From street and market DVDs to global streaming platforms, my
country, Nigeria’s movie industry – Nollywood, has gone from survival to
absolute dominance. With over 2,500 movies churned out each year, we
not only rock, but we rule and reign, as the second largest film industry
in the world, with only Hollywood in front of us. Do you know that
Nollywood rakes over 7 billion USD into our economy annually, and
employs over 1 million people directly and indirectly? That’s not just
entertainment, that’s a formidable industry!
All this would not have been possible without the commitment, tenacity,
and talent of Nigeria’s Nollywood giants of our time.
I tell you, tonight, we are not just here to watch a film. We are here to
witness the latest chapter in the story of a womanwho has spent her life
building the very stage upon which African stories are told. We are here
to celebrate the visionary force behind this film, one of Nigeria’s most
prolific theatre and movie directors and producers, the one and the only
- Bolanle Austen-Peters.
To stand before Bolanle’s work is to stand before a living archive of our
culture, our struggles, and our triumphs. Her journey is not merely a
biography, it is a blueprint for cultural revolution.
She began not with a camera, but with a calling. A lawyer by training,
holding a Master’s degree in International Law from the prestigious
London School of Economics, she could have chosen any path. However,
after working with the United Nations across the globe – from Geneva to
Namibia – she felt the pull of home.
In 2003, she answered that call by founding Terra Kulture. At a time
when the world looked past and barely noticed our creative industries,
she built a sanctuary for Nigerian languages, arts, and culture. She built
Nigeria’s first privately-owned theatre, turning a dream into a
destination, a glowing reality. However, a sanctuary was not enough, she
needed a stage.
In 2013, she launched Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions (BAP), and
with it, she changed the very sound of Nigerian theatre. Her musicals
became legendary. ‘ in 2014 and ‘
in 2015 did what had never been done before – they took
Nigerian stories from Lagos to London’s prestigious West End, proving
that our rhythm belonged on the world’s most famous stages. She gave
us ‘ in 2017, a production so powerful
that it has been seen by over 120,000 people across Nigeria, Egypt,
and here in South Africa, chronicling the legacy of our icon. She also
blessed us with .
In the midst of all these hits, she turned her lens to film, and our screens
have never been the same since. She directed ‘ , the
harrowing, heroic story of how Nigeria conquered Ebola, a film that
premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and other Film
Festivals across the globe. It garnered 13 AMVCA nominations . She
gave us a mirror with ‘ in 2019, a powerful
monologue with also in 2019, a thriller with
‘ in 2020, and the most-viewed Netflix film of its
month, ‘ in 2022. She delivered a masterpiece with
‘ in 2023, a film that won Best Overall Feature
Film and enshrined the legacy of one of our greatest matriarchs. She
also brought our history to life with the epic ‘ in 2024.
Her accolades are as numerous as they are deserved. She has been
featured 3 consecutive times by Forbes Afrique, being named as one of
the most influential women in Africa. She was described by CNN as the
woman ‘powering Nigeria’s theater industry’, and by others, as the ‘Tyler
Perry’ of Nigeria. She was also honoured as the Yeye Erelu Asa of Iru
Kingdom- a royal title recognizing her as a cultural queen.
Yet, if you ask Bolanle, she will tell you her greatest production is not a
film or a play – It is the future she is building. Through the Terra
Academy for the Arts (TAFTA), in partnership with the Mastercard
Foundation, she is training over 44,000 young Africans, empowering
the next generation of filmmakers, animators, and designers to tell their
own stories and that brings us to tonight. That brings us to ‘Wire,Wire’ –
A crime thriller that explores the darker intersections of power and
society, featuring a phenomenal cast including Blossom Chukwujekwu,
Lasisi Elenu, Neo Akpofure, Bisola Aiyeola, and Toke Makinwa. It is a
testament to her relentless energy, her declaration that 2026 will be
‘INTENSE film-wise’.
My Sister, Bolanle Austen-Peters, you have built the platforms, you
have trained the creative armies, and you have told the stories. You have
proven that our African narratives are not just valid, they are vital.
Tonight, as ‘ screens for the first time on this prestigious
platform, we thank the Joburg Film Festival for its selection and we
celebrate you. We thank you for the goosebumps, for the history
lessons, and for the important bridges you have built between our
cultures. Nigeria and South Africa share a deep bond, and through your
work, that bond has been strengthened. Thanks to your work, as Consul
General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, here in Johannesburg, I stand
here today bursting with pride.
Among the strongest and most important exports of our great country –
Nigeria, are not just oil and an abundance of solid minerals and precious
gemstones, we also have our champion athletes, our amazing artists,
our world-class authors, our matchless musicians and our countless
Nollywood film giants, all of whom in which we are well pleased and
proud.
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in celebrating a woman who
embodies the pride we all feel as Nigerians, who projects and promotes
our most positive sides at a time and in spaces where we need itmost, a
woman who is, quite simply, the architect of our dreams – the
phenomenal Bolanle Austen-Peters and her epicmovie – ‘Wire,Wire’!
