My Life In Nollywood: Nora Awolowo

Every week, The Culture Custodian grants you an all-access backstage pass into the lives of Nollywood rock stars. You get to learn about their fascinating backgrounds, the behind-the-scenes stories, and more. This episode features cinematographer, producer and director, Nora Awolowo.

When Nora Awolowo joins the late-evening Google Meet call, she is only just settling down to rest after a long, demanding day. After a brief, polite exchange, she begins to unpack different moments from her career as a filmmaker. Her tone stays warm and conversational throughout the hour-long reflection. Over the past few years, she has cemented her place as a leading contemporary female cinematographer in the Nigerian film industry, and she recently ventured into film production with Red Circle, a crime thriller written by Abdul Tijani and directed by Akay Mason, that enjoyed a robust marketing campaign and made significant impact in cinemas this year.

Growing up in Alimosho, Lagos, Awolowo once imagined a future in banking, ensnared by what she saw as the poise and dignity with which bankers carried themselves. She had her junior secondary education at D’ Unique School, while her senior high school years were a little unstable as she switched schools a few times, either because her family relocated or because she had to stay with some relatives. Her parents thought she would end up in the sciences, largely because of how she seemed to like fixing things, but she eventually chose the commercial path, imagining herself working at any of the so-called Big Four—PwC, KPMG, EY or Deloitte. This led to her pursuing an Accounting degree at Ekiti State University.

But university became a turning point. Awolowo grew bored with the way her lecturers taught and, unlike her peers, became disinclined towards taking further professional courses. She also got discouraged by the salaries attached to job listings, eventually realising that the profession could not guarantee the kind of financial and creative freedom she desired. When the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike began, she took interest in photography, which soon snowballed into cinematography and ended in her involvement in Nollywood. Her filmography, as cinematographer, producer or director, includes shorts such as Small Bant (2020) Dear Men (2022), What Are You Truly Afraid Of? (2024), features like The Order of Things (2022), 1K (2024), and Lisabi: The Uprising (2022), and several documentaries.

This interview with Nora Awolowo has been revised for clarity.

You studied Accounting at Ekiti State University, yet today you’re a filmmaker with credits as a cinematographer, director, producer, and editor. How did that transition really happen?

I have talked about this a lot, but the real story is very simple. During a long ASUU strike, I had a friend I met online, and we kept asking ourselves how to make the most of the break. At the time, I loved architecture. I was fascinated by shapes and lines, and that curiosity made me want to see how composition looked through a camera. I started taking pictures with my phone and posted them consistently. Someone eventually paid me for a job. I saved my first three months of salary and bought my first camera. I enjoyed photography for a while, but later got bored. That was when I started learning cinematography. I shot brand videos, documentaries, and corporate jobs. One day, I thought about the kind of work that lasts. I felt films last longer than brand videos. That was what pushed me towards Nollywood. I began behind the scenes, then moved to camera operation, and then became a director of photography. After a while, I moved into the production side because I wanted to challenge myself again. That’s how the journey evolved.

Was there a single project that brought you into the spotlight or made the industry notice you?

Not really. For me, it wasn’t one big project. It has always been a gradual journey. I worked on documentaries, different small jobs here and there. Over time, everything added up. I can’t point to one project and say it changed everything.

Are there childhood memories that now make sense when you look at the creative person you’ve become?

Yes, quite a lot. My aunt, who took care of us because my mum was always busy with her business, loved TV so much. She never wanted to miss her shows. She would quickly prepare eba and stay glued to the screen. That was a big part of our daily routine. My dad also documented everything. Birthdays, school events, random moments. We had so many photo albums in the house. Even today, he still brings out old pictures on the family group chat. I think that made me appreciate documentation from an early age. He gave me my first camera, a small point-and-shoot that used normal batteries. I took it on trips, even though I didn’t see it as anything serious at the time. We watched a lot of Yoruba films back then. We used to rent cassette tapes. One day, a Yoruba film was being shot on our street, and we were all so excited. Seeing actors in person felt very special. Looking back, all those experiences showed me that storytelling and images were always around me. I just didn’t realise it early enough.

What inspired you to establish Rixel Studios?

We registered the company in 2019, but I do not really see that as the beginning. I remember filling out the registration while I was graduating from university. Even before graduation, I was already filming. I was doing behind-the-scenes work for commercials and earning a decent amount each month. At the agency where I worked, Zero Degrees, I told the producer that I wanted to move beyond BTS work and start taking on bigger ideas. She gave me advice that changed everything. She explained that no one would trust me with major projects if I kept receiving payments in my personal account. She taught me how companies onboard vendors and why structure matters. She encouraged me to open a company account and even introduced me to her account manager and the person who eventually registered my company. She no longer works there and now lives in Canada, but she has no idea how much her guidance shaped my life. After that, I started talking differently in meetings. I stopped sounding like a one-man show. Instead of saying “me,” I started saying “my team.” I started carrying myself like someone running a structure, not a hustle.

It’s now six years since you registered the company. It’s no longer a nominal operation. It’s a full-fledged brand, and you recently produced your first feature film, Red Circle. What would you say the vision of Rixel Studios is now? Has it matured into something more defined?

