‘The New Normal’ premieres in Lagos — starring RMD, Mercy Johnson, Kehinde Bankole

‘The New Normal’, a Nigerian movie, which featured heavyweights like Mercy Johnson and Richard Mofe-Damijo, premiered on Sunday in Lagos.

The event, which held at Adam & Eve, an event centre situated within GRA, Ikeja, had in attendance both showbusiness executives and movie lovers.

Produced by Sourmash Stories and directed by Teniola Olatoni, ‘The New Normal’ revolves around the lives of four couples and a single friend who navigate individual and collective issues of discrimination, misogyny, addiction, mental health, and infertility.

While trying their best to keep up appearances and escape societal’s demands, the movie, a dramedy, winds up with the characters finding their way to the new norm in their marriages, careers, and relationships.

The film’s premiere kicked off with a red carpet and ended with a screening.

Those present at the event are Kehinde Bankole and Angel Unigwe, two actresses on the cast; Tunde Babalola, the film’s screenwriter, among others.

Also among the prominent Nollywood actors who starred in the movie are Bimbo Akintola; Yemi Blaq; Femi Jacobs; BrodaShaggi, who had a cameo appearance as a clergyman; Meg Otanwa, and Mofe Duncan.

Speaking to TheCable Lifestyle at the premiere, Olatoni said: “Series of encounters people go through inspired it. I realised one of the biggest challenges we have here is not speaking up.

“We’re so afraid of how society is going to judge us whereas others are going through something also. From nepotism and infertility to addiction and mental health issues, people are dealing with things.

“The moment we start talking, it gets lighter. Filming this for me was deep. I’m happy it resonated with so many.

“My cast and crew brought their A-game. The takeaway is that one everyone will be able to identify with every character and understand why our colleagues do certain things. The idea is to judge less and hold each other hands.

“I’m happy that the people who have seen it like the festivals already love it. I mean, we won the ‘International Feature’ of an American platform festival. It goes to the cinema on Friday. I believe we will have a successful run.”

Babalola, who was optimistic about the cinematic prospects of the new film, spoke of his experience writing the movie.

“‘The New Normal’ dwells on change and how we perceive things. It’s about new age relationships, understanding, and coming together as a family. It shows the evolution of couples at various stages in their marriage,” he said.

“I was approached by Teniola Olatoni to write the story. She had this idea of something about couples and their relationships; couples going through different stages in their marriages as they approach the age of 40.

“It’s like a post-40-years kind of dramatic comedy. She had some characters; I created more and brought the story together. The movie is entertaining and educational. It’s also escapists with what we’ve faced amid the pandemic.”

The movie is set to hit cinemas on November 20.