Film Africa Partners with Film Lab Africa for Nollywood 2024 Producers Showcase

Film Africa Festival UK, in partnership with Film Lab Africa, is set to showcase an anthology of 10 short films produced by this year’s grant recipients at the 2024 edition of the festival, taking place in October.

Film Lab Africa is a film and TV producers’ training initiative funded by the British Council. Launched this year, the programme received over 600 applications from emerging filmmakers in the UK and Nigeria. These filmmakers applied for the prestigious accelerator programme, designed to equip participants with global standards and best practices in creative entrepreneurship, focusing on both business and storytelling.

Brenda Fashugba, British Council’s Creative Economy Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa and Head of Arts Nigeria, highlighted that the Film Lab Africa programme is “meticulously designed to offer comprehensive support, empowering young, dynamic film and TV producers in the country with the necessary skill set and knowledge to navigate the intricate landscape of the industry as successful creative entrepreneurs.”

Sixty emerging filmmakers from the UK and Nigeria were selected to participate in this inaugural programme, with a 50/50 gender split to ensure equal representation of female producers. The programme includes in-class training, production of short and micro films, industry engagement events such as creative talks, film clubs, podcasts, and a final showcase of the funded films for industry stakeholders and film enthusiasts.

Yemi Daramola of Darimedia, a film distribution expert and the UK delivery partner for Film Lab Africa, emphasized, “Our goal is to ensure the 60 selected participants are fully equipped with the skills and training to compete effectively with filmmakers internationally, showcasing the best of African storytelling.”

The in-class training, delivered online over five weeks, marks the first phase of the Film Lab Africa project. This will be followed by a competitive pitch session, where 10 filmmakers will be awarded grants of £5,000 each to produce 10-minute short films, while an additional 10 filmmakers will receive £500 each to create 3-minute mobile phone films.

Don Omope of Pictograph, a script and story specialist and former studio executive, serves as the technical consultant overseeing the design of the learning curriculum. He noted that the programme offers a dual perspective on creative entrepreneurship, blending global best practices with specialized local nuances. This approach will be reflected in the production of the short and micro films, which will emphasize local storytelling with global resonance.

Nigerian Principal Partner, Afro Wren Productions Limited, led by Olasunkanmi Adebayo, expressed the need for more opportunities for emerging filmmakers in Nigeria. He stressed, “We are working tirelessly with our partners to ensure we deliver on this initiative, enabling our filmmakers to compete on the international stage.”

Executive Producers:

Yemi Daramola: Distribution

Don Omope: Script & Storytelling

Sunkanmi Adebayo: Production

Brenda Fashugba: British Council

Short Film Producers: