Judas and the Black Messiah; an upcoming American biographical historical drama film based on the life of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party in late 1960s Illinois will have its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021 at both virtual and in-person screenings. Warner Bros has also released an exhilarating new trailer for the film following the initial trailer which was shared about five months ago.

The film, which recently entered the Oscars race, is scheduled to be released on February 12, 2021, in the United States, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was originally scheduled to be released on August 21, 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to 2021. As part of its plans for all of its 2021 films, Warner Bros. Pictures will also stream the film simultaneously on the HBO Max service for a period of one month, after which the film will be removed until the normal home media release schedule period.

Watch trailer 1 below;

Directed and produced by Shaka King, the film was written by King and Will Berson, based on a story by King, Berson, and Kenny and Keith Lucas. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield. It tells the story of how the Black Panther Party came to be infiltrated by William O’Neal (played by Stanfield) in order to gather intelligence on the chairman, Fred Hampton (played by Kaluuya) who is eventually assassinated. The Black Panther Party was a vital part of the American Civil Rights movement.

The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It takes place each January in Park City, Utah, Salt Lake City, and at the Sundance Resort, and is the largest independent film festival in the United States. It includes competitive categories, includes documentary and dramatic films, both feature length and short films, in which awards are given, as well as out-of-competition categories for showcasing new films.

Watch Trailer 2 below;

 International streaming giant, Netflix has announced plans to release a movie every week over the next 12 months. As the pandemic hit hard on the movie industry especially the cinemas, movie producers are rethinking the way forward in providing entertainment to movie lovers. Until people could go back to the cinemas, their source of movies now will be the movie streaming platforms.

https://www.gbafrica.net/greater-shows-to-hit-your-screens-on-netflix-africa/Among the films set to be released on streaming this year include “The Harder They Fall” a Western starring Idris Elba, Regina King and Jonathan Majors, and “Don’t Look Up” starring Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, and Timothee Chalamet.

Four years after Netflix launched across some African countries, it has remained a platform that serves pure entertaining movies and promoting more African content. Major films and shows from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and other African countries were added to the plethora of streaming African titles, alongside other original contents that were produced by some of the biggest film executives.

Aside the streaming challenges in Africa and for some with the view that charges are high, the movie streaming platform has broadened its viewing capacity in Africa and are expecting that by the year 2025, they hit 5 million subscribers.

2020, despite the Corona Virus pandemic was still a good year for African Movies on Netflix. The streaming giant continued to harvest more African titles, boasting of binge-worthy cinematic marvels from filmmakers, who already have dedicated trophy rooms. Netflix was the ultimate guide to good films and interesting shows sourced from Africa.

From Citation to Your Excellency, Before 30, Like Cotton Twines, How To Ruin Christmas, The Perfect Picture: Ten Years Later, Kings of Jo’Burg, Blood and Water and many more, Netflix made viewers have a feel of the diverse African culture from different countries and to not miss the pandemics hit on cinemas.

This year has some promising movies in the pipeline with big announcements of fresh shows to stream later were buzzing, while new negotiations were made to secure a straight-into-production warrant.

For 2021, sequels as well as originals and adaptations are steaming up for release despite the pandemic’s continuous havoc on the film market. With details about production reaches kept under wraps, here are some of the most anticipated African original titles to stream on Netflix in 2021 (or maybe 2022).

If you are a heavy viewer or a light viewer of Netflix you might want to watch out for Blood and Water 2, Castle and Castle season 2, King of Boys 2, Far From Home, and Death and the Kings Horsemen/The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives.

We can’t wait for these movies to hit the screens.

Winner of Big brother Naija Season 5, Laycon will be back on screens for streaming service Shomax’s first original Nigerian production reality series ‘I Am Laycon’. Showmax in expanding its investment in Africa is employing the service of the rapper to thrill fans across the continent.

The reality show premiering in February 2021, will show Laycon’s life after emerging winner of the fan-favourite show. It will also give an exclusive insight into the rapper’s personal relationships and growing music career.

Coming from humble beginnings, the 26-year-old musician and philosophy graduate had to hustle his way through life before landing a spot in Biggie’s house, where he wormed his way into the hearts of fans across the continent with his wit and lyrical genius.

“I am excited to continue my new life journey and embrace the new responsibilities of evolving not just myself but everyone around me. I want you to come along for the ride as you get to see the growth that you have supported and loved.” Laycon said.

Laycon beat 19 other housemates on 27 September 2020 to emerge as the winner of BBNaija S5, winning 85 million Naira worth of cash prizes. Following his BBNaija triumph, Laycon already has 2.4m followers and growing. He is now working on his first album.