Uche Montana’s ‘Monica’, inspired by true events, has triggered mixed emotions since its release on 7th March, 2026. The sequel came out 3rd May, 2026 and became the record-breaking film to gain 10 million views in two days, and is running on 13 million views now, with strong audience reaction. Having watched the movie, here are eight thoughts.

Monica’s Story Shows the Harsh Reality Many First Daughters Face:

The movie depicts family struggles that many people experience within their homes. The story chronicles the life of some firstborn daughters who sacrifice their lives for the ones they love. Hence, it resonated with a lot of viewers who have experienced this reality. 

Monica is the first daughter and born of her family who had to sacrifice her education and life since childhood, hawking her mother’s Pap and taking charge just so the home could be in order. Her siblings despised her at every slightest chance without second thought and got away with it because no parent could stand up for her. Monica couldn’t even stand up for herself, thereby losing her identity and self-worth. This part is largely portrayed in ‘Monica’ 1. 

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Each Character a Different Layer of Family Dysfunction:

Every action, word, and expressions were so intentional so as to send the message the movie had to pass.

Each character carried every stigma that individuals face in life. Some people are Monica, who lose their voice and self-esteem, having to bear the consequences and responsibilities they didn’t choose for themselves but had to accept since it appeared so. They think that if they do not fill in the gap, who will? This has caged several individuals in trauma and unhealed wounds. 

Bobo became a replica of his dad because he wasn’t taught quickly who a man should be by his father. His father wasn’t a good representation of such a figure. Bobo learnt quickly how to be lazy and irresponsible.

Chika, on the other hand, cares less about anyone’s emotions and sacrifices. She became ruthless since her mother always had her back in everything. An honest thought is that she took after her mother. 

Mama Monica taught us how wrong parenting and favouritism can cause harm to children. Leaving us to wonder if she was also operating on unhealed trauma. She is the primary antagonist in the film, shaped by her role as a mother and the choices she makes.

Monica’s Sacrifice Became the Heart of The Story:

Monica didn’t have to take up responsibilities she was forced into. But it turned out so for her. As though it was her purpose to shoulder the consequences of her failed parents. 

She sacrificed her education, life, money, time, and even her lover without a payback. 

Identity can be lost in situations where you have to give your all without someone reminding you to slow down or even cut off to find yourself. 

Mama Monica would always say she was the ‘pepper’ and the ‘salt’ in their home, but Monica was everything. When their father had kidney failure in ‘Monica’ 2 and no one could help with his dialysis, she stepped in without a second thought. In the middle of that, Bobo’s wife, Sharon, had an emergency labour of which she had to pay the hospital bills for her operation. Yet none of this was recognised and remembered by all of them. 

Every sacrifice she made was a hope for approval, recognition, and love, yet that wasn’t in the picture.  

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Consequences Eventually Caught Up with Everyone:

This is inevitable, and viewers anticipated it. When Chika double crossed Monica to marry Pascal, she didn’t expect he’ll die so soon from heart disease, leaving her as a widow who eventually loses herself and resolves to drinking. Mama Monica didn’t know she wouldn’t eventually be the one to dance with her daughter at her wedding and enjoy all the benefits that come with that moment. She lost it all.

Mama Monica faced humiliation from her children and ended up sick without having someone care for her like Monica would. Bobo became a baby daddy who couldn’t even fend for his daughter’s feeding nor feed his wife who leaves him for another man. 

Papa Monica’s Failure Fueled the Family’s Collapse:

Papa Monica, simply existed in his home and made everyone suffer for his failure. Unsurprisingly, many view him as passive and ineffective. He was there. Physically present and incapable. A man sitting in a house he had no business calling his kingdom, while his wife made Pap to be sold on the streets by his first daughter, just to keep the family breathing.

He simply proves that once a leader gives up, the followers will lose direction, or worse, turn a tyrant. He lost his voice in the home and became one who only nods to his wife. It’s not always the loud abuse that breaks a home. Sometimes it’s the silence. The man who cannot speak because he has nothing to stand on.

His inability to provide leadership created instability within the household. Someone who calls his children to order, speaks sense into the chaos, and anchors the house when everything shakes.

Papa Monica could not do any of that. And at the end, the weight of all he never did crushed him. The stress, the shame. When the Agbo, Mama Monica quietly administered, kicked in, his body gave out. Kidney failure. By the time he died, he had long become emotionally absent from his family. This character is a mirror. Somewhere, someone’s father is Papa Monica. 

Monica’s Siblings Showed the Damage Within the Home:

In a typical African home, hierarchy comes with respect. This wasn’t the case in this movie. She did not receive love or respect from her siblings regardless of what she had to sacrifice for that. 

This happens when parents fail to hold everything together. From a young age, Bobo and Chika would mock Monica of her lack of education and how she carried herself. She was reduced to nothing in front of them because her mother specifically treated her like an outcast.

Bobo slapping Monica when she stood up for herself to silence Sharon in ‘Monica’ 2 was the major humiliation she received from him. This was after he came to plead for forgiveness, unbeknownst to her, it was a way to lure her back to be used by him.

