Director
Chris Obi Rapu
Cast list
Francis Agu... Ichie Million
Chris Obi Rapu... Vic Mordi
Grace Ayozie... Andy's Mother
Chizoba Bosah... Aunty
Sydney Diala I.... Initiator
Kanayo O. Kanayo... Chief Omego
Felicia Mayford... Obidia
Obiageli Molube... Obiageli Molobe
Nnenna Nwabueze... Merit
Ngozi Nwaneto... Caro
Credits
Writing Credits: Okey Ogunjiofor and Kenneth Nnebue (screenplay)
Synopsis
The film is a thriller with supernatural elements. It tells the story of a man who joins a secret cult, kills his wife in a ritual sacrifice, gains enormous wealth as a reward, and is afterwards haunted by the dead wife's ghost. This film heralded a new phase in Nigerian cinema and turned the Nigerian film industry into a force to be reckoned with when it became the first Nollywood blockbuster. Since shooting on celluloid was costly and unfeasible, Living in Bondage was short straight-to-video and released on VHS and was in instant success paving the way for an alternative to expensive film-making.
Reviews
Rebecca Jagoe, From Living in Bondage to the Global Stage: The Growing Success of Nollywood. The Culture Trip (online magazine)
Olivia Henderson, Moral Undertones of Living in Bondage. Nigerian Lit and Cinema (blog)
Franka Nwusulor. Nigeria: Why We Excelled in Living in Bondage Modern Ghana (online magazine)
Academic Articles:
Nollywood in Lagos, Lagos in Nollywood Films by Jonathan Haynes. Africa Today, Vol. 54, No. 2, Visual Experience in Urban Africa (Winter, 2007), pp. 131-150
Nollywood Confidential by John C. McCall. Transition, No. 95 (2004), pp. 98-109
Practising ‘Democracy’ in Nigerian Films by Akin Adesokan. African Affairs, Vol. 108, No. 433 (Oct., 2009), pp. 599-619
The Emerging Video Film Industry in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects by Patrick J. Ebewo. Journal of Film and Video, Vol. 59, No. 3 (FALL 2007), pp. 46-57
A literature review: Nigerian and Ghanaian videos by Jonathan Haynes
Journal of African Cultural Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, SPECIAL ISSUE: AFRICAN FILM AND VIDEO: PLEASURE, POLITICS, PERFORMANCE (June 2010), pp. 105-120