Nigerian Directors to Watch Out For

Kunle Afolayan is a Nigerian actor and director. He is the son of the famous theater and film director and producer Ade Love. He is of Yoruba descent. Afolayan majored in economics. Since 2005 he has been active in the Nigerian film industry. Wikipedia

Biyi Bandele-Thomas (born 1967) is a Nigerian novelist and playwright generally known as Biyi Bandele. Bandele is one of the most versatile and prolific of the UK-based Nigerian writers, having turned his hand to theatre, journalism, television, film, and radio, as well as the fiction with which he made his name. Acclaimed as both a prolific playwright and a versatile novelist, his 1997 adaptation of fellow Nigerian Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart for the British stage confirmed his place as an important voice on the post-colonial stage. He currently resides in London.

Coming from a family of veteran filmmakers (Ifoghale Amata, Zack Amata and Fred Amata), it is no surprise that he soars in the world of film and entertainment. Jeta, known for such movies as "The Amazing Grace", "Alexa Affair" and "Mary Slessor", is a renowned Nigerian filmmaker, who has received local and international acclaim. He rose to global prominence when he produced a film/documentary for the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation in 2003 using his film "Game of Life" as footage for the documentary. Debuting his movie "Alexa Affair" at the Berlin film festival in 2004 set him firmly in the minds of Nigerians and the world forever as our own Nollywood success story. Jeta's The Amazing Grace which won the award as Best West African Film in 2006 Screen Nations Award UK is also the first Nigerian film to be screened at the prestigious Cannes film festival. Jeta's recent credits include, Inale (A musical on an African fairy tale) and Black Gold (A film that chronicles the suffering of oil rich Niger Deltans of Nigeria).

One of a new generation of Nigerian film Directors taking the magic of ‘Nollywood’ to the wider world. With his multi-disciplinary approach to film-making, his relentless creative drive and an uncanny sense of artistic style, Obi has also marked himself out as one of UK's contemporary directors.

He was at the final stages of being enrolled as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales when he abandoned legal practice to pursue his first love: film. However, he brings his stature as a lawyer and the attendant pragmatism to the chaotic world of film and productions.

Obi's debut novel, 'The Mirror Boy' is being published.

He lives in Notting Hill, London with his wife Amaka and their two children; D'Kachy and D'Richy.

Films directed by Obi Emelonye
The Asylum (2008)
Sweet Betrayal (2007)
Lucky Joe (2006)
London Successor (2006)
Echoes of War (2003)
Who's Next? (2001)
Good Friends (2000)

Lonzo Nzekwe is a Nigerian/Canadian writer/director. His acclaimed multi-award winning first feature film, Anchor Baby was released in 2010-2011. Anchor Baby is a story of a Nigerian couple living in the US illegally, on a quest to achieve the "American Dream" for their unborn child. The movie won Best Film at the 2010 Harlem International Film Festival. It was subsequently released theatrically in Canada, Nigeria, Ghana and the United Kingdom. Anchor Baby is also available to watch on iTunes.

Olatunde Osunsanmi was born on October 23, 1977 in the USA. He is known for his work on The Fourth Kind (2009), Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010) and The Cavern (2005).

Foremost filmmaker, cultural worker and Managing Director of Brickwall Communications Limited is without a doubt one of the leading figures of the Nigerian motion picture industry. The documentarist and strong advocate for a virile motion picture industry is undoubtedly one practitioner who is genuinely and tenaciously devoted to the filmmaking vocation. Not only is he roundly respected and not only has his approval rating as a filmmaker and movie aficionado remain sky high but Mahmood is considered a major force whose views and positions cannot be ignored. Born Mahmood Abayomi to parents whom he said instilled in him the zeal to always make a difference, Mahmood, a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), former Vice President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN) and founding member of the Conference of Motion Picture Practitioners of Nigeria (CMPPN) was raised in the north where he also had his early education.

A dramatic arts major with specialization in film and television production from the University of Ife, Mahmood worked briefly at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) before moving on to set up Brickwall Communications, an outfit that has produced commercials, documentaries and films for some A-list corporate organizations. Director of the Mnet short film A Place Called Home and a resource person to a number of training institution within and outside Nigeria, Mahmood who is regular at some of the worlds prestigious international film festivals is reputed to be a pro-active participant in the Nigerian motion picture industry.

To say that he is actively involved in getting the Nigerian motion picture industry professionally organized is to be stating the obvious. Mahmood who produced a Yoruba home movie Temi ni Toto in the 90’s and has just wrapped up shoot on a big budget celluloid film ‘Tango with Me’ is roundly celebrated for exuding a reputation that is anchored on unparalleled professionalism.

Kenneth Gyang is a young filmmaker in Nigeria and was born in Barkin Ladi of Plateau State, Nigeria. He studied Film Production at the National Film Institute in Jos and screenwriting at Gaston Kaboré's IMAGINE in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Two of his short films as well as a script titled "Game of Life" were selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus 2006 and "Mummy Lagos" was well received as an official competition entry. "Mummy Lagos" was also selected for the Sithengi Talent Campus as part of the Cape Town World Cinema Festival in South Africa.

Tunde Kelani (born February 26, 1948) popularly known as TK is a Nigerian filmmaker, storyteller, director, photographer, cinematographer and producer. In a career spanning more than four decades, TK specializes in producing movies that promote Nigeria's rich cultural heritage and have a root in documentation, archiving, education, entertainment and promotion of the culture.

He is also known for his love of adaptation of literary material into movies as most of his works have followed that style of filmmaking including Ko se Gbe, Oleku, Thunder Bolt, The Narrow Path, White handkerchief, Maami and Dazzling Mirage.

At an early age, he was sent to Abeokuta to live with his grandparents. The rich Yoruba culture and tradition he experienced in his early years, coupled with the experience he garnered at the London Film School where he studied the art of filmmaking, prepared him for what he is doing today.