Evi

There is a moment in Evi where Osas Okonyon’s character, having lost everything, sits alone in a near-empty Lagos flat and sings. It is the kind of scene that separates competent actors from essential ones. Okonyon belongs to the second category, and this film is her proof.

Evi-Oghene Donalds is a rising music star whose world collapses when her record label goes bankrupt. Forced to rebuild from zero, she forms an unlikely partnership with Kola Adeloye (Jide Kosoko), a once-respected talent manager battling addiction. Director Uyoyou Adia shoots the Nigerian music industry from the inside. The Afrobeats musical sequences are genuinely exciting.

Verdict: A breakthrough performance in a film that takes the Nigerian music industry seriously. Essential for Afrobeats fans.