Kayode Kasum's Valentine's film opens today and Nollywood is watching. Diaspora too

Love & New Notes opens in cinemas today. Valentine's Day weekend. A Lagos romance directed by Kayode Kasum, starring Timini Egbuson, set in the city most Nigerians carry in their heads whether they're in it or not.

Nollywood's 2026 slate is building toward something. Everything Is New Again opened last month. To Adaego With Loveran last week. A Chibok documentary is coming. The industry that used to be dismissed as low-budget video hustle now releases theatrical films for Valentine's weekend like it's always been doing this.

For Nigerians abroad — processing EFCC headlines and CPC designations and airport dramas — a Lagos love story in a cinema is a reminder. Home isn't only its crises. It's also this.