The Rise of African Film: 10 African Producers To Watch
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The Rise of African Film: 10 African Producers To Watch
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By Fiona Muthio Muithi, Research Associate, Botho Emerging Markets Group
August 12, 2020
The new generation of African filmmakers is not shying away from drawing on Africa’s rich cultural heritage while telling contemporary stories and leveraging new filmmaking techniques. With an increase in streaming platforms on the African continent and major global film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, committing to larger displays of representation, the opportunities for African filmmakers to make a name for themselves in the industry are numerous.
Here are ten African film producers who you should know:
WANURI KAHIU (KENYA)
Wanuri Kahiu is a Kenyan film director, producer, and author. She has received several awards and nominations, including awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009 for her dramatic feature film, From a Whisper. Kahiu is also the co-founder of AFROBUBBLEGUM, a media collective dedicated to supporting African art. What sets Wanuri apart in the industry is her bravery in tackling topics like homosexuality, which are often controversial. Her 2018 film, Rafiki, tells the story of two Kenyan girls who fall in love and struggle to navigate their feelings in a homophobic society. The Kenya Film Classification Board initially banned the film upon initial release until a judge temporarily lifted it. Despite the controversy, her big bet paid off: Rafiki was the first Kenyan film to screen at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, In August, Kahiu signed a deal with Disney+ to adapt the popular Broadway musical “Once on This Island.
MO ABUDU (NIGERIA)
Among Nollywood fans Nollywood movies, then this Mosunmola ‘Mo” Abudu is a household name. Described by Forbes as one of Africa's most successful women and by CNN as the ‘African Oprah,’ Abudu is the founder of EbonyLife TV, a talk show host, a filmmaker, and a human resource consultant. EbonyLife is a fast-growing black entertainment lifestyle and network-available in 48 African countries-. Beyond her television ventures, Abudu has also executive produced various shows and films, including Fifty, Nigeria’s highest-grossing drama, and number 1 film of 2015. It was also the only Nigerian film selected to screen at the BFI London Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix in 2015. Other popular films billing Abudu’s name in the credits include The Governor, a story about Nigeria’s first female state governor, and Desperate Housewives of Africa, based on Disney’s Original Series. Abudu also produced The Wedding Party 1&2, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. It was acquired by Netflix in 2017 and was the highest-grossing title of all time at the Nigerian box office. Abudu is a highly sought expert on the African and global cultural and creative industries.
AMJAD ABU ALALA (SUDAN)
Sudan’s film industry came to a crashing halt in 1989 when cinema doors were closed for thirty years, after which many filmmakers went underground. Today, things are opening up. The country’s film industry is amid a retrieval thanks to young filmmakers like Amjad Abu Alala, whose latest film You Will Die at 20 debuted in 2019. The film, set in contemporary Sudan, centers around a young man, Muzamil, raised to believe he will die at age 20 after a prophecy. Muzamil goes on to work with a shopkeeper, who encourages him to go against the town’s beliefs and traditions to save his life. The film, executed using Sudanese talent, resources, and production facilities, went on to win several awards at Tunisia’s Carthage, Egypt’s El Gouna, and the Venice Film Festival.
DAVID ‘TOSH’ GITONGA (KENYA)
David Tosh Gitonga, popularly known as Tosh, studied at the Kenya Institute of Marketing, where he graduated in 2003 with a Diploma in Marketing. During his studies, he interned at local production company Baraka Films. This job soon launched his entry into the film industry. While at Baraka, he worked on his first feature film, Dangerous Affair, in 2002 as a production assistant. Tosh continued to work on other films as an assistant director: Afrika, Mon Amour (2006); Malooned (2007), Garden of Eden (2007), and The First Grader (2009). In 2012, he directed his first feature film Nairobi Half-Life, about a young man and his adventures in the big city pursuing his dreams of becoming an actor. The film was Kenya’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards.
BLITZ BAZAWULE (GHANA)
Popularly known by his stage name, Blitz the Ambassador, is a famous Ghanaian hip-hop artist who debuted in the film industry with his 2018 film, The Burial of Kojo. Hollywood producer Ava Duvernay later acquired the movie for distribution across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The film opens with a girl named Esi reflecting upon her father, Kojo, and follows her journey as she tries to rescue him from an abandoned mineshaft. The Burial of Kojo premiered at Urbanwood festival, where it won Best Narrative Feature (World Cinema) and won the Grand Prize at the 2019 Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt. Bazawule is also the founder of the Africa Film Society, an organization dedicated to the preservation and distribution of classic African cinema. The acquisition of his film, Burial of Kojo by Ava Duvernay thrust him into the spotlight and allowed him to be one of the eight directors on Beyonce’s August 2020 album, Black is King.
RAMAPHAKELA SIBLINGS (SOUTH AFRICA)
Brother and sister filmmaking trio, Katleho, Tshepo, and Rethabile Ramaphakela are the proud owners of Burnt Onion Productions and producers of popular South African sitcom, My Perfect Family. Their most recent film, Seriously Single, aired globally on Netflix in July 2019 and is one of the most-watched movies on Netflix Africa. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, Seriously Single tells the story of a young lady, who after two failed relationships, embarks on a journey to self-discovery with her best friend and their adventures navigating the modern-day dating world.
SHIRLEY FRIMPONG-MANSO (GHANA)
Shirley Frimpong-Manso is a Ghanaian film director, writer, producer, and founder of Sparrow Productions, a film, television, and advertising production company. Her films are known for their fierce African female leads with lives. Her most recent and popular film, The Perfect Picture 10 Years Later, is a sequel to the original movie, The Perfect Picture, about three women pushing their thirties and making bold attempts to change their lives. Now, in the sequel, the ladies are back, this time heading to their forties, and even though they are older and wiser, they realize that they are saddled with more issues including their not so fairy-tale relationships. The film is among the most-watched movies in Ghana and recently began streaming on Netflix.
PHILIPPE LACÔTE (CÔTE D’IVOIRE)
According to Lacôte, his love for the creative industry is closely linked to the movie theatre ‘Le Magic’ in Abidjan, close to his childhood home. His first short films, The Messenger and Affaire Libinski won awards at the 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam. He has also produced documentaries such as Cairo Hours, Chronicles of War in the Ivory Coast, and his first feature film Run, which won the Jerusalem Film Lab Award and was presented at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
OUSMANE SAMASSEKOU (MALI)
In his most recent film, The World Around Me, Samassekou explores the problem of fake news in Mali, where a large part of the population does not believe that coronavirus exists. His film is part of a mini-series project by International Media Support, produced by five coronavirus-focused films from the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger). In recent years, Samassekou has transitioned from short films to documentaries. His current 2019 documentary, The Witnesses from the Shadows, highlights various immigration challenges that Mali faces.
GENEVIEVE NNAJI (NIGERIA)
Genevieve Nnaji is a popular Nigerian actress, producer, and director. She has won several awards, including the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005. She was honored in 2011 as a member of the Order of the Federal Republic by the Nigerian government for her contributions to Nollywood. Her directorial debut movie, Lionheart, was the first Netflix Original from Nigeria and the first Nigerian submission for the Oscars, despite later being disqualified for a primarily English-language dialogue.
To read more about trends in Africa’s film industry shaping the future of these filmmakers and other industry stakeholders, explore Botho’s latest brief on the cultural and creative industries in Africa.