‘Love and New Notes’ is a noticeable shift in tone from what audiences got with ‘Reel Love’. Where the earlier film leaned towards whimsy, this new project wants to stretch itself across genres, across decades.
It reunites Timini Egbuson (executive producer and lead actor) and Kayode Kasum (director) whilst starring Eniola Badmus, Sophia Alakija, Odunlade Adekola, Toluwani George and Ayoola Akinyoola. “This is like more than the 50th time working with Timini,” Kasum joked. But beyond the humour, he pointed to growth. “We understand each other better now. We work quickly. I can see that he’s been putting in the work on himself and I guess you would also see I’ve been working on myself.”
He described their partnership as “a clash of brothers seeing themselves grow and getting better in their craft.” That growth may explain the tonal shift from ‘Reel Love’. If that film felt emotionally straightforward, ‘Love and New Notes’ seems deliberately more chaotic, flashing between romance and suspense, sentiment and spectacle.
“We just wanted to do a hybrid story,” Timini Egbuson said at the premiere. “There’s a popular conception that rom-coms have been done in every way possible. So I wanted to try and find a way to just merge everything together and give a unique experience to the Nigerian cinema audience.” ‘Hybrid’ is the operative word here. According to Egbuson, the film blends “romance, horror, thriller, drama and a little bit of comedy”. This isn’t designed to sit neatly in one box.
Kayode Kasum described the production process in less glamorous terms. “It was very gruesome,” he stated plainly. The team had to construct most of the world themselves. “We had to basically create this… we built everything. There’s no set that was already there. We built everything. Only exteriors of buildings are things we did not build.”
Set across the 1950s and the 1980s, the film required deliberate attention to visual accuracy, from architecture to accessories. “It was very challenging to make sure when we’re in and out of eras what accessories are appropriate for that era,” Kasum explained.
Production was based in Ibadan, which created its own logistical complications. “We shot in Ibadan. We had to tell actors to not do anything but stay in Ibadan,” he said, describing the intense planning required to maintain continuity.
Beyond the aesthetics, ‘Love and New Notes’ revolves around couples handling similar emotional situations across two different eras. “It’s a film that shows how different couples handle the same situation in two different eras with a little bit of scare here and there,” Kasum said.
At the emotional centre of it is a character played by Enola Badmus, one Kasum says he understands deeply. “The character I understand the most is Enola Badmus’ character. It’s a woman who is blessed and she wants more. As a creative, she prays for something that she already has.”
That idea becomes one of the film’s core messages: “Sometimes what you think that you want isn’t what you need. And what is right in front of you might actually be what you’re asking for.”
Timini Egbuson echoed that thematic weight in a more personal way. “It taught me the power of forgiveness,” he said during the interview. The film, at least from the creators’ perspective, isn’t just about romance; it’s about perspective.
Egbuson was candid about why the film swings wide. “Cinema tickets are not cheap,” he said. “People are coming out to buy the tickets. I have to give them quality.” Kasum concludes, “It’s a beautiful film. It’s a film that will make you think, reflect, smile and be happy.”
