AFRIFF 2025 Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay winner To Adaego With Love is scheduled for a nationwide cinema release on February 6, 2026.
Directed by Nwamaka Priscilla Chikezie and written by Brenda Ogbukaa-Garuba, the 129-minute historical drama is set in Enugu in 1975, five years after the Nigerian Civil War. The film follows Adaego Ezekwe (Chisom Agoawuike), an Igbo schoolteacher, and Major Balarabe “Bala” Alkali (Adam Garba), a Northern Nigerian army officer deployed to the state as part of post-war reconciliation efforts.
As their relationship develops, the film examines how love collides with tradition, family loyalty, and lingering distrust in a society still shaped by conflict. Rather than presenting reconciliation as an easy resolution, the story treats it as a slow, difficult, and deeply human process.
The film features an ensemble cast including Chioma Chukwuka, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Riyo David, Demi Banwo, Tonia Chukwurah, Six Foot Plus, and the late Onyeka Onwenu, in one of her final screen appearances.
To Adaego With Love is written and produced by Brenda Ogbukaa-Garuba, an alumna of the AFRIFF 2016 screenwriting masterclass, marking a near decade-long journey from development to theatrical release. The film is executive produced by Tony B. Adesina and is a collaboration between Tade Production House and Ziva Works Productions.
Tribe Nation will handle the film’s Nigerian theatrical release, while Trino Studios serves as international sales representative.
To Adaego With Love opens in cinemas nationwide on February 6, 2026.
