After 8 years in development, Damilola Orimogunje’s “Dear Ajayi” Kicks Off Filming in Ibadan

Dear Ajayi,  Damilola Orimogunje’s second directorial work, has started principal photography in Ibadan.  After eight years of nurturing the script through an international development pipeline in Africa, Europe and North America, filming has officially commenced on Dear Ajayi, the much-anticipated second feature from award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Orimogunje.

Dear Ajayi unfolds in the late 1990s in Southwestern Nigeria, tracing the fragile reunion of two sisters brought back under one roof by the death of their father and their mother’s sudden illness. With tender restraint and emotional clarity, Dear Ajayi is offering a meditative look at grief, womanhood, and the unseen labour that binds and breaks Nigerian families. Orimogunje, whose directorial debut, For Maria Ebun Pataki, earned global acclaim for its harrowing depiction of postpartum depression, returns with an even more expansive meditation on silence, sacrifice, and the invisible labour often borne by Nigerian women.

In addition to his directorial credits, Orimogunje also served as producer on Babatunde Apalowo’s All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White, which premiered at Berlinale 2023 and won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film.

“This is a film about what is left unsaid,” says Orimogunje. “About women who stand on opposite sides of belief and freedom, yet are bound by blood, silence, and duty. I’ve lived with this story for years, and it’s time to let it speak.”

Dear Ajayi is being co-produced by Orimogunje and Bose Oshin (Eyimofe, Nigerian Prince) under the banner of 2o9ine Films in co-production with Depth and Optics Productions. With visuals led by acclaimed cinematographer K.C. Obiajulu (Over The Bridge, Rehearshal), the film features an impressive lineup of actors, including Bimbo Akintola, Tosin Adeyemi, William Benson, Uzoamaka Power, Lanre Hassan, Michelle Dede, Antar Laniyan, Tope Tedela, Chioma Omeruah, Baaj Adebule, Iya Rainbow, and Kalu Ikeagwu.

The film is slated for release in 2026.