Phoenix Fury, AFRIFF Best Film, Hits Cinemas on October 30

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Phoenix Fury, the revenge drama that won Best Film at the 2024 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), is finally heading to cinemas. The film opens in Nigeria and Ghana on October 30, 2026, and a new trailer has just been released. Filmmaker Ifeoma Chukwuogo wrote, produced and directed the film, and also won Best Director at AFRIFF for it, OYA Magazine reports. The story The trailer introduces Ewura-Ama, a woman who inherits a luxury resort in Ghana after her husband dies. What looks like a chance for a quiet retreat turns darker when an influential guest arrives and brings a painful chapter of her past back into focus. A second woman, Ifeatu, is linked to Ewura-Ama through a shared history of loss and violence. Their stories eventually come together, setting up a confrontation shaped by years of unresolved pain. YNaija describes the film as following two women "connected by a shared desire for revenge and a man who they both know." Two countries, different times OYA says Phoenix Fury moves between Nigeria and Ghana and across different periods of time. It uses its revenge story to explore trauma, injustice and the fight for justice. The cast The film mixes experienced and emerging actors. The ensemble includes Ghanaian actress Ama K. Abebrese, Uzoamaka Power, Onyinye Odokoro, Ijeoma Grace Agu, Tina Mba, Adjetey Anang, Joseph Momodu and Richard Mofe-Damijo . RMD has a busy October. YNaija's monthly guide also lists him in A Land Apart, which opens on October 23. His career was recently celebrated in our report on his US-Nigeria Creative Awards honour . Key facts Title: Phoenix Fury Writer, producer, director: Ifeoma Chukwuogo Release: October 30, 2026, in Nigerian and Ghanaian cinemas Festival record: Best Film and Best Director, AFRIFF 2024 Settings: Nigeria and Ghana Trailer: released via Fizzy K Pictures on YouTube From festival winner to the box office Phoenix Fury premiered at AFRIFF in 2024, where it took the top prize. With the trailer out, OYA says the focus shifts from the film's festival success to a wider audience. OYA adds that the film is a major feature-length project in Chukwuogo's growing body of work, which spans writing, directing and producing. A crowded October for Nollywood Phoenix Fury lands at the end of a packed month. YNaija's list of Nollywood releases for October includes Afobaje and Onu Ahia Nwanyi (October 10), First Lady and Pushing 30 (October 18), A Land Apart, No Fury and Tele x Zikora (October 23), and Wire Transfer, which opens on the same day as Phoenix Fury. The Nigerian box office is also busy with titles such as Agbara Nla and the Guinness-record-setting Black Market . Three decades, two countries Chukwuogo's official site describes Phoenix Fury as "a genre-blending revenge drama spanning two countries and three decades". It lists the film's AFRIFF Best Film and Best Director wins in 2024 and three AMVCA nominations in 2025. Nollywood Times reports that Nile Entertainment is handling the nationwide release in Nigeria. It calls the film a story of "trauma, loss, revenge and survival", built around the question of what happens when people who have suffered deeply are forced to confront the circumstances that caused their pain. About the filmmaker Chukwuogo's site lists earlier Fizzy K Pictures work, including the feature Dynamite and the short documentary No Victors. She also directed Diiche, a six-part Showmax Original series that earned her an AMVCA Best Director nomination in 2023, and the NdaniTV web series Rumour Has It. Her work has screened at festivals including the New York African Film Festival, the Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles and Film Africa in London. She currently works at TIFF on the inaugural TIFF: The Market. What's next The film opens on October 30. With an AFRIFF Best Film win behind it and a cast drawn from both Nigeria and Ghana, Phoenix Fury is one of the cross-border titles to watch at the end of the month. Follow more film and Ghana coverage on Entzopedia. Sources: OYA Magazine | YNaija | Nollywood Times | Ifeoma Chukwuogo (official site)