The CEO of Filmhouse Group, Kene Okwuosa, has said that Nollywood needs the right structures in place to thrive globally.
He recently revealed that it is in the industry’s best interest to create the ecosystems that can sustain the high demand for Nigerian movies.
Speaking during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, at the Nigerian International Film Summit, Kene revealed that licensing frameworks, exhibition strategies, co-productions and international distribution can go a long way towards setting Nollywood up for major success all over the world.
“The world wants African stories, but it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re creating the ecosystems to sustain that demand. From licensing frameworks and exhibition strategies to co-productions and international distribution, we must build for scale, not just success,” he said.
Also speaking at the session titled “The Nollywood Conversations: A Deep Dive into Opportunities to Present African Stories for Global Screens,” Chief Content Officer at FilmOne Entertainment, Ladun Awobokun, advocated for investment in scalable ecosystems.
Ladun believes that structure and sustainability must work hand in hand with creativity for the Nigerian movie industry to be a force to be reckoned with globally.
“We must invest in scalable ecosystems. For Nollywood to thrive globally, structure and sustainability must meet creativity,” Ladun said.
The event broke down the present challenges and future possibilities for African cinema, with Filmhouse Group presenting an integrated model of distribution, production, and global partnerships.
FilmOne Entertainment, the distribution company owned by Filmhouse, holds theatrical licenses in West Africa with top Hollywood studios like Disney, Warner Bros., Empire, Angel Studios and Sony.
The company also command a majority market share for distributing Nollywood movies. Its presence at Cannes underlined its strategic push to expand the Nigerian movie industry’s global footprint.
The session united policymakers, financiers, and creatives from all over the world, which reiterates the fact that Nigeria is playing a key role in the evolving global entertainment economy.
