Nigerian filmmaker Funke Akindele has taken to social media to express her gratitude to the over 100 crew members who worked on her upcoming movie, Everybody Loves Jenifa. She also announced a December release for the project.
According to the actress, the project was self-funded and completed in just over two months. In the post, Akindele also commended the film’s crew, which, she said, had members drawn from Nigeria and Ghana.
In a tweet on her X account, Akindele said, “Proud moment! I want to celebrate the incredible 175 crew members who worked tirelessly for 9 weeks to bring ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’ to life!”
She continued: “As a self-funded project, I’m honored to have empowered a team of talented individuals,with 95% of them being young people, to showcase their skills.
“Special shoutout to our Nigerian and Ghanaian crew members who collaborated seamlessly to make this happen. I believe in empowering the next generation and giving them opportunities to shine. And shine they did! Get ready for the movie’s release in December!”
The tweet also appeared on the actress-producer’s page on Instagram.
Upon its release in December, Everybody Loves Jenifa will become the latest instalment in the growing Jenifa universe, which began in 2008 with the release of the comedy-drama Jenifa. Three years later, a sequel, Return of Jenifa followed.
Since then, the franchise has included a TV series Jenifa’s Diary (2015) and two web series, Aiyetoro Town (2019) and Jenifa on Lockdown (2021). Akindele also holds the record for producing Nollywood’s grossing picture, A Tribe Called Judah.
