God and Nollywood: how Pentecostal churches have shaped Nigerian film

By Elizabeth Olayiwola, Senior Lecturer in Broadcast, Film, and Multimedia, University of Abuja

In Nigeria today, one doesn’t have to attend a church service to hear a sermon. The pulpit has moved – onto screens, into living rooms, and across YouTube.

Along with this shift, a fascinating genre has emerged: Nigerian evangelical cinema. These films blend entertainment with Pentecostal spirituality, turning prayers into special effects and spiritual battles into dramatic storylines.

This transformation is not accidental. It reflects a wider trend in which religion and media intersect to shape how Nigerians – and increasingly, Africans in the diaspora – understand the…

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