Is Nollywood having its Cannes coming-out party?
Ranking among the world’s most prolific film industries for years, Nigeria’s scrappy, homegrown biz is breaking out at this year’s festival, with the first-ever Nigerian feature screening in the festival’s official selection and a delegation of industry professionals and officials unveiling an ambitious blueprint to help the country’s filmmakers reach new heights.
Dubbed Screen Nigeria, the new initiative will coordinate the industry’s representation at leading international markets and festivals while showcasing Nigerian films, television and animation on the global stage. Along with promoting domestic talents, it will work to attract international productions to the West African nation while highlighting its potential for outsourced work in fields such as post-production, animation and gaming.
“With Screen Nigeria, we are looking to turbocharge the growth experienced in recent years by our audiovisual sector, elevating it to be globally competitive while also opening up new frontiers, such as animation, for the local market,” says Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musa-Musawa.
The push is all part of the government’s growth plan “Destination 2030: Nigeria Everywhere,” which aims to create 2 million jobs in tourism and the creative industries and contribute $100 million to Nigeria’s GDP by the end of the decade. Kicking off this week with a national pavilion on the Croisette, Screen Nigeria will next travel to the Toronto Intl. Film Festival this fall before returning to Lagos for the Africa Intl. Film Festival in November.
The road show comes amid plans for Nigeria to launch a long-awaited incentive scheme in 2026, while co-production treaties with Brazil and India are also expected in the coming months, according to Baba Agba, a special adviser to the culture minister on film, music and entertainment.
Speaking to Variety in Cannes, Agba says the Riviera rollout amounts to “us announcing ourselves on the world stage,” adding: “I think this is a coming-of-age [for the industry]. It’s now undeniable.”
It was already shaping up to be a banner year for Nigeria at this year’s Cannes festival, with Sundance prize winner Akinola Davies Jr. launching his debut feature “My Father’s Shadow,” a semi-autobiographical film featuring “Gangs of London” star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù. The drama premieres in Un Certain Regard and is the first Nigerian movie tapped for Cannes’ official selection.
Industry veteran Moses Babatope, who launched the production and distribution outfit Nile Media Entertainment last year, says the potential for Africa’s most populous nation is “enormous.”
“Nigeria’s film market is one of the most dynamic in the world right now. What we’re seeing is just the beginning — there’s a surge of untapped talent and original content ready to break out,” he says. “The energy on the ground is electric, and with the right support, Nigeria is set to become a major global content powerhouse.
“Screen Nigeria is stepping in at just the right time — to spotlight this momentum and help position Nigerian stories on the world stage,” he adds.
Chioma Ude, who founded the Africa Intl. Film Festival in 2010, has seen the annual event grow into a nexus of Nigerian, African and global filmmaking talents that mirrors the country’s own development in the creative industries.
This year, the festival will introduce a market component to help rights holders sell their content, foster the development of emerging talents and solidify the ties between Nigeria and the international film community.
“I knew it was time,” Ude says, citing the growing number of industry reps flying to Lagos each November from across Africa and the diaspora — and as far afield as Japan. “This is what we need to do to grow this industry,” she adds. “Nobody’s going to do this for us if we don’t do it ourselves.”
