9 Nigerian female movie directors you should know

Pulse Nigeria presents a list of female directors making waves.

Chineze Anyaene

Chineze Anyaene is an independent filmmaker. In 2010, she wrote, directed and produced the movie “Ijé: The Journey”. Which starred Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji.

Earlier this year, she was named as the chairperson of the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee. Anyaene studied Theatre Arts at the University of Abuja and New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. While at NYFA, she was the first student in the history of KODAK to shoot a feature film on 35MM.

Michelle Bello

Michelle Bello is the director of award winning movie "Flower Girl" which stars Damilola Adegbite. She directed and produced her first feature film called “Small Boy” in 2007.

She is the CEO of Lagos-based publishing company Blu Star Entertainment. Bello received a masters in Film Directing from Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA.

Read: Award winning director of 'Flower Girl' to call the shots in new thriller film

Amaka Igwe

Amaka Igwe was a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian film industry. The award-winning filmmaker died in on April 28, 2014. She directed several TV series and film movies, many of which were the favourites of many Nigerians.

Read: Amaka Igwe's last film gets released [Video]

Her film credits include: “A Barber's Wisdom”, “Full Circle”, “Rattle Snake (part one, two and three), “To Live Again” and the popular “Violated”. Igwe’s TV series credits include: “Checkmate”, “Fuji House of Commotion”, “Solitaire” and more.

Patience Oghre Imobhio

In 2009, Patience Oghre Imobhio was awarded best female director at the Women in Media Awards. She directed “Dominos”, “Spider” and “Household”. Imobhio has also worked as a movie director for M-Net. Her forte is not just limited to film; she’s also directed TV series including “Dear Mother” and “Everyday People”.

She studied Theatre Arts at the University of Jos. She began her career in film as an actress.

Omoni Oboli

Omoni Oboli made her debut as a director almost a year ago with "Being Mrs Elliot". The actress recently premiered has second self-directed film called "The First Lady" last month.

Stephanie Okereke Linus

Actress Stephanie Linus joined the league of directors when she directed a drama film about child marriage in 2014. The film called "Dry" premiered in Lagos on August 3, 2015. The film recently received eight ZAFAA Global Awards 2015 nominations.

Mildred Okwo

Mildred Okwo co-founded The Audrey Silva Company with Rita Dominic. She has directed several popular movies including "30 Days", 2015 Africa Magic Viewers Choice award-winning movie “The Meeting” as well as an upcoming movie called “Suru L’ere”. She is currently working on a new film called "La Femme Anjola".

Okwo studied Theatre Arts Management at the University of Benin.

Read: 5 reasons to love 'The Meeting' director and co-producer

Tope Oshin Ogun

Tope Oshin Ogun is a popular name in the world of TV dramas and soap operas. She has directed several series including “Hotel Majestic”, “Tinsel”, “MTV Shuga” (season 3), and “The Apprentice Africa”. Ogun has also directed several short films including “The Young Smoker”, “Till Death Do Us Part”, “New Horizons” as well as a full-length film “Journey To Self”.

She is an alumnus of Colorado Film School, Aurora, Denver.

Read: Meet the award winning Nollywood filmmaker

Remi Vaughn-Richards

Remi Vaughn-Richards has established a name for herself in the Nigerian and international film industries with a career spanning over 18 years.

Vaughn-Richards directed “Faaji Agba”. This film was screened at the recently held 2015 Lights, Camera Africa!!! film festival in Lagos. She has also directed several documentary dramas including BBC World Service Trust TV drama series “Wetin Dey” and “One Small Step”. She has also directed music videos and commercials.

Watch the “Suru L’ere” movie trailer below: