TALENT
Kemi Adesoye
Screenwriter
Originally trained as an architect, Kemi Adesoye’s interest in screenwriting began after discovering a screenwriting book in a university library. Over a ten year career, she has scripted short films: Mama Putt, Prize Maze, National Cake and The Line Up. Kemi was also head writer for two seasons of MTV’S Shuga Naija S1 and S4, and recently Battleground S1. She penned award-winning features:The Figurine, PhoneSwap, Omugwo, Lotanna, amongst others. The former two are currently on Netflix. Kemi is enthusiastic about stories from a myriad of African perspectives.
Sonia Irabor
Screenwriter
Sonia Irabor is an award-winning filmmaker from Nigeria. In 2020/21, she wrote, directed, starred in, and composed the music for her first short film, I Am an Easy One to Forget, which was nominated for an award at Watch Africa - Wales's African Film Festival and is still playing at festivals around the world. During the second wave of lockdown, Sonia was hired as an Associate Producer of the record-breaking Netflix series King of Boys: Return of the King. Galvanised by that experience, she wrote, directed, and starred in two more short films: steady darling, we’re gaining balance, and If I Stop, I May Explode, the latter of which went on to win Best Experimental Short at the 2022 Emberlight Film Festival. That same year, Sonia joined the writer’s room for season five of the beloved MTV Base series, Shuga!. She is interested in delving into the complex mental journeys of her characters against the backdrop of Nigeria - how it governs their interactions with the world around them; how their fears manifest and inform their behaviour; how others respond to them, and their wild journeys towards self-discovery or at least awareness. Sonia is currently in pre-production for her feature debut, SuperNowa, for which she serves as writer, director, and producer.
Isaac Ayodeji
Screenwriter
Isaac Ayodeji's screenwriting story started in medical school about a decade ago after a meeting with a friend. He's been a life-long learner ever since, looking to tell African stories that challenge and speak to the African condition. He's written on shows like Africa Magic's Tinsel, Showmax's Wura, and was the story editor on Refuge for Africa Magic. He's also penned critically acclaimed features - In Ibadan and A Green Fever amongst others. Isaac is always working on something, constantly evolving and challenging his grasp and understanding of storytelling as it intersects with the African socio-political reality.
Adé Sultan Sangodoyin
Screenwriter
Adé Sultan Sangodoyin is a Nigerian filmmaker and writer. He studied English Literature with Journalism at the University of Buckingham and has a Master’s in Screenwriting from the London Film School. He is an alumnus of the 2021 Berlinale Talent Campus. He wrote and directed the short films, Different Plains (2015) and A Cemetery of Doves (2019); and served as Co-Producer on the film Eyimofe (This is My Desire) (2020), which premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. His feature film project, Sisyphus, was shortlisted for the March 2022 Cinéfondation Residency program. Currently in development of the same feature film, his short stories, “A Language of the Unconscious” and “A Cocaine Fairytale” have been published in the Kalahari Review and Agbowo Magazine, respectively.
Adesua Okosun
DIRECTOR
Adesua Okosun is a Nigeria American film director and producer, developing a world-class reputation for thought provoking storytelling. Adesua specializes in creating deeply moving projects that push the boundaries of everyday stories within African communities. She will make her directorial debut with the "Other Side" a series based on years of research gathered through her travels all over the African continent. The mesmerising series, tastefully brings to light some of the most controversial topics avoided within traditional African media and humanizes its characters in a light that any viewer will create a connection with.
Anthony Oseyemi
Screenwriter
Anthony Oseyemi has a theatre and performing arts training background and a BA (hons) Performing arts degree. He started his career on stage as part of Lewisham youth theatre, with performances at the Riverside and Tricycle as part of the London International Festival of Theatre, with stints at The Oval Theatre as a producer, actor and playwright, in the multimedia production of ‘Breathe’.
His on-screen career includes hosting Survivor Africa, series Jacob’s Cross, Isidingo, ‘ISONO’ (BET) ‘Agent’, ‘Red Sea Diving Resort’, Dead Places’ and Resident Evil (Netflix) ‘Troy’ (BBC) ‘Our Girl’ (BBC) ‘Strike Back’ (HBO).
Cinema appearances include ‘The Five Fingers for Marseilles’ The Congo Murders’, with Simon Pegg ‘Hectors Search for Happiness’, and action flick ‘Seal Team 8’ alongside Tom Sizemore.
Africa Ukoh
Screenwriter
Africa Ukoh is a screenwriter, playwright, and theatre director. He specializes in stories that speak to global audiences through a uniquely African voice. He has worked on two of Nigeria’s most critically acclaimed films: Green, White, Green (2016) and The Lost Okoroshi (2019), both of which received their world premieres at the Toronto International Festival and have featured on other platforms such as the Berlinale International Film Festival, and the African International Film Festival, for which Green, White, Green won the Best Nigerian Film award. His play 54 Silhouettes has been on the theatrical performance circuit for nine years, winning multiple plaudits in that time and garnering respect as a highly acclaimed contemporary Nigerian drama.
Eno Udo-Affia
Screenwriter
Eno Udo-Affia is a creative writer with a Bs.C in English/Literature.
