There are moments when an image feels like more than a photograph. This one, with seventeen actors caught in laughter, joy, and fire, is one of those. Nollywood, Africa’s boldest cultural engine has always been about evolution, about refusing to stand still. And here, gathered in one frame, is the latest wave of talent stepping into the light.

Detola Jones. Bobby Ekpe. Sharon Rotimi. Timilehin Ojeola. Nneoma Onyekwele. Myde Glover. Wumi Tuase-Fosudo. Charles Lenny. Mofe Okorodudu. Tega Obahor. Miracle Inyanda. Oluwanifemi Lawal. Chidinma Udemadu. Seun Kentebe. Peculiar Adunni. Morenikeii Uka.

The names roll like the opening credits of a film you know will leave an impression. Some have already graced screens, some have just begun to carve their space, but together they are a living manifesto: Nollywood is not waiting for tomorrow. Nollywood is happening now.

The story of Nollywood has always been one of invention. From the VHS tapes that spread across the continent in the nineties to the global streaming deals of today, every generation has carried the fire forward. And fires do not remain in the hands of one set of icons forever. They are passed on, reignited, reshaped. What matters is who catches it and what they choose to burn.

In these portraits, styled with the same precision as a film still, fashion becomes its own form of dialogue. Tailored blazers stand like declarations of ambition. Flowing fabrics speak of freedom and fluidity. Bold prints reach back to ancestry, while minimal silhouettes insist on reinvention. Each look is more than aesthetic; it is a script written in fabric. Here, fashion and cinema blur until you cannot tell where one ends and the other begins.

What makes this group compelling is not only their talent, but their stance. They arrive without apology, without hesitation. They carry Nollywood’s inheritance, the courage of those who built something from nothing but they refuse to live only in nostalgia. Instead, they speak in the grammar of the present: auditions, premieres, long rehearsals, new roles. They are here, already at work, already shaping the stories that will define this decade.

And the proof is close at hand. On October 5th, 2025, these same faces will step from stillness into motion at The Exclusive Screening 2.0. Hosted at Alliance Française – Mike Adenuga Centre, Lagos, it promises a cinematic communion: four films, one unforgettable night. From joy to heartbreak, from laughter to fire, these films carry the emotional spectrum of Nollywood itself. For the actors on this cover, it is both showcase and statement; proof that their stories are not waiting in the wings, but unfolding right now.

Cinema, at its heart, is about recognition. To see yourself reflected, to see your world reframed, to feel less alone in the dark. These seventeen actors are bringing with them stories of rebellion, of love, of contradiction, of hope. They are mirrors of a Nigeria that is restless and radiant. They are proof that Nollywood is not a promise deferred but a present reality.

And yet, there is something larger at work. A reminder that Nollywood does not only belong to screens, but to the culture at large. Fashion, music, youth culture, and film are no longer separate silos; they are cross-pollinating, sparking against each other. These actors understand this instinctively. To act is not enough; they must embody. To play a role is not enough; they must also carry the image. In this, they are not just performers but cultural figures, equal parts cinema and style.

Look again at the photograph. At the laughter, at the fire in their eyes, at the way they lean into one another as if already an ensemble. This is not a portrait of the future. ItIt is a statement of the present. When the lights dim at Alliance Française and the first reel begins to roll, the audience will not just be watching films. They will be watching a generation arrive.

Seventeen stars. Four films. One night to remember.

This is Nollywood Now.