Gone are the days when African cinemas were defined by the success of male producers, directors and actors. The soon-to-expire decade (2010-2019) has witnessed the rise of female-driven filmmakers signaling a renaissance period in both Nollywood and Gollywood that have caused films and television shows based on the African narrative to attain global audience, regardless the platforms’ geography.
Speeding-up to usher in a new decade, we round-up the top 10 female filmmakers dominating box office and streaming platforms.
Genevieve Nnaji
Growing tired of Nollywood scripts that no longer project stories of her interest, Genevieve Nnaji produced her first movie ‘Road to Yesterday’ in 2015. The film, which was tagged as her comeback on the big screen, won the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for best film West Africa, the following year (2016). Following up on the success story of her debut film, Genevieve’s second movie ‘Lionheart’ became a Netflix interest, and as a result was bought by the streaming platform in 2019. ‘Lionheart’ also doubles as the first Nigerian submission for the Oscars. It was later disqualified for having many dialogues in English.
Shirley Frimpong-Manso
For many actors in Africa, a chance to star in a Shirley Frimpong-Manso produced/directed film is a high rank achievement to their resume. Her fame has existed even long before male directors became cinemas favorites. In 2010, she became the first Ghanaian director to win an Africa Movie Academy Award with the ‘Perfect Picture’. Fast forward to 2014, she reprised her first-ever title, by winning the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for best director, making her the first female in Africa and director from Ghana to win the accolade. She is back in cinemas with a sequel of her award-winning movie titled ‘The Perfect Picture, 10 Years Later’.
Funke Akindele Bello
After winning the Africa Movie Academy Award for best actress in 2009, Funke Akindele Bello made it a mark to cement her iconic status in Africa for the still-going decade to benefit from. Her famous character from the self-executive produced sitcom ‘Jenifa’s Diary’ has become a just for laughs and education go-to soap opera for many that have been following it since its first premiere in 2014. Funke made her debut into directing with the recently premiered film ‘Your Excellency’. She is the CEO/Founder of Scene One Film Productions, a banner which sticks to the African culture with their told stories.
Yvonne Nelson
After suffering a one-year ban from Gollywood productions in 2011, Yvonne Nelson restored her A-lister status on the big screen, by taking a big step outside her comfort zone as a regular lead actress in films to becoming one of the legit movie producers of the decade. She has by far produced seven movies and one television series, of which all have crashed cinemas records. She holds under her belt as the actress with the most Ghana Movie Awards wins ever (4), since its first ceremony was held in 2010.
Omoni Oboli
The executive producer of ‘Moms at War’ for a long time served the purpose of multi-tasking in Nollywood. She serves as an actress, a producer and director at the same time on film sets that have gone far in making Nollywood what it is today. In the wake of high piracy in Nollywood, she has in the course of the decade remained one of the most successful filmmakers in Africa. Her colleague male actors even attest to her remarkable achievements, by unofficially tagging her ‘GOAT’ in Nollywood.
Mo Abudu
She is described by Forbes as ‘Africa’s Most Successful Woman’ in 2013. Mo Abudu has done it over and over again by taking the main stream by storm under her Ebony Life TV banner. Recognizing her immense contribution towards television and film, she was featured among the Hollywood Reporter’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Global TV in 2013. In 2014, she received the Entrepreneur of the year award by Women Werk in New York and again honored with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Babcock University. Her executive produced film ‘The Wedding Party’ still stands as the highest-grossing title of all time in Nollywood.
Yvonne Okoro
She continues her reign as the Glitz Africa Style Icon of the Year (2019). Yvonne cemented her ‘Gollywood sweetheart’ status by making history for Ghana at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards. She won the overall best film Africa with her first ever ep film ‘Contract’. Her second production ‘Ghana Must Go’ was amongst the highest nominated films at the AMVCA in 2017, receiving 6 mentions. She currently doubles as a cooking show hostess on her self-sponsored show ‘Dinning with Cooks and Braggarts’.
Stephanie Okereke
Stephanie’s response to the mistreatment young girls forced into marriage at an early age face was well received by filmmakers and critics with the movie ‘Dry’. The film that tackled one of the biggest social issues hitting Nigeria negatively was crowned the overall best film in 2016 at the AMVCA and also won the Nigerian film of the year at the Africa Movie Academy Awards the same year. This on record is an achievement yet-to-be accomplished by ace filmmakers in the industry within a year.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
On top of the list of actors yet to add the profile ‘executive producer’ to their resume is Omotola Jalade Ekeinde. Despite her delay in coming up with her self-produced movie, Omotola year-after-after adds more enviable subjects to her bragging rights. Not detailing in a ranking order, she is a voting member of the Academy (a body of people that determines who wins an Oscar), honored in Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People in the World (2013) and a recent honor by Igbinedion University Okada as Dr Mrs Omotola Jalade Ekeinde MFR. She is undeniably a world treasure.
Emem Isong
Most actors in Africa owe their world domination figure to Emem Isong. Movies that still burst the thirst for more creative works such as ‘Games Men Play’ and ‘Games Women Play’ were done by the handwritten magic of Isong. At the start of the decade to present, she has become a reference, when talking about producers that launched Nollywood to the outside market. She currently runs the Royal Arts Academy, a film aimed at producing the next generation of powerful filmmakers in the world.
