Filmmakers like Funke Akindele, Kunle Afolayan, Biodun Stephen, Kemi Adetiba and Jadesola Osiberu have become household names, as they easily get their accolades for contributions to the Nigerian film industry. But the industry remains a vast arena that accommodates more people that are enthusiastic about the business of filmmaking, including so-called independent (indie) filmmakers famed for their anti-mainstream operations. Independent filmmaking describes the world of fast-growing and non-conforming filmmakers who test the waters and explore unique, budget-friendly cinematic routes.
Unlike in mainstream Nollywood, Nigerian indie filmmakers are defined by their ability to take full charge of their projects, often relying on collaborations built on strong relationships with colleagues of similar stature in the industry to pilot their unconventional strategies. It must be noted, however, that some indie filmmakers straddle both worlds of mainstream cinema and independent filmmaking, working in different departments on the sets of established filmmakers while also pursuing their own artistic freedom with film projects and promotions.
This list contains five such Nigerian indie filmmakers that are making wild moves and setting new boundaries in their own ways.
Heavens Obule
Based in Lagos, Heavens Obule is an actor, producer, casting director and the CEO of Take One Production Concepts. Heavens developed interest for acting in his third year in the university in 2016. His professional acting career started during youth service in 2018. He began attending auditions and got featured in a number of shorts, feature-length films and series, including mainstream projects like Skinny Girl In Transit and MTV Shuga. In 2020, Heavens nursed the idea of making his own films which would feature a number of friends that were actors. Spurred by passion, the filmmaker attended several production programs, including the three-month EbonyLife Creative Academy program. In 2021, he founded his own production company, Take One Production Concepts, which is responsible for the promotion of short films through the event, Night of Shorts. On Night of Shorts, Heavens provides indie filmmakers like himself the platform to have their shorts screened and opportunity for networking. In 2021, together with his team, he made a low-budget feature-length film, Clout, with 150,000 naira. His short film, Ihunanya’m, which recently won three prizes at The Film Joint Awards, premiered on October 7, 2023 at EbonyLife Place.
Adekunle Blue
Adekunle’s film journey dates back to her days in the University of Lagos where she majored in Creative Arts after which she took a lot of masterclasses in filmmaking, including a film study program in Art direction at EbonyLife Creative Academy. Starting out professionally as a visual artist and art director, she got the opportunity to direct commercials for brands such as Airtel, Spotify, Heirs Insurance, Mr Chef and GTB, among others. Adekunle’s expertise has gained her some relevance in mainstream cinema, enabling her to work in the Art and Production Design department of Nollywood projects like La Femme Anjola, Love Language, Blood Sisters and Elesin Oba, The King’s Horseman. She was the 1st Assistant Director in Brotherhood and Shuttlers. Yet her desire for more creative control has pushed her into being a director as an independent filmmaker. Her directorial debut, Man and Masquerades, won the award for Best Student Short Film at the 2023 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF).
Adenrele Owen Olowu
Adenrele Owen Olowu took interest in photography as a child after his father bought him a digital camera with which he started taking shots. He grew up watching the likes of James Cameron and Steven Spielberg, both of whom inspired him. After graduating from the university with a degree in Mass Communication, his interest in filmmaking was piqued as he created a service year documentary during his NYSC program. The documentary was made into CDs which he sold. He proceeded to study film in the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles in 2015 and returned to Nigeria a year after. In 2016, he submitted a short film Michael that was selected for screening at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). Since then, he has been involved in filmmaking of all sorts—documentaries, commercials, shorts. In 2022, he shot and directed Songs of Ubong, a monochromatic short musical starring Wale Ojo and Rhoda Morakinyo, which won The Grand Cheese Prize for best film at The Annual Film Mischief. He directed Traffick Me, a short film about identity, which was screened at The Annual Film Mischief in 2023 and earned him the Best Director prize at the 2024 The Film Joint inaugural awards ceremony.
Nneoha Ann Aligwe
Nneoha Ann Aligwe, an alumnus of Del-York Creative Academy and EbonyLife Creative Academy, curated Africa International Horror Film Festival in 2021, an annual initiative for celebration of African filmmakers in the horror film genre. A lawyer, screenwriter and film director, Ann ventured into filmmaking in 2019 after her Youth Service. Her documentary Born Different sheds light on neurofibromatosis, a medical condition which affects the nervous system and causes growth of tumors on the skin. The film captures the story of a sufferer, Grace Okhimhe, who was faced with social stigma. Ann’s creative journey also covers years of experience in blog writing, article writing and literary expression. A testament of her literary expertise is her prize-winning drama, Secrets, which won the drama category for the 2017 Okike Prize for Literature.
John Chizoba Vincent
John Chizoba Vincent, also known as JC Vincent, is a Lagos-based poet, cinematographer, screenwriter, producer and director. He hails from Nkporo, Abia State, and is a graduate of Mass Communication from Lagos State Polytechnic. Between 2017 and 2019, he received nominations from EGC magazine as one of the Nigeria-based poets to watch out for. BN Magazine also recognized him as one of their Top Ten Poets in 2018. He is a five-time Black Pride Magazine top ten indie filmmakers to watch out from in Nigeria and has been twice identified by Profiling-NG as part of the top ten cinematographers making an impact among the youth with his YouTube docu-series, Lives & Personalities. His short documentary about the Biafran War, co-directed by David Odaise, was screened at the 2022 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). In 2021, his short film Distraction, co-directed by Olams, made the shortlist for a film festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He wrote and directed eight episodes of Haunting Realities currently available on his YouTube page, The Philm Republic. He also wrote and directed Resident 38, A Quiet Storm, Cold Language of Door, Between Dreams, Touch My Pain, and Happiness Does Not Live Here. He has written a number of scripts for other directors, such as When Love Hurts and Love Can Be Weird.