Femi Adebayo’s Jagun Jagun and the Rise of Modern Yoruba Cinema

By Taiwo Alimi

After achieving great success with his epic film King of Thieves, Femi Adebayo did not rest on his laurels. Instead, he quickly returned to work and, on August 10, 2023, released another powerful epic movie, Jagun Jagun, on Netflix.

The film, just like King of Thieves, was co-directed by his brother, Tope Adebayo, and celebrated director, Adebayo Tijani. Jagun Jagun undoubtedly exceeded the acclaim and impact of King of Thieves. It was a continuation of Femi Adebayo’s greatness in film making. It was a movie that proved his consistency in creativity and yearning for cinematic growth.

Jagun Jagun is another outstanding movie by Femi Adebayo, demonstrating his prowess in creating quality films with great storytelling. The film features prominent industry actors like Lateef Adedimeji, Ibrahim Yekinni, Ibrahim Chatta, and Mr. Macaroni, among others. Femi Adebayo’s careful casting choices are evident in the strong performances throughout. This ability reflects the creative skill every filmmaker needs, and Adebayo proves his mastery once again.

In Jagun Jagun, Femi Adebayo shows his mastery in storytelling while exploring themes of power, politics, war, and chaos. He uses the film to depict the harshness of a leader who clings selfishly to authority and punishes subordinates who challenge him. The main character Ogundiji, a merciless warlord, trains warriors from various villages for rulers’ battles. Through Ogundiji, Femi Adebayo mirrors the machinery of modern politics used to suppress opposition.

The warlord, Ogundiji, was used to depict leaders who enjoy power and arbitrariness, solely and see any follower showing leadership traits better than them as a threat. This was a case between Ogundiji and the bravest among his warriors, named Gbotija. The movie reveals the quest for power, survival, and competition, which are major elements of a political purview.

Apart from the epic storytelling, Femi Adebayo amazed not only the audience but also his colleagues in the film industry. The great visuals captured in several angles, the complex stunts among the warrior casts, the cinematic scenes with great colour arrangements, the make-ups, and props, all point to mastery. These recognized features in the making of Jagun Jagun made it a masterpiece and also made the producer, Femi Adebayo, the most dynamic filmmaker and actor among his peers.

The movie, Jagun Jagun, among great movie critics and enthusiasts, is showered with praises to the movie, producer, directors, actors among other featured crew. The movie not only bagged prominent nominations, but also won in different categories of the movie awards. It won the Best Indigenous Language Movie (West Africa) and the Best Costume Design award category at the 2024 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.

It achieved seven nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) 2024 and later won three awards: Achievement in Makeup, Achievement in Visual Effects, and Femi Adebayo himself won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role, among several other awards. This is evidence of how Femi Adebayo has proven himself again as one of the greatest filmmakers Africa has ever produced.

Jagun Jagun was acquired by Netflix, and was rumored to have secured a multi-million dollar deal as a Netflix original. It also became top five in the non-English speaking category for the Netflix release, globally which signifies a win for the cast and crew, setting another greater mark for Nigerian films.