rustic and rarefied scenes in a fisherman’s boat to the duels and double-dealing of the corporate boardroom,” explained director Ajayi.

 “I was drawn to this story by memories of a corporate internship in my late teens, where I observed the so-called ‘masters of the Nigerian financial universe’ during the Lagos financial boom of the 1990s. That experience shaped my understanding of stories about corporate power, personal sacrifice, and the social consequences of success, revealing that having it all often means bearing it all.”