Biodun Stephen doesn’t just craft stories—she sculpts lives. Her films are deeply human, often messy, and almost always centred around characters who feel heartbreakingly real. They’re women (and the occasional reformed thief) trying to love, survive, speak, and be seen. And whether it’s a housekeeper caught in emotional crossfire or a silent makeup artist learning to trust, Stephen’s characters aren’t just vehicles for plot—they are the plot. They tug at your empathy and stay lodged in your memory long after the film ends.
Here are some of the unforgettable characters from her cinematic universe—people whose quiet revolutions speak louder than spectacle.
Sista – When Motherhood Is a Battlefield
Kehinde Bankole in Sista
In ‘Sista,’ Biodun Stephen delivers one of her most emotionally complex portraits of womanhood. Kehinde Bankole plays a single mother holding her home together by sheer will—until the man who once abandoned their family strolls back into their lives, charming, remorseful, and ready to claim space. What follows is a slow unravelling. The children, starved of fatherly attention, shift toward him, leaving Sista alone with her sacrifices. Bankole plays the role with grace and devastation, letting the silence between lines say what words can’t. Sista is about the kind of heartbreak that comes not from romance but from being replaced in your own family.
Ovy – A Voice Written in Silence
Bisola Aiyeola in ‘Ovy’s Voice‘
Ovy doesn’t speak, but she’s never voiceless. In a world that often equates loudness with strength, Ovy’s quiet resilience is revolutionary. A gifted makeup artist who communicates through the written word, she forms a bond with the son of one of her best clients. Yet love is complicated when trauma has taught you to shut people out. Bisola Aiyeola brings a rare gentleness to the role, letting Ovy’s silence become a rich emotional language of its own. Biodun Stephen crafts her not as a symbol of pity but of power—showing how vulnerability and agency can coexist in stillness.
Muri – The Thief Who Didn’t Mean To Care
Kunle Remi in ‘Muri & Ko‘
What happens when your getaway car isn’t empty? In ‘Muri & Ko,’ Kunle Remi plays a small-time thief whose life takes a chaotic turn when he realises he’s accidentally kidnapped an 8-year-old boy. What should be a disaster becomes a road trip of unlikely growth. Stephen paints Muri not as a hero or villain but as a man caught between impulse and conscience. Remi gives him charm, weariness, and the kind of wounded heart you don’t expect in a story like this. It’s a film about second chances, and Muri becomes one of Stephen’s most compelling arguments that nobody is too far gone to change.
Todowede—The Girl Who Never Forgot Him
Bimbo Ademoye in ‘Breaded Life‘
When a spoilt, aimless young man (Timini Egbuson) wakes up in a world where nobody remembers him—not even his own mother—the only person who still sees him is Todowede, a bread seller from the streets. Played with remarkable balance by Bimbo Ademoye, Todowede is tough but tender, sharp-witted yet nurturing. She grounds a fantastical premise with real emotional stakes. Her presence becomes both literal and metaphorical—representing humility, grace, and the kind of love that sees past status or memory. Todowede is one of Stephen’s most fascinating creations: a woman who becomes the only anchor in a world turned upside down.
Momiwa—The Woman Who Gave Too Much
Jessica Obasi Nze in ‘Momiwa‘
Momiwa is sunshine. A housekeeper whose warmth and sincerity make her more family than staff—until the wife returns. Jessica Obasi Nze embodies Momiwa with an ease that makes her downfall feel personal. As the household dynamics shift, love turns into rivalry and affection into discomfort. What makes ‘Momiwa’ so poignant is its moral ambiguity: no one is wholly wrong, but everyone feels threatened. Biodun Stephen invites us to look at the invisible labour of women like Momiwa—how they pour themselves into families that can so easily replace or reject them. Her story is soft but searing, full of love and quiet ache.
Anis – The Past She Locked Away
Shaffy Bello and Lina Idoko in ‘I Am Anis‘
‘I Am Anis’ is one of Biodun Stephen’s darkest and most introspective works, and Anisola Williams—played in two timelines by Shaffy Bello and Lina Idoko—is at the heart of it. What should have been a perfect day becomes a reckoning, as long-buried secrets surface and force Anis to confront everything she tried to forget. Bello delivers a performance laced with elegance and terror, while Idoko’s younger Anis shows us the pain behind the mask. Together, they form a portrait of a woman split between survival and truth. Stephen doesn’t offer easy answers—just a deeply human look at the cost of silence and the courage it takes to finally break it.
Biodun Stephen’s characters aren’t defined by grand gestures—they’re shaped by small choices, daily battles, and moments of grace. Her stories sit with the complicated things: a mother being erased, a housekeeper being loved too much, a woman learning to trust her voice again. She tells stories of women the world often overlooks and gives them space to breathe, rage, laugh, and be loved.
In doing so, she’s built a canon of unforgettable characters—women who stay with you because they remind you of someone. Sometimes, even yourself.