Photo – Instagram

The Film Exposes the Roles Families Force on Their Children:

This movie mirrors the harmful behaviour of some African parents towards their children. Most times, they force a fate on their children especially if it benefits them. A child can’t become an artist because the parents want him to become a lawyer or doctor to keep the family name or lift the family up.  

Some project their insecurities and failures on their children. Papa and Mama Monica failed at provision allowing Monica to shoulder that. The family feeds, and pays their hospital bills when she provides. 

Her dream was to build her own fashion house but that was about to be robbed by mother until Monica regained her senses and changed her story. 

‘Monica’ Serve as a Reminder for First-born Children:

Most first born have accepted their fate to be the pillar of the home, forgetting they’re also part of the family. This movie is a reminder to first born that you shouldn’t lose yourself trying to pick up others who can’t do something for themselves. 

The trailer for The Creek has just dropped, giving Nollywood fans a new date to mark: March 27, 2026. Directed by Toka McBaror, produced by Nicholas David Adora, and written by Emeka Jepherson, this Niger Delta action drama wastes no time in establishing its high stakes, with the trailer immediately delivering tense, cinematic visuals and a gripping narrative tone.

Photo: Instagram

Set in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, the story follows men and women where justice is rare and courage comes at a cost. Betrayal, loyalty, and sacrifice shape their lives, while the creeks themselves come alive through sweeping cinematography and tense, intimate shots that make every scene feel charged with danger.

Bucci Franklin stars as Fishbone, connected to both the water and the streets. Sam Dede commands the screen as Selebo, while Sunshine Rosman brings Belema to life, sharing strong on-screen chemistry with Franklin from their To Kill a Monkey days. Haitian-American actor Jimmy Jean-Louis plays John West, Kelechi Udegbe is Shin.

Photo: Instagram

Fans of To Kill a Monkey will recognize Franklin and Rosman, but here they face a very different world the dangerous, unpredictable Niger Delta. The trailer shows intense action, moody lighting, and constant tension, making the story as much about emotion and visuals as it is about plot.

The Creek is set to hit cinemas nationwide on March 27, 2026, promising a thrilling cinematic experience that combines action, emotional intensity, and visual storytelling.

After more than 30 years as one of Nollywood’s busiest and most influential performers, Omotola Jalade‑Ekeinde is moving into a new phase of her career, behind the camera. Her first feature as a director, Mother’s Love, premiered at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, marking a rare moment where a Nigerian film from an established star has taken its first steps on a major international stage.

The decision to direct was not accidental. For years Omotola has been vocal about the kinds of stories she feels Nollywood underexplores. In interviews ahead of the film’s release, she pointed to a lack of authentic portrayals of mother‑daughter relationships in Nigerian cinema, a gap she was determined to fill. Her comments underline how personal the project is: she talked about her own experiences with parenting and discipline, and how that shaped her understanding of love and expectation.

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Mother’s Love is anchored in the relationship between a young woman and her mother, set against the backdrop of class divides and social pressures. The story follows Adebisi, a sheltered daughter from an affluent background who enters the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a rite of passage for many Nigerian graduates. Removed from her familiar environment, she begins to see the world, and herself, differently. What starts as a coming‑of‑age arc becomes more complex as the narrative shifts to the mother’s own hidden wounds, grief, and the emotional cost of protection.

The cast blends familiar and rising Nigerian talent. Omotola herself appears in the film alongside actors such as Ifeanyi Kalu, Noray Nehita, Lilian Afegbai, Nosa Rex, and Olumide Oworu.

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Critics and industry professionals at TIFF praised the film’s maturity and emotional reach. Filmmaker Obi Emelonye described it as a debut “that deserves to be studied at Harvard,” reflecting the respect the project garnered from peers as well as audiences at the festival’s Lightbox screening.

Mother’s Love was shot in English and Pidgin English, a choice Omotola said was deliberate, a reflection of lived speech patterns and cultural nuance. The production took place largely in Nigeria, and the story’s texture highlights everyday realities rather than glossing them over.

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Omotola’s path into directing was influenced by her recent foray into digital production. A short YouTube project encouraged by fellow filmmaker Ruth Kadiri opened a new creative door, giving her the confidence to try a bigger narrative project. She has described how that initial experience helped crystallise the idea for Mother’s Love, a film she initially feared might not be taken seriously.

Strategically, Mother’s Love is positioned to extend its impact beyond its festival debut. After TIFF, the film continued to other events such as the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, building buzz ahead of its planned nationwide release in Nigeria on March 6, 2026.

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Omotola’s transition into directing is not just a career pivot, it is part of a broader conversation about Nigerian storytelling, representation, and the kinds of narratives that resonate both locally and globally. By choosing a story rooted in familial complexity and emotional honesty, avoiding stereotypes and simplistic sentiment, she is staking a claim that Nollywood can evolve into more nuanced, textured filmmaking without losing its cultural specificity.

Mother’s Love arrives at a moment when Nigerian cinema is at an inflection point, increasingly present at international festivals and engaging with diverse audiences. For Omotola, it’s both an artistic milestone and a statement: the industry’s most familiar faces can also be its most thoughtful storytellers.