A TRIBE CALLED JUDAH

A Tribe Called Judah is a 2023 Nigerian film produced by Funke Akindele which tells the story of Jedidiah Judah, a resilient single mother raising five sons from different fathers. The film explores the challenges of single parenthood and confronts the societal stigma associated with it. The film stars Funke Akindele, Jide Kene, Timini Egbuson, Tobi Makinde, Uzee Usman, Olumide Oworu, Uzor Arukwe, Nse Ikpe-Etim, and Genoveva Umeh, among others.

A tribe Called Judah was released to cinemas in Nigeria on December 15 of 2023. The producer ‘Akindele’ dedicated the film to her late mother and draws partially from her mother’s life. From the general public the film received positive reviews from critics and audience alike, and it’s been lauded as the producer’s finest cinematic project.

A Tribe Called Judah tells the story of a single mother, Jedidah Judah (Funke Akindele), who has five sos from five different fathers from different tribes. The first two sons are responsible and try their best to work and support their mother. Meanwhile, the last three are less helpful; Pere played by (Timini Egbuson) is a chronic pickpocket, Shina (Tobi Makinde) is a hoodlum and tout in the community, Ejiro (Olumide Oworu) is naughty and only cares about his girlfriend, Testimony (Genoveva Umeh).

Despite their bad behaviour, Jedidah continues to support them and get them out of trouble.

Things take a turn for the worse when Jedidah develops a chronic kidney disease, needing over 17 million Naira to fund her operation and 400,000 Naira weekly for her dialysis. The first son, Emeka, loses his job, and the five sons see no other option than to rob Emeka’s ex-boss, who is rumoured to be a money launderer, to get the money to save their mother’s life. However, their plans take a dramatic turn when they encounter armed robbers at the scene.

Following the release of A Tribe Called Judah to cinemas on December 15, 2023, the film became the first Nollywood film to gross over 113 million Naira in its opening week. The film went ahead to become the first Nollywood movie to hit over 1 billion Naira ($1 million) at the box office.