Nigeria / 2020 / 136mins / Drama / Hausa

Set in a village in sub-Saharan Africa, Desmond Ovbiagele’s thriller tells the story of Aisha, a Fulani milkmaid, who is kidnapped by religious extremists along with her younger sister Zainab. Aisha manages to escape, but she decides to go back and confront the extremists to try and bring Zainab home. Her quest proves complicated in a world of festering conflict. The Milkmaid—chosen as Nigeria’s entry for the 2021 Academy Awards—showcases the vibrancy of Hausa and Fulani culture while drawing attention to the plight of the victims of the real-life militant insurgency in Nigeria.

Desmond Ovbiagele

Desmond Ovbiagele worked in investment banking for over a decade before exiting to pursue a passion for movie production. He wrote, produced and co-directed his debut feature film, Render to Caesar, which was selected to screen in official competition at FESPACO, Africa’s largest film festival, in 2015, as well as at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. It also received awards for Best Screenplay at the Nollywood Movies Awards and Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards respectively, in addition to the award for Best International Feature Film at the Nile Diaspora International Film Festival in Kampala, Uganda. The Milkmaid, which he also wrote, produced and directed, is his second feature film, winning five Africa Movie Academy Awards in December 2020, including for Best Film.
In December 2020, the Nigerian Official Selection Committee announced The Milkmaid as the country's official selection for the
93rd Academy Awards in the category of Best International Feature Film. Learn More