When legendary actor Bimbo Manuel steps into a role, he doesn’t just act—he inhabits.
And in The Lost Days, his latest film set to premiere July 11, 2025, on Prime Video, he delivers yet another masterclass in emotional complexity.
Directed by first-time filmmaker Wingonia Ikpi, the film joins the prestigious First Features Project, and it’s already drawing early praise for its bold storytelling and raw authenticity.
The Lost Days: A Story of Vanished Presence and Lingering Pain
At the heart of The Lost Days is Chisom (played by acclaimed theatre director Ifeoma Fafunwa, in her on-screen debut), a cancer survivor who returns to her hometown of Abeokuta hoping to reconcile with her estranged family. But just as the healing seems possible—she vanishes.
What follows is not a whodunit, but a soul-deep excavation of grief, silence, emotional abandonment, and the scars left by years of unspoken pain. Can a fractured family mend itself in the absence of the one person who brought them together?
Bimbo Manuel as Baba Kola: A Role Only Time Could Prepare
As Baba Kola, Chisom’s former lover, Bimbo Manuel plays a man wrestling with the weight of memory, regret, and an aging heart that never truly let go. His performance is already being hailed as “hauntingly beautiful” and “devastatingly human.”
With over four decades in the industry and unforgettable roles in 93 Days, Blood Sisters, Nigerian Prince, and Tinsel, Manuel brings both gravitas and emotional vulnerability to the screen—cementing his legacy as one of Nollywood’s most enduring icons.
Supporting Cast Shines in Intimate Ensemble
Ifeoma Fafunwa brings quiet power to Chisom, marking a brilliant crossover from stage to screen.
Cynthia Clarke plays Nkem, Chisom’s daughter, forced to confront a mother’s absence and a lifetime of emotional neglect.
Baaj Adebule and Durotimi Okutagidi round out the cast as Moses and Kola, two men caught in the storm of family secrets and personal failure.
A New Kind of Nollywood
As part of the First Features Project, The Lost Days is the ninth in a series of bold, auteur-driven films produced by Native Filmworks and Michelangelo Productions. It follows the path of At Ease and Kill Boro—cinema that prioritizes emotional realism and richly Nigerian storytelling over commercial spectacle.
By setting the story in Abeokuta instead of the Lagos metropolis, Ikpi gives the narrative a quiet rural texture, where every silence speaks volumes and every glance reveals history.
Themes That Matter
Family as a fragile ecosystem
The trauma of disappearance
Emotional inheritance
Forgiveness in the face of absence
The Lost Days doesn’t just want to entertain—it wants to wound, heal, and awaken.
Save the Date
Premiere: July 11, 2025
Streaming on: Prime Video (globally available)
Final Frame
The Lost Days is a quiet storm—directed with elegance by Wingonia Ikpi, acted with soul by Bimbo Manuel, and rooted in the emotional terrain many Nigerian families know too well. This is not your typical Nollywood drama. It’s more intimate, more aching, more real.
Come July, prepare to feel seen—and maybe, a little undone.
