From Mo Abudu to Emma Edosio, these women are transforming Nollywood for better. Women have had a place in Nollywood since its inception, but that was mostly in front of the camera, behind the scenes, things have historically been governed by men, they produce and direct the biggest films and generally dictate the market for Nigerian films.
In 2019, the era of overwhelming male domination is over, thanks to a new type of women moguls personified best by Mo Abudu.
Since the release of her first film ‘Fifty in 2015’, she has ruled the Nigerian box office. Three films she executive produced, The Wedding Party I, The Wedding Party: Destination Dubai and Chief Daddy Sit Atop the list of highest Nigerian movies of all time.
The original wedding party grossed N453 million, its sequel earned N500 million, and her latest, Chief Daddy made over N300 million in three weeks. Four of the films produced by her film company, Ebony Life are among the top 10 highest grossing Nollywood films. Mo Abudu’s success has ushered in a new trend of women making boss moves in Africa’s biggest film industry.
Since her transition from her couch on “Moments With Mo’ to film, the involvement of women in Nollywood behind the scenes have increased: Mary Remmy Njoku, a Nollywood actress, popular for her role in Black- Berry Babes, founded Rok studies which produced the popular” “Husband of Lagos” and is responsible for the bulk of movies and series shown on iRokotv. Six of the 10 most successful Nollywood films have been produced by women. Mo Abudu, Kemi Adetiba and Omoni Oboli.
This is a testament to both women’s power in Nollywood and Mo’s influence. As reflected in Tope Oshin’s documentary, “Shooting It Like A woman”, women are beating the odds to succeed in the male dominated Nigerian film industry and in 2018, the women of Nollywood stepped up their game and made the biggest movies in the industry.
Below are the six Nigerian women whom we are looking forward to taking Nollywood to the next level of global acclaim.
Kemi Adetiba: She became popular for her aesthetically pleasing and story rich music videos, her refreshing style made her an instant hit among top musicians in Nigeria. Before venturing into directing videos, the New York Film Academy alumni had worked in radio and television as a presenter.
Her first film, ‘The Wedding Party’ was an instant hit among movie goers in the country, it was also the first Nigerian film to gross over a million dollars from ticket sales but her sophomore feature, ‘King of Boys’ which she wrote and co-produced that won everybody over, it is a Nollywood modern day cult classic and one of the most successful movies of 2018.
For seven consecutive weeks, it was the number one film in Nigerian cinemas. (The longest by a Nollywood film) beating stiff competition from several Hollywood and Nollywood films. It grossed N230 million making it the 5th most successful Nollywood movies of all times and the third most successful from last year behind Ebonylife’s holiday comedy, Chief Daddy and Ay’s star studded merry men.
Genevieve Nnaji: The biggest news out of Nollywood last year was Netflix acquisition of Genevieve Nnaji’s directorial debut, ‘Lion Heart’ she co-wrote, co-produced and Stars in the film. Hours before the screening of the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival where the movie was nominated for the prestigious Grolsch People’s Choice Award, Netflix announced it has acquired global rights to the film, sending shock waves loaded with excitement around Nollywood fans in Nigeria and diaspora.
This comedy movie, which is love letter to Enugu is not the first Nollywood film on Netflix, there are seven, but Lion Heart is the first Nigerian Netflix-original which means it will appear on the streaming giants’ home page and get huge marketing like the other Nigerian films on the streaming service.
The film generated global buzz unlike any other Nollywood product and has been featured in the New York Times, CNN variety and Essence magazine.
Mo-Abudu: Mo Abudu, a media mogul is the woman who has laid the template for making mega blockbusters in Nollywood. One of the international recognitions that Nollywood received in 2018 came in the form of a three series deal between Sony Pictures Television and Mo Abudu’s Ebonylife. One of the series is based on the Dahomey Warriors of old Benin.
As the year came to an end, she was elected a director of International Academy of Television Arts and Science, the organisation responsible for the international Emmy Awards. Still in 2018, Mo-Abudu released her third N300 million grosser, the star studded comedy, ‘Chief Daddy’ which is also her third highest grossing movie of the year in three consecutive years, following the Wedding Party 1& 2.
Tope Oshin: She directed ‘up North’ in 2018, the biggest film in Nollywood in terms of sheer scale, while Up North is her biggest movie from last year, it was not her only work, she directed two other features, ‘New Money’, a comedy drama and the award winning “We Don’t Live Here Any More”, a young adult drama that focuses on the struggles of being gay in Nigeria and a TV series, the sixth season of MTV Shuga making her the most prolific director from the industry in 2018.
The port folio of the Colorado film school graduate include producer, casting director, writer and actor. It is this incredible portfolio which features Nigeria’s first legal drama, Castle and Castle, MTV Sugar and the Wedding Party 2 that got her to be included on Okay Africa’s 100 women list in 2018 and becoming a juror for the international Emmy Awards.
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde: This Nollywood screen goddess parades numerous accolades received over her 20 years career in Nollywood. Since her debut in 1995, the star actress has been named 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine and honoured as a member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) by the Nigerian government for her contributions in Nollywood.
And while 2018 was a quiet year for her, she received one of her most important honours, an invitation to join the Oscar voting Academy, the only actor from Africa alongside notable film maker Femi Odugbemi. This is another nod to the global reception of Nollywood which is crucial to the growth of the industry.
Ema Edosio: Ema Edosio is a female director in Nollywood, she joins the tradition of an impressive feature debut with the low budget ‘Kasala’ while Kasala was not as big as the film mentioned above, it was one of the refreshing films of 2018 and shows that in Edosio we have a unique talent that can tell competing stories and get the best out of actors.
The film which won the viewer’s choice at the 2018 edition of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) was not accepted by Nigerian cinemas initially and it took touring several international festivals to convince distributors to give it a chance.