Wakanda salutes, bright lights, eclectic outfits, trenchant drums and august faces ensured it was an exhilarating and Afrofuturistic night at the official African Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, held on November 6, 2022, at Filmhouse Cinemas IMAX, Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Marking the first time a Marvel movie will premiere in Africa, the entertainment capital of the continent — Lagos, Nigeria — played host to the movie’s cast and crew, filmmakers, media personalities and fans. The Wakanda Forever team has been making continent-wide celebrations, including a world premiere in LA and a European launch at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. The Nigeria premiere was held in association with the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), MTN Nigeria and FilmOne Entertainment in order to spotlight the movie’s exploration of African heritage.
Director Ryan Coogler revealed that the team embarked on the film’s promotional tour ahead of its release in Nigeria because of the country’s strong culture and his own ancestral connection with Lagos.
True to MTN’s preoccupation with bringing people closer together, driving entertainment and inclusion as well as localizing the global and globalizing the local, MTN Nigeria, in collaboration with AFRIFF, ensured that fans received tickets to the movie premiere by random selection through a raffle held on their social media pages. This meant that fans got to experience the Black Panther cast and crew, as well as their critically acclaimed Nollywood favs and media personalities, live and in real time.
In attendance were hosts IK Osakioduwa and South African Media personality Anele Mdoda; Wakanda Forever cast and crew members Lupita Nyong’o, Ryan Coogler, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Winston Duke and Michaela Coel; Nigerian entertainment bigwigs Richard Mofe-Damijo, Segun Arinze, Osas Ighodaro, Ini Edo, Adunni Ade, Daniel K Daniel, Priscilla Ojo, Chigul, Darey Art Alade, Kunre Remi, Enioluwa Adeoluwa, Kunle Afolayan, Bovi, Ayo Makun; reality TV stars Tacha, Liquorose, Groovy, Hermes, Sheggz, Allysyn, Erica, etc.
Donning African-inspired and Afrofuturistic costumes and dresses in line with the movie’s nuance, the atmosphere came to life and the setting was indeed electric. If the official African premiere didn’t show how highly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is, it definitely was credence to how, now more than ever, Africans home and abroad are aware of their African heritage and identity.
While Wakanda Forever will be available at cinemas from November 9 in the U.S, it debuts in Nigeria on November 9, 2022.
Here are more scenes from the Lagos event:
