The feature film “The Weekend,” directed by Daniel Oriahi, is scheduled to debut in Nigerian cinemas on August 30, 2024, according to a press statement shared with Pulse Nigeria. The film revolves around Nikiya, an orphaned woman who challenges her fiancé Luc to introduce her to his estranged family or risk losing her.
Despite Luc’s reluctance and the concealment of dark family secrets, he agrees, leading to Nikiya initially being charmed by their welcoming demeanor.
However, as she settles into their seemingly perfect life, disturbing revelations and sinister family secrets begin to emerge, adding a genre-bending horror twist to the traditional meeting-the-in-laws storyline.
“The Weekend” was selected from over 13,000 submissions to be featured at the prestigious 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, making it the sole Nollywood representation at the international event this year.
The annual festival is renowned for attracting filmmakers and cinephiles to the Tribeca district of New York City for a celebration of cinema. Produced by Trino Motion Pictures, the film stars Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Bucci Franklin, Meg Otanwa, James Gardiner, Gloria Anozie, and Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey.
In an interview with The New York Times, Oriahi discussed the making of “The Weekend,” highlighting its significant budget by Nollywood standards and his inclination towards narratives exploring dysfunctional family dynamics.
He expressed pride in creating films that resonate locally and internationally, reflecting his commitment to storytelling rooted in complex familial relationships, a theme he finds particularly compelling given Nigeria’s societal context.
He said:
“I haven’t had the opportunity to make necessarily big-budget films, and in the Nigerian landscape, The Weekend is seen as a high-budget film. Such films are rare to come by. But I pride myself as a filmmaker who wants to make films that are seen, so I’ve made a lot of stuff for local streamers. Over time, I have discovered I am drawn to narratives that have dysfunctional family dynamics. I come from a country where it’s very dysfunctional, to be honest.”