Yes, definitely. We have expanded into so many things. We are a full production company that executes audio and visual storytelling across different forms. We work on documentaries and work with brands. We have commissioned short films, including one for a South African company, earlier this year. We have worked with Guinness across four countries and with Showmax. We also decided to go into fiction and create our own slate of films under the company. We are going into other areas that will be announced in the coming years. As ideas come, we expand. We want to make films, yes, but we also want to solve immediate problems within the filmmaking ecosystem. Being in the system makes you aware of what filmmakers need: logistics, accommodation, servicing, and structure.

How would you describe the current structure of your company, considering the roles your team plays?

The company runs with a small in-house core team and brings in additional crew per project. The core team includes a long-term legal team, an accountant, an in-house producer, a regular writer (Abdul), and a post-production lead. Heads of departments hire project-specific crew like costumiers as needed. For now, core roles focus on producing and accounting, but the company plans to expand by adding an operations person and setting up a physical space with sound stages for filmmakers.

You, Abdul Tijani, and Akay Mason spearheaded Red Circle. It became a major milestone in Nollywood this year. One of the most impressive parts of the whole process was the marketing. For months, the film was everywhere. And then during the cinema run, there were conversations about certain cinemas possibly sabotaging the film. I am curious about your reflections. What would you say were the key lessons from the entire journey, from marketing to distribution?

When I look back now, maybe the only major thing I would have done differently was the release window. The period we chose was too crowded, with many Nollywood and Hollywood films competing for the same audience. We also had technical problems. At Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja, a power outage ruined our screening. Some people left, others waited, and the whole situation was chaotic. My actor Folu Storms and I even paid for a bus to move people to another cinema so they could have a better experience, only for the power to return just as we were leaving. Out of almost a hundred people, only a handful stayed back. Moments like that remind you how difficult cinema-going can be in Nigeria, especially for smaller filmmakers. These experiences made me rethink everything. I now pay more attention to release calendars, and I avoid periods when big films will dominate the box office. I have also learned to study my audience more closely because Ibadan and Lekki, for example, had completely different types of viewers. I have realised that online conversations do not translate to actual cinema attendance. The people who make the most noise on social media are often the ones who never show up. All of this has shaped how I plan my next film. I understand the landscape better now, and my approach will definitely be different.

So, for a moment, looking at the whole marketing and even the production side of Red Circle, I know a lot must have gone into it financially. Can you give me an estimate of what the budget for the production was?

I honestly wish this question were coming two years from now, and I also wish Nigeria were a country where we spoke freely about numbers. You already understand why people hesitate. It’s not just fear, it’s the environment. People are trying to play it safe. There’s the security aspect. There’s even the spiritual mindset that makes people hide figures.

Another project that stands out in your filmography is Lisabi: The Uprising, directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, on which you worked together with Barnabas Emordi. What was it like being part of it? It had impressive visuals, sparked a lot of conversation, and even picked up awards during the AMVCAs. What exactly did you contribute to the filming?

I was part of the cinematography team, and I also flew the drone. Working with Niyi was truly enjoyable. Before we even got on set, we spent a lot of time talking about the mood of each scene, how it should flow, and the kind of music that would guide it. We had a group chat with the gaffer and the lighting team, where we shared ideas on how everything should feel. The set had a different kind of energy. Watching the veteran actors perform felt like attending a masterclass every single day. The opening sequence in the script was only two pages, but when we filmed it, it turned into almost fifteen minutes because the actors brought so much life to it. Ibrahim Chatta, for example, would start chanting and telling stories about Oyo, giving us history that was not even written in the script. He came with that same energy every day and it lifted the entire atmosphere.

You have worked on both commercial projects and personal films. How do you decide which ideas are worth turning into full projects?

I am frank with feedback. When I get story ideas, I try to see if it works or does not. I could even suggest writers collaborating to improve on the story. I also try to use money made from my commissioned works to fund personal projects that I am passionate about, especially documentaries. I recently started talking to people about making a documentary about gambling. Ultimately, with those passion projects, I want to affect people’s lives, driving conversations that are impactful with social effects in the real world.

Being a young woman in the film industry comes with unique challenges. What personal experiences have influenced the way you navigate Nollywood?

I don’t think being young affects anything. It is just the way society shapes you. I think that we’ve had more women at the forefront of storytelling as directors, producers and writers. But we don’t have enough women in technical capacities. It is so hard to find them. I was telling a friend yesterday that you cannot count five leading female cinematographers in Nigeria, and I don’t know why that is so. We need more women to be trusted for these technical roles. One of the reasons I did Red Circle was that, if I was waiting for someone to give me a thriller to shoot, I would probably wait for the next few years. I wanted to shoot because I needed people to see that I could do it. Besides, it’s important to hire people because they are competent enough and not out of pity.

What are your hobbies or pastimes?

I enjoy playing badminton and have a coach for it. If I am not playing badminton, I am probably reading a book, watching a film or sleeping. I enjoy films that take me out of Lagos because I get to travel and experience other places. If I have enough money, I would like to travel across the world.

Looking at everything you’ve done so far, what kind of stories do you hope to explore in the long run, both for your growth and the industry?

I want to tell more female-led stories. With my documentaries, I want to tell more socially conscious stories.