THE WOMEN KINGS OF NOLLYWOOD - A feature of Ten top female Directors

Since its inception, Nollywood has grown exponentially and become globally recognised. Women, however, have contributed tremendously to its growth. As Producers and filmmakers, they have made significant contributions to building the industry as a burgeoning entertainment industry.

But, a few have gone further to stand out as screenwriters and directors of note. They decided to venture into directing and screenwriting and armed themselves with suitable academic qualifications. Their passion and efforts have helped define and reshape the industry. They have even become branded personalities that audiences look out for. These Amazons definitely bestride the terrains like true colossi. Meet the Women Kings of Nollywood.

                                                                      Amaka Igwe 

Considered the first female writer-director responsible for early blockbuster hits Rattlesnake and Violated, Amaka Igwe is a pioneer of the Home Video Industry that morphed into Nollywood. Before Nollywood, she also authored TV soap operas like Fuji House of Commotion, Solitaire and Checkmate. She remained a prominent figure in the industry until her sudden death in 2014

                                               Patience Oghre 

Pat Oghre is definitely a veteran director. After a brief stint as an actress in the mid-1990s, the University of Jos Theatre Arts graduate decided to make a career in directing and went under the tutelage of a famous TV producer, Zeb Ejiro. Her directorial debut is Broad Street and from there went on a spree of TV series, such as Dear Mother and Everyday People and films that include Dominos, Spider and Household.

                                            Tope Oshin

Tope Oshin is listed as one of Nigeria's Influential women in films, and there is no doubt about that when one looks through her catalogue of Hit movies, multiple acclaimed TV series, short films and a few feature documentaries.
Her first directorial venture started in 2008 when she directed the Tinsel, an M-Net drama series created by ex-husband Yinka Oguns. She stayed on as the principal director of the soap for five years while dipping her hands in other projects either as a producer, director or casting director. Her first feature-length movie was Journey to Self in 2015, and to date, she has directed six features and five shorts, 13 TV series, including two seasons of SHUGA, and two documentaries.

                                       Mildred Okwo

An award-winning director, Okwo's directorial debut was 30 Days which scooped ten AMAA nominations in 2008. In 2012, she directed a romantic comedy, The Meeting starring Rita Dominic, Femi Jacobs and Linda Ejiofor. Followed up with Suru Lere in 2016 and Le femme Anjola in 2019.

Chinazo Anyaene

Chinazo co-wrote, co-produced and directed, Ije: The Journey, a feature-length movie starring Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade, released in 2010. A New York film academy graduate, Anyaene also constituted and chairs the Nigerian Oscar Select Committee NOSC. 

                                          Michelle Bello 

A British Nigerian Film director and Producer, Bello directed the 2013 romantic comedy Flower Girl starring Damilola Adegbite and Chris Attoh. Before that, she produced and also directed her first feature, Small Boy, in 2007. It earned her two AMAA nominations. Prior to all these, she had tried her hands at a series of  Shorts films while studying Visual Media. Her first 16mm feature Short is titled Sheltered. 

                                               Biodun Stephen

Stephen always wanted to be in front of the camera as an actress, but she just never won an audition and decided to go behind the camera. After her first directorial debut - The Visit, in 2013, the London Film School graduate decided to stay there writing, producing and directing. 

She has since established herself as a family and romantic filmmaker with over 20 movies that, include Picture Perfect, Progressive Tailors Club, and Breaded Life, a rom-com movie that charted globally on Netflix.

                           Blessing Egbe

  

Blessing showed good artistic and dramatic expression and brilliant character development when she penned Two Brides and Baby, directed by Teco Benson, in 2011. Following that, she wrote, directed and produced the 2013 series Lekki Wives; it was an instant success and revealed Egbe's craftsmanship to the industry. 

Her first feature directorial, I Quos Journal, an emotional drama starring Kate Henshaw and Femi Jacobs, was released in 2015. She has nine other credits, including One Bad Turn and The Women, streaming on PrimeVideo, and she is a 2022 member of the Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee

                           Kemi Adetiba 

Kemi needs no introduction; just mention Wedding Party, the highest-grossing movie for 2016 or King of Boys and its sequel. 

Before these movie outings and successes, Adetiba, a law graduate from a broadcasting family, was an award-winning music video director and a prime-time TV host.

                                     Omoni Oboli

 

A seasoned actress since the mid-90s, Oboli widened her scope in the make-believe world when she decided to go behind the cameras to direct Being Miss Elliot, a movie she also produced and starred in alongside Majid Michael in 2014. 

She has become relevantly irresistible and dynamic as an actress and producer and as a director of five films: Love is War, Wives ON Strike 1&2, Okafor's Law and Moms at War to her credit.

                                Remi Vaughan Richards 

  

A versatile filmmaker, Vaughan Richards wrote, produced and directed Faaji Agba, a documentary on the history of the Lagos Music scene. She also worked on two Hollywood features; Judd Dred, starring Sylvester Stallone, and Stanley Kubrick's Eye Wide Shut.

These remarkable feats (and other fast-rising contenders, too) are celebrated and seen as a beacon of encouragement to others striving to achieve the same and more.

The world watches keenly and with admiration for the Women Kings of Nollywood. 

 - Jimi D Baldheaded Guy