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In the art and business of cinema, there can be many different winners. We look at a selection of them for Nollywood over the course of the 12 months of last year.
THE ARTISTRY
- Daniel Oriahi: It’s not often that one person makes two of the year’s best films. In Hollywood, Francis Ford Coppola had 1974, Spielberg had 1994, Soderbergh had 2000. In Nollywood, Oriahi owned 2024. First, The Weekend turned up in Tribeca. Then, A Ghetto Love Story, a film telling an authentic Mainland Lagos story, showed up with a macabre kick at the end of the year. The Weekend also had the most nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards and ended the night with the Best Film trophy.
- Uzoamaka Aniunoh: Aniunoh has become the actress filmmakers go to in search of someone malleable enough to convey grief, steeliness, and thoughtfulness. In 2024, it looked like she was in all of the best films. The Weekend, Phoenix Fury, and With Difficulty Comes Ease were all improved by the consistent wonder of her performances.
- Ifeoma Chukwuogo: Many films premiered at the 2024 Africa International Film Festival. None of them was as ambitious as Phoenix Fury, an epic tale spanning decades in the life of a woman birthed and reborn across Nigeria and Ghana. Written and directed by Chukwuogo, the film won Best Film and Best Director, the biggest categories at the AFRIFF Globe Awards.
- Korede Azeez: With Difficulty Comes Ease was one of 2024’s best movies. Written and directed by Azeez, the film examines the private nature of grief and the tricky relationship between women connected by marriage. It’s a small film available on Prime Video. But the directorial talent on display is a massive one.
THE BUSINESS
- Funke Akindele: What else is there to say? A perennial winner won again, taking the holiday crown and besting herself to number 1 in the box office, taking almost ₦2bn in tickets.
- EbonyLife Cinemas: After dominating the box office for years, Mo Abudu is working the same brilliance as owner of a box office. Her EbonyLife Cinema in Lagos yielded the most revenue across West Africa.
- Moses Babatope: Once the face of Nigeria’s biggest film distributor, he left that establishment controversially. Somehow, he rebounded with the brand-new Nile Entertainment Group, an outfit making moves so major it feels like it’s been here forever.
- FilmOne Studios: The studio arm of the FilmOne juggernaut made Farmer’s Bride in-house with a small cast and what sources say was a relatively small budget. It was one of the year’s best films from Nollywood. It also did well at the box-office, earning over ₦160m.
- Wunmi Toriola and Cinemax: Nobody saw them coming but last year their film Queen Lateefah was the heavyweight champion pre-holiday season. It is currently the 9th highest grossing film ever made in Nollywood.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGULATION
- AFRIFF: AFRIFF is still the biggest English film festival in West Africa. Its 2024 guest John Boyega was a hit with the film industry. And a slew of its films, including its big winner Phoenix Fury, have earned several nominations at the AMVCA.
- Hannatu Musawa: Over the past decade and perhaps even longer, Nigeria has never had a minister of culture who has invested as much energy in Nollywood as the lady from Katsina. To take one example, within a 24-hour spell, she was at the 2024 AMAA ceremony and then at the opening night of AFRIFF. The winning streak continues. Already, her office has announced the return of Nigeria to Cannes, the world’s biggest film festival. If only every minister was as present.
