Renowned Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji has spoken about her vision and eagerness to witness increased synergy across film industries on the African continent.
“I think my dream has always been that we have some intercontinental production within the African region. And I can’t wait to see that happen,” she said on Deadline Podcast.
The 47-year-old producer and director of the first Nigerian film acquired by Netflix, ‘Lion Heart,’ expressed excitement about the growing number of female producers, directors, and filmmakers in Nigeria’s film industry.
She expressed that the Nigerian industry, despite being relatively young at about 40 years old, has made significant progress and still has great potential for future growth
“Seeing a lot more female producers, directors, and filmmakers come up is also very inspiring to me. The industry is barely 40 years old, but we’ve achieved so much in such a short time.”
Optimistic about the future, the Imo State-born star added that she “can’t wait to see what the future holds for the industry in Africa.
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Nnaji, who was named a honouree at the Red Sea Film Foundation’s Women in Cinema gala during the 79th Cannes Film Festival, said the industry has made significant progress and still has great potential for future growth.
“I think we just started. I think, you know, time is still very young, and we have a lot more to achieve.”
Celebrated as someone who pioneered the global expansion of the Nollywood industry with a well-established career, Nnaji emphasised the richness and depth of Nigerian and African stories, hoping these narratives gain wider global recognition.
“The stories that come out of Nigeria, I can’t wait for people to actually see the depth of who we are as a nation, as a culture, as a continent, Africa as a whole.”
After staying away from acting for a long time, the Nollywood icon makes a highly anticipated comeback to the screen in BBC Studios’ ‘Wahala,’ a six-part thriller series based on the novel by Theresa Ikoko.
