The CEO of Filmhouse Group, Mr. Kene Okwuosa, has called on stakeholders in Nigeria’s film industry to focus on building strong and scalable structures that will support Nollywood’s growth on the global stage. He made this call while speaking at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, during the Nigerian International Film Summit.
Filmhouse Group, known as one of West Africa’s leading entertainment powerhouses, featured prominently in the panel discussion titled “The Nollywood Conversations: A Deep Dive into Opportunities to Present African Stories for Global Screens.” The session explored how African stories can reach wider international audiences and how Nigeria can position itself as a key player in global film markets.
Mr. Okwuosa, who is leading Filmhouse Group’s expansion efforts beyond the shores of Nigeria, said the global demand for African stories is strong, but Nollywood must do more than just produce films—it must build a sustainable ecosystem. “The world wants African stories, but it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re creating the ecosystems to sustain that demand,” he stated. “From licensing frameworks and exhibition strategies to co-productions and international distribution, we must build for scale, not just success.”
Also contributing to the discussion was Ms. Ladun Awobokun, Chief Content Officer at FilmOne Entertainment, a subsidiary of Filmhouse Group. She emphasised the need for deliberate investment in systems that can support the industry’s creative output. “We must invest in scalable ecosystems,” she said. “For Nollywood to thrive globally, structure and sustainability must meet creativity.”
The Filmhouse team used the opportunity at Cannes to present its integrated business model, which spans content production, distribution, and strategic partnerships. Through its distribution arm, FilmOne Entertainment, the group holds exclusive theatrical distribution rights in West Africa for several major Hollywood studios, including Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Angel Studios, and Empire. The company also leads in the distribution of Nigerian films, contributing significantly to the growth and exposure of local content.
As part of its presentation at the summit, Filmhouse previewed some of its upcoming projects, including “77: The Festac Conspiracy”, a high-budget production aimed at international markets. The project highlights the company’s ambition to tell culturally rich, globally appealing African stories with high production values.
The session attracted a wide range of stakeholders from the international film industry, including policymakers, investors, film distributors, and creatives. This participation reinforced Nigeria’s growing importance in the global entertainment industry and the need for strategic collaboration to harness the full potential of African storytelling.
Filmhouse’s active presence at Cannes this year represents a broader move by the Nigerian film industry to shift from being a primarily domestic market to becoming a global content powerhouse. By focusing on infrastructure development, policy engagement, and international collaboration, the company hopes to inspire a new era of structured growth for Nollywood.
As Okwuosa and Awobokun both highlighted, the future of Nollywood lies not just in its ability to create compelling stories, but in its commitment to building the frameworks that will sustain that creativity for generations to come.
