In this post, we look at the Top 10 Nollywood Directors in Nigeria. These are guys who make it big in the Nigerian movie industry.
Nollywood, in recent time, has remained on the spot light, as the Nigerian movie industry, with respect to its product, which had received international praises.
However, the entertainment industry in Nigeria has gone a long way in the nation’s movie production, and has made exceptional success, all because of some fresh energy that the renowned filmmakers, as explained in this article have brought into the the industry.
1. Dolapo Lola Adeleke (LowlaDee)
Dolapo Lola Adeleke, also known as LowlaDee, is a filmmaker who is now building a name for herself in the Nigerian entertainment industry. She is in her late 20s, or around 28 years old.
Although LowlaDee studied mass communications at Covenant University, her filmmaking career officially began in 2011 when she completed her degree program there and registered her production firm, LowlaDee Productions Africa.
The well-known film director, writer, editor, producer, and editor shared her passion for filmmaking amid a difficult time following a vehicle accident when she was a teenager in an interview with Bella Naija.
2. Jadesola Osiberu.
One of the top ten Nollywood directors in Nigeria is Jadesola Osiberu, who is also well-known for her work as a writer, producer, and director of Isoken, the third-highest earning Nigerian movie of 2017.
Jadesola Osiberu’s highly regarded television series “Gidi Up,” “Rumor Has It,” and “The Juice,” which she created for Ndani television, an online entertainment platform whose goals were to celebrate and also showcase the majority of the African art, African fashion, African film, African business, African sports, and African lifestyle that were considered, were some of the works in her directorial portfolio.
Although she majored in Computer and Systems Engineering at the University of Manchester, she believed that her true interest was filmmaking.
3. Biyi Bandele.
Another top 10 Nollywood director from Nigeria, Biyi Bandele is living in the UK. He is also a playwright, novelist, and filmmaker.
This famous filmmaker was a writer who had won his first short story contest when he was only 14 years old. Born in 1967, he spent his formative years in the city of Kaduna before moving away at the age of 18.
After moving to Lagos, he enrolled in the theater program at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, where he studied for two years before winning the international student play script contest with his play, “The Rain.”
These manuscripts were released in 1990 when Biyi traveled to London with his two original novel manuscripts. The Royal Court Theatre subsequently ordered the manuscripts once they were published.
4. Ishaya Bako.
Ishaya Bako, who was born in 1986, is one of Nigeria’s top film directors and a talented screenwriter.
In order to attend the London Film School, he had to fly to London in 2008. Ishaya had previously earned a degree in management information systems from Covenant University.
His genuine enthusiasm for filmmaking did not begin to take hold until his third year of college. After a year, the director had a close call while traveling from River State to his home in Kaduna.
Ishaya began what I guess you could call soul-searching during this incident-filled year, allowing his thoughts to blend with what he wanted to accomplish with the rest of his life, and ultimately came to the conclusion that filmmaking is what he is passionate about.
5. Tope Oshin.
Another of the top Nollywood directors in the nation is Tope Oshin. Although Tope Oshin now works as a television and film director, producer, casting director, and economics student at the University of Ilorin, she first majored in economics there before leaving to attend Lagos State University, where she went on to earn a degree in theater arts and television and film production.
She had made the decision to pursue her love of filmmaking after graduating. She had also continued her education, majoring in film directing at Colorado Film School of the Community College of Aurora, Denver.
6. Kunle Afolayan.
One of the top 10 Nollywood directors in Nigeria is Kunle Afolayan. He works as an actor, producer, and director. College economics major Kunle Afolayan then worked for one of the nation’s banks before enrolling at the New York Film Academy.
The New York Times then referred him Kunle Afolayan as “The Scorsese of Lagos.” He belonged to a group of rising talents in the business who had really teamed up with the younger generation of Nigerian filmmakers to transform Nigerian Nollywood into the more established sector it is today.
7. Newton Aduaka.
This well-known director, who was born in 1966, has been instrumental in ensuring that the Nigerian entertainment sector is marketed both locally and globally.
In the past, Newton Aduaka studied engineering in England. The budding director eventually decided to go to the London International Film School to pursue a degree in video arts.
Newton established his own production facility, Granite FilmWorks, and has produced a number of short films.
8. Jeta Amata.
A top-tier Nollywood director by the name of Jeta Amata, “Black November” takes on geopolitics and politics head-on.
However, the film’s title made a reference to the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a well-known environmental activist who organized a nationwide campaign of protest against then-dominant multinational oil companies.
His had genuinely tackled those dark periods of history, which were characterized by Western exploitation of the country’s abundant oil wealth and official corruption seen in Nigeria.
9. Zina Saro-Wiwa.
Another outstanding film director Nigeria has produced is Zina Saro-Wiwa. She is a filmmaker as well as a multimedia installation artist.
She had previously worked as a journalist for the BBC. Although she was raised in the UK with her identical twin sister Noo Saro-Wiwa, who wrote “Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria,” Zina Sari Wiwa was born here in the nation.
Her film had to zoom into Nigeria’s celebrity culture as well as the high society via the nation’s popular culture magazine, known as Ovation. She had taken her own cue from the United Kingdom’s “Hello!” Magazine.
10. Tope Oshin
Another of the top Nollywood directors in the nation is Tope Oshin. Although Tope Oshin now works as a television and film director, producer, casting director, and economics student at the University of Ilorin, she first majored in economics there before leaving to attend Lagos State University, where she went on to earn a degree in theater arts and television and film production.
She had made the decision to pursue her love of filmmaking after graduating. She had also continued her education, majoring in film directing at Colorado Film School of the Community College of Aurora, Denver.