Nationwide — Nigerian filmmaker Funke Akindele is helping bring Nollywood to a wider international audience through films that highlight African experiences while appealing to viewers around the world. With several box office records already to her name, the actress, writer, producer, and director is preparing to release another major production, The Four: No One Fights Alone, on December 11. The film follows four women who join forces to protect the future of a young man they love.
Her growing success reflects the reach of Nigeria’s film industry, which ranks second in the world by production volume behind India’s, according to UNESCO. Nollywood produces more than 2,500 films annually and employs over 1 million people, making film production one of Nigeria’s largest sources of jobs. Akindele has become one of its leading figures, with her movies topping the Nigerian box office for three consecutive years. In 2025, her film Behind the Scenes earned more than 2 billion naira, approximately $1.6 million, making it the first Nollywood production to reach that amount. The movie, which follows a real estate mogul whose generosity leads to personal problems, also reached international viewers through Netflix. “I’m so happy, it’s a big pat at the back,” she said about the film’s success in an interview with CNN.
That achievement followed another major milestone in 2023, when A Tribe Called Judah became the first Nollywood movie to earn 1 billion naira, or more than $745,000, at the box office. The comedy-drama tells the story of five brothers with different fathers who plan a robbery to help save their sick mother, played by Akindele. She drew inspiration from real-life experiences when writing the screenplay and wanted to present difficult social issues without changing the details to make them more comfortable. “My own style of writing is being authentic,” she said, explaining that quality and relatable stories matter more than simply having big ambitions. She also wants audiences outside Nigeria to understand the characters and experiences in her films. “I tell the Nigerian or the African stories that people can sit back, relate to, but I make sure it’s a global standard,” she said.
Her career took off years before those box office records. In 2008, she released Jenifa, a film about a young woman from a village who moves to the city to attend university and struggles to fit into her new surroundings. The movie became her first major commercial success and introduced audiences to one of her best-known characters. Its popularity led to The Return of Jenifa in 2011, her first film to screen in Nigerian theaters. She later continued the franchise with Everybody Loves Jenifa in 2024. The production was her most expensive project at the time, with filming taking place in Ghana and Nigeria. She brought the cast and crew to Ghana and built custom sets in Nigeria rather than relying entirely on existing locations. Despite the high production costs, she said the movie earned back its investment through cinema releases and streaming platforms.
Despite her achievements, the filmmaker says Nollywood still needs better international distribution. She believes partnerships with production companies and filmmakers in other countries could help African movies reach more markets. Working with international creatives would also allow filmmakers to exchange ideas, learn new production techniques, and gain access to better technology and distribution networks. She encourages aspiring writers and directors to focus on authentic stories with emotions and experiences that audiences from different backgrounds can understand. She also reminds them that building a successful career takes patience.
Akindele began acting in 1998 as Bisi in the United Nations Population Fund-sponsored television sitcom I Need to Know. Since then, she has appeared in more than 100 films while building a career behind the camera. Beyond commercial success, she hopes her work will create opportunities for other creatives, particularly women who need platforms to share their voices and develop their skills. “I want to be remembered for that woman that gives access to other women, all the people out there, that broke the barrier for them,” she said. Through her productions and collaborations, she continues to work toward making Nigerian stories accessible to audiences around the world.