Filmhouse Group’s CEO, Kene Okwuosa, has urged the film industry to build global-ready structures.
Leading the conversation on Nollywood’s evolving role on the global stage at the Nigerian International Film Summit (NIFS) held during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Okwuosa highligted the current challenges and future possibilities for African cinema, while also presenting an integrated model of distribution, production and global partnerships.
With the theme: ‘The Nollywood Conversations: A Deep Dive into Opportunities to Present African Stories for Global Screens’, the Filmhouse Group’s CEO, who was on the panel with Chief Content Officer, FilmOne Entertainment, Ladun Awobokun, outlined the company’s role in bridging African content with international markets.
“The world wants African stories, but it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re creating the ecosystems to sustain that demand,” Okwuosa declared. “From licensing frameworks and exhibition strategies to co-productions and international distribution, we must build for scale, not just success.”
Also speaking, Awobokun said: “We must invest in scalable ecosystems. For Nollywood to thrive globally, structure and sustainability must meet creativity.”
Filmhouse, through its distribution arm – FilmOne Entertainment, holds theatrical licenses in West Africa with major Hollywood studios including Disney, Warner Bros., Empire, Angel Studios and Sony. The company also command majority market share for distributing Nollywood titles. Its presence at Cannes signals a strategic push to expand Nollywood’s global footprint; not just through content, but by investing in infrastructure and engaging in policy that supports the industry’s long-term growth.
The conversation also featured exclusive previews of Filmhouse-backed projects including 77: The Festac Conspiracy, emphasizing a focus on high-production-value stories built for international audiences.
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