What happens when love, exhaustion, and unspoken pain collide in a Nigerian home? Shaping Us, now streaming on Showmax, answers this with a deeply human story, one that rests on the shoulders of two standout performances: Uzoamaka Power as Zainab and Bucci Franklin as her husband, Doctor Yan.
While the film unfolds around a group of close-knit friends reuniting for a farewell dinner, one of its most compelling arcs lies with Zainab (Uzoamaka Power), a woman quietly crumbling under the weight of postpartum depression. In a society where motherhood is celebrated but maternal mental health remains largely ignored, Uzoamaka’s portrayal of Zainab is haunting in its restraint. She doesn’t shout, she doesn’t break things, she withdraws. From her baby. From her husband. From herself.
Opposite her, Bucci Franklin delivers a layered performance as a husband trying to hold his family together while missing the signs of his wife’s emotional unravelling. His character as Doctor Yan is well-meaning but emotionally clumsy, a reflection of many men who want to help but don’t know how.
Together, Uzoamaka and Franklin bring to life a tension-filled marriage that still holds space for love and healing, one of several complex relationships explored in the film. From Biodun and his wife’s hidden struggles to the tender, evolving bond between Maks (Omowunmi Dada) and Kwame (Jordan Bangoji), Shaping Us paints a layered portrait of modern love, shaped by secrets, pressure, and the quiet work of forgiveness.
Directed by Kambili Ofili, Shaping Us features a strong ensemble cast including Kambili Ofili, Floyd Igbo, Jordan Bangoji, and Omowunmi Dada. Set largely over the course of one evening, the film uses a farewell dinner as the backdrop for a series of emotional revelations, making space for both intimate performances and layered storytelling.
One of the film’s most powerful scenes features Doctor Yan and Zainab in a moment of quiet confrontation, an honest exchange that captures the emotional disconnect many couples face in the aftermath of childbirth. Without theatrics, the scene lays bare the difficulty of asking for the right kind of support and the quiet resentments that can grow when pain goes unspoken. The tension between them, built up over the course of the evening, is handled with restraint and emotional depth. Their kitchen confrontation, the dinner table eruption, and the final moment of reconciliation feel less like scripted scenes and more like glimpses into real lives—messy, raw, but ultimately human.
Shaping Us doesn’t just raise awareness; it holds up a mirror. And Uzoamaka Power and Bucci Franklin’s performances are central to its emotional truth.
Shaping Us is now streaming in Africa only on Showmax.