A lifelong reader and writer, Eno first began creating other worlds and characters in her secondary school years. After a 14-year stint as a banker, she’s returned to her first love - storytelling.When not writing or reading, she’s absorbed in the latest gripping Tv Series, or re-watching The Wire, Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead. Eno lives and works out of her home in Lagos, Nigeria.
Tony Sebastian Ukpo
Screenwriter
British-Nigerian writer/director. Trained at the London Film School (LFS), before which he had already explored various creative enterprises in theatre, graphic novels, and photography, as well as of course, film. He has written and directed an eclectic range of films, including "Paris 60", "The Fighter's Ballad" starring Clive Russell, Japanese murder mystery "Random 11" with Haruka Abe, British Nollywood romantic comedy Mum, Dad, Meet Sam starring Joseph Benjamin, and immigration drama Simana among others. Influenced by filmmakers all the way from Asgar Farhadi to Lynne Ramsay, from David Lynch to Mamoru Oshii, his writing is one that is focused heavily on stories about people. About characters and world building. Visually and narratively constructing stories in a way that subverts genre expectations to create something new, while also taking many cues from Cinema’s storied history. From the golden age, to the socio-political spirit of 70’s American cinema, to the cult hits of the 80’s and 90’s.
Bibi Ukpo
Screenwriter
Bibi Ukpo carries a double degree in Communication in Video and Film and English Creative Writing which she earned at the University of Miami's School of Communication.Since graduating she has held positions ranging from copywriter to creative director in a branding agency she co-owned with two partners where she served clients like Airtel and Onward Paper Mill. She also wrote and directed the first fully animated Nigerian music Video to be featured by MTV, Mo'Cheddah's "No Be Money." She worked as a script writer and editor for the hit Mnet cable show "Tinsel," a position she semi-retired from to have her first child. She most recently wrote and script edited for the virally popular MNet Cable TV Shows, "Hotel Majestic" and “Jemeji” that aired daily on the Africa Magic channel.
Adeniyi Adeniji
Screenwriter
Adeniyi Adeniji is a Nigerian writer with over 10 years of experience writing, editing, and script-doctoring for the Nigerian movie and television industry. Some of his credits include locally made TV and online shows like Ajoche, the Gidi Culture series, and other work done for studios like FilmOne where he worked as a writer and script doctor for movies such as The Wedding Party and Tatu. Other notable writing credits include Gone (Netflix), Easy Money, as well as a number of releases in the local cinema with movies like Trace and Clustered Colours.
Voline Ogutu
Screenwriter and Director
Voline Ogutu is an African painter, award-winning screenwriter and director. She has written for several local TV series (Sumu la Penzi, Jane and Abel, Fihi, Sunrise, Waliobaki, Keru, How to Find a Husband, etc) and two comedy series on Showmax (Njoro wa Uba and Varshita). She has also created and written two Mnet movies which air on Showmax, Orphan and Hospital, and she has written and directed two award-winning short films, Seed and Viral. In 2020, she wrote and directed her first horror feature film, The Witch from Chaka, which is currently in post-production. She wrote and directed a fantasy short film JINN which is currently in post-production, and she wrote a thriller feature, 40 Sticks, which premiered on Netflix in November 2020. She is part of the writing team for Australian puppet show, The Professors, and she is also working on new projects that are still in development: City of Judah and Dilemma, a selection of the Berlinale Durban Talents 2020 Edition. Most recently, she wrote for an upcoming original Netflix animated series called Mama K Team 4.
Cuba Ukoh
Screenwriter
Cuba Ukoh is a screenwriter and prose writer whose work often explores the human condition from the perspective of navigating identity, trauma, childhood, and nostalgia. A holder of a BA in English and Literary Studies, she is drawn to character study and internal conflict, with her writing delving into universally relatable stories through the lens of African narratives. Her works have been recognized on such platforms as The Creative Wings Flash Fiction Contest, and Brittle Paper.
Makanaka Mavengere
Screenwriter
Originally trained as an accountant; Zimbabwean born Makanaka Mavengere has always been an avid storyteller. She decided to remove her accountant cape and pursue her storytelling career in 2016 when she started writing her book Perfect Imperfections to fulfil a promise she had made to her 16-year-old self. Over the years, she has established herself as a scriptwriter, content producer, and editor with extensive experience in both film and television. She has written on shows like ETV’s Isitha- The Enemy, A Queen’s Lobola and Kleva-ish was the best African Film at the Cannes Film Awards 2023 and Best Feature Film at the National Film and TV Awards South Africa 2023. She wrote Loving Thokoza, Meet Melusi, Boxing Day and Expiry Date all on Showmax and was on the writing team of Mzansi Magic’s Diepcity. Some of the shows have been well received and won awards at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs).
Her book Perfect Imperfections (2019) was adopted into a play Maid In The Mirror at the Almasi Playwrights Conference in Zimbabwe (2020). Her short story Mbuya Baines is featured in the Relations Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices.
Makanaka seeks to use her overactive imagination to tell stories that matter, stories that change perspectives and give a voice to the voiceless. She is open to collaborative writing, working with producers and creatives who also want to express their creativity on the screen, on stage and on print media.