Jemila Akinwale: One of Nollywood’s finest female filmmakers

You may have watched some of the films and shows Jemila Akinwale has worked on without knowing her name. While actors bring stories to life on screen, Akinwale has spent years working behind the camera, helping those stories reach viewers.

Her credits tell the story of a career built across Nollywood television and film. One of her earliest listed projects is Dance 234 in 2011, where she is credited as a producer. Since then, she has worked on a range of productions, from television programmes to drama series and feature films.

Akinwale was a series producer on Ajoche and Unbroken. Her television credits also include The Nancy Isime Show and Jollof with Me. On Jollof with Me, she is listed as both an executive producer and a series producer.

She later worked as a series producer on Lahira and Masquerades of Aniedo. These credits show how her work has continued across different television projects over the years. Each production brings together writers, performers and crew members, with producers helping turn their work into a finished show.

Akinwale has also contributed to Nollywood films. Her film credits include Aníkúlápó and Ìjọ̀gbọ̀n. Both received attention at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.

Aníkúlápó received 16 nominations at the 2023 awards and won five, including Best Overall Movie in Africa. The film also won awards recognising its Yoruba-language storytelling, writing, sound editing and soundtrack. Its success drew attention to the work of the many people involved in making it.

At the 2024 awards, Ijọ̀gbọ̀n was nominated for Best Indigenous Language Film (West Africa) and Best Cinematography. Another project on Akinwale’s television filmography, Masquerades of Aniedo, received a nomination for Best Writing in a TV Series.

The awards and nominations recognised the productions and the people named in those categories. Akinwale’s credits place her among the teams that brought the projects to the screen. Her career shows how much of Nollywood’s work happens beyond the spotlight, through people helping films and shows move from an idea to a finished production.

In 2024, House of Ga’a joins Akinwale’s list of film credits. It adds to a body of work stretching from

Dance 234 through years of television production and into feature films.

Project after project, Akinwale has continued working behind the scenes as Nollywood stories find their way to audiences. The next time viewers enjoy one of those stories, hers is one of the names worth looking for in the credits.