Directed by Gbolahan Peter Macjob, Ireke: Rise of the Maroons opens exclusively in cinemas from July 25, 2025, and is scheduled to run for seven weeks. “It’s time for ‘Ìrèké: Rise of the Maroons,’” The Voice Online speaks about the director and the film’s potential. Here is a synopsis, followed by excerpts of the review. See The Voice for the complete article.
Synopsis (from https://irekemovie.com/): From the Africa Movie Academy Award winning producers of “No Shade” – and directed by Emmy-nominated BBC journalist Gbolahan Peter Macjob (“Black Axe”) comes “Ireke: Rise of The Maroons”.
Betrayed by his uncle and sold into slavery, a young West African prince finds himself on a brutal Jamaican plantation, where a forbidden love and a looming rebellion draw him into an alliance with escaped slaves – the Maroons – forcing him to rise as the leader of a revolution that could shake the colonial world.
Stolen from a kingdom. Forged in chains. Destined to rise.
The Voice writes: Could the coming together of a first-time Nigerian director, a Cannes Market world-first, and BAFTA-accredited BUFF on a historical epic be the future of African cinema?
‘Ireke: Rise of the Maroons’, the first Nigerian indigenous-language feature to premiere at the Marché du Film in Cannes, lands in 100 cinemas across the UK and Nigeria from this Friday, July 25 – in a release set to redefine the scope and scale of African diaspora storytelling on the big screen.
Theatrical rollouts will follow in Trinidad and Tobago and Canada, while UK giants Vue and Odeon have already onboarded the film for prime locations including Romford, Thurrock, Leeds, London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Directed by BBC Emmy-nominated journalist Gbolahan Peter Macjob (in his feature debut) and starring Tobi Bakre who has featured in Gangs of Lagos and Red Circle, Ireke takes audiences deep into 17th-century West Africa and colonial Jamaica, chronicling the fictional rise of Prince Atanda and the revolutionary Maroons in a richly drawn tale of power, resistance, and spiritual legacy.
Shot for just under a million dollars, Ireke is produced by Toyin Moore and Macjob, with Clare Anyiam-Osigwe BEM and Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe MBE as executive producers under the BUFF Studios banner. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.voice-online.co.uk/entertainment/2025/07/23/its-time-for-ireke-rise-of-the-maroons/
Also see more information at https://irekemovie.com/
Directed by Gbolahan Peter Macjob, Ireke: Rise of the Maroons opens exclusively in cinemas from July 25, 2025, and is scheduled to run for seven weeks. “It’s time for ‘Ìrèké: Rise of the Maroons,’” The Voice Online speaks about the director and the film’s potential. Here is a synopsis, followed by excerpts of the review. See
