Following a successful international festival and theatrical run, Son of the Soil is now playing on Netflix across the African continent, bringing the acclaimed action thriller to millions of viewers throughout Africa.
The Netflix release marks a major new chapter for the film, extending its reach beyond cinemas and festivals and positioning it for broad digital discovery. The move reflects growing global demand for premium African-led genre storytelling and underscores the film's crossover appeal with both local and international audiences.
Directed by Chee Keong Cheung, Son of the Soil centres on Zion Ladejo, a former Nigerian Special Ops paratrooper who returns home after personal tragedy and is drawn into a dangerous conflict with criminal networks. Blending emotionally driven drama with tightly choreographed action, the film has been praised for its cinematic ambition and grounded realism.
The film stars Razaaq Adoti (Black Hawk Down, Amistad) in a breakout role, the cast also includes Patience Ozokwo (Old School), Ireti Doyle (The Arbitration), Taye Arimoro (Casa De Novia), Sunshine Rosman (To Kill a Monkey), Damilola Ogunsi (Gangs of Lagos), Philip Asaya (Kill Boro) Emeka Golden (Evi) and Sharon Rotimi (The Wives) and introducing Best of Nollywood Child Actress, Ijelu Folajimi, with the film representing a new generation of African action cinema aimed at both regional and global audiences.
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Director/Producer Cheung is best known for the high-octane action Zombie feature film Redcon-1, which also previously screened on Netflix and established his credentials in delivering powerful, commercially focused genre films for global platforms. With Son of the Soil, he builds on that foundation, applying international production discipline to African-led stories designed to travel.
Through his company Action Xtreme, Cheung is also currently developing a slate of action-driven film and series projects rooted in Africa but engineered for worldwide audiences. The company's model focuses on scalable budgets, strong theatrical and streaming appeal, and long-term talent development, with the aim of creating repeatable, platform-ready content.
This approach is further underlined by a first-look collaboration between Action Xtreme and Nile Entertainment, under which the companies are jointly developing new film and television projects for international distribution. The partnership brings together Action Xtreme's genre production expertise with Nile Entertainment's deep market knowledge and pan-African reach, positioning Son of the Soil as the first of multiple globally facing projects. The collaboration has been central to the film's ability to travel across markets and platforms.
Son of the Soil was developed and produced by Action Xtreme and Sovereign (Triangle of Sadness), in association with Lagos-based Boxonia Blueprint, combining international production standards with deep local industry expertise. Producers are Andreas Roald, Razaaq Adoti, Ioanna Karavela, Chee Keong Cheung and Wingonia Ikpi. Director of photography is Jack Thompson-Roylance. Music by Tolu Obanro (Gangs of Lagos).
Director Chee Keong Cheung said: "Releasing Son of the Soil on Netflix is incredibly meaningful for us. This is a story rooted in Nigeria and made with African audiences in mind, so being able to share it widely across the continent is something we're very proud of. Nigeria and Africa have so much to offer to the world with their incredible stories and talents and I'm grateful and honored I had the opportunity to make Son of the Soil with such an amazing cast and crew".
Moses Babatope, CEO of Nile Entertainment, added: "At Nile Entertainment, our belief has always been that African stories deserve disciplined distribution, ambitious positioning, and global visibility. Son of the Soil is an important milestone, but it is part of a much larger strategy.
Over the past few months, we have been intentional about building a slate of films that perform theatrically and travel beyond borders. This Netflix release reinforces the model we've been developing, strong cinema runs, followed by premium platform expansion.
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At Nile Entertainment, our ambition is not just to participate, but to strengthen the distribution landscape across Africa. We are building a commercially sharp and globally connected model that prioritises collaboration, audience insight, and films that resonate both locally and internationally.
Son of the Soil is one chapter in that journey and there is much more to come."
The Netflix debut follows a strong awards and festival journey for the film, including major wins at Black Star International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award at AFRIFF, picking up two Best of Nollywood awards from seven nominations, and most recently officially selected to screen at the prestigious Pan African Film Festival in the US, establishing it as one of the most successful African-led action films of recent years.
Son of the Soil is now available to play on Netflix across Africa and will also be released theatrically across the US from March 6.
