Femi Adebayo Completes An Epic Cinema Hat-trick In “Seven Doors” 

For three years, Femi Adebayo and his production company Euphoria 360 have been on the top of their game. It began with King of Thieves (Ageshinkole) in 2022, a narrative built around a deity-like traditional scoundrel and bandit that is demystified as the karma of an age-old communal mischief. King of Thieves began showing in the Nigerian cinemas from 8th April, 2022 before premiering on Prime Video. A year later, Jagun Jagun, another Yoruba epic drama centered on the rise of an underdog-warrior, was released as a Netflix Original on 10th August, 2023. Presenting an upgrade in storyline and production values with a notable plot twist, the sophomore cinema project was arguably the best indigenous language film in the country around that time, scooping an AMVCA to that effect. In Seven Doors, a Netflix limited series and Adebayo’s third and latest cinema project, the arrowhead and his filmmaking team demonstrate growth, flexibility and intentionality in their approach to storytelling. The series marks Femi Adebayo’s directorial debut, as he joins Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo (both directors responsible for King of Thieves and Jagun Jagun) in a showpiece that visualizes cultural and modern values with intriguing lenses.

A story written by Yinka Olaoye, Tope Adebayo and Oluyombo Soyombo, Seven Doors is about the travails of Oba Adedunjoye (played Femi Adebayo), the ruler of Ilara who must marry seven wives and defeat an intergenerational archenemy Esusu (Aliu Gafar) to atone for the heinous acts of an ancestor and former king, Oba Adejuwon (Kolawole Ajeyemi). The series is set in Lagos and Ilara, Ondo state, and it captures two pre-modern eras that are crucial to the reigns of the aforementioned kings. Deriving its impetus from Yoruba culture, the series explores power, greed, corruption, family values, rivalry and the travails of royalty.

The film begins with a prologue-like scene in which five gloomy women, dressed in similar traditional regalia, march in unison towards the cliff of a waterfall from which they fall, one at a time, in what feels like a ritual suicide. After the opening credits, we are introduced to the Lagos-based Adedunjoyes—Adedunjoye, his wife Amaka (Chioma Akpotha) and their children, Fola (Olamide Bakare) and Tade (Royal Aziomaku)—in the days before royal duties. Then, the camera cuts to scenes establishing the notorious and corrupt chiefs of Ilara kingdom who are known for their fraudulent property sales and land-grabbing activities. For much of the series, they conspire with and receive kickback from the desperate throne-seeking rival, Prince Adeoye. All these moments set the tone for a narrative fuelled by power play and dynamics.

Seven Doors introduces a new dynamic to Adebayo’s filmography in the modern streaming era. This is achieved through a number of strategies, ranging from production techniques to casting choices, aesthetic devices and thematic preoccupations. Unlike his past cinema projects that are strictly Yoruba epics situated in age-old times, Seven Doors mostly takes place in a fairly modern era. As such, characters in the series converse in a mix of English and Yoruba while Igbo and Hausa languages are sparsely used. The cast is led by Femi Adebayo and Chioma Akpotha, both playing a perfect couple of two Yoruba and Igbo cultural backgrounds, yet their onscreen chemistry is realistic as it entails emotional dialogues and moments that will register in the memory of Nollywood cinephiles for a while. There’s Funky Mallam’s minor role as an Hausa-speaking Northerner and businessman. Then, on the coronation day of the king, Amaka’s family, led by the family head (Jude Chukwuka), adorn rich cultural attires amidst the display of salutation and dance. Apparently, through these casting decisions and actions, the filmmaker panders to the multicultural and heterogeneous sensibilities of the Nigerian audience.

Reflecting on the past few years, we can easily recall a couple of Yoruba epic and quasi-epic productions on Netflix and Prime Video that have used actors such as Odunlade Adekola, Ibrahim Chatta and Lateef Adedimeji in key, comparable roles. From King of Thieves and Jagun Jagun to recent releases such as House of Ga’a, Lisabi and Lakatabu, there is a noticeable pattern of these actors embodying similar characters and performances in productions of the same genre. While the casting of popular faces with a large fan base is good for business, it leads to monotony and stalls the filmmaker’s artistic evolution. Producers and casting directors need to understand that changing or shuffling their casts across different projects is likely to give each independent film project a slightly unique edge. This novelty inhabits Seven Doors where Femi Adebayo opts for Aliu Gafar, Chioma Chukwuka and Kolawole Adeyemi in prominent roles that could not have been imagined for his New Nollywood filmography. With what feels like fresh plot and subtle casting choices, the filmmaker deliberately takes his craft a step further, making him appear unpredictable and possibly expanding his fan base.

Historically, Madam Efunroye Tinubu, who lived between 1805 and 1887, is regarded as the first Nigerian woman to purchase a car; while Herbert Macaulay is considered the first Nigerian man to own a car in the early 1900s. Madam Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and her husband purchased a car in 1936, which made her the first woman in the country to drive a car. However, it was not until the late 1900s that automobiles became a common sight in most parts of the country. This brief history influences the setting of Seven Doors.

Before its official release, press information about Seven Doors pegged its setting in the 18th and 19th centuries. Apart from flashbacks depicting actions of the errant Old Ilara king Oba Adejuwon, the production design and costuming clearly shows that the series is mostly set in the latter decades of the 20th century. Around this period, there are automobiles such as the Volkswagen Beetle (produced by the German company between 1938 and 2003) and the old Mercedes Benz (produced around 1970 to 1995), all of which are commonly seen in the fictional Ilara community. In the community, houses have modern structures, the young men keep much hair, and characters are dressed in ways that reflect the synergy of traditional and Western influences. The series thus highlights a notable Nollywood flaw: the lack of precise contextualization.

The storyline of Seven Doors flows in a logical, fast-paced sequence, only breached by flashbacks capturing the reign of Oba Adejuwon and the relevance of the ancestral curse to the extant regal dispensation in the series. There are copious references to rituals, myths and superstitions, all of which sample the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba people. Ancestral worship and veneration, for instance, is evident in the invocation of three Ilara legends, Ayantoye the first ever drummer (Yemi Sodimu), Asukungb’ore (Taiwo Hassan) the first ever orator and Akobi Okoto the first ever dancer (Idowu Philips). In the final act of episode six, where Adedunjoye faces Esusu in a fight-to-the-death situation, the ruler summons the spirit of an ancestor Oba Adekogbe for help.

From aesthetics to storytelling, Seven Doors easily stands tall as one of the best Nollywood productions of 2024. The production is also a testament to the continuous evolution of Femi Adebayo not only as an actor and filmmaker but also as a patriot and custodian of culture.

Seven Doors is currently showing on Netflix and Circuits.