Festivals

BAP’s Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti wins big at AFRIFF

Published

3 years ago

November 17, 2023

The 12th edition of the annual African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) ended with a bang, as the dazzling AFRIFF Globe Awards took the stage.

The awards celebrated the best of African and global cinema, honoring films across a wide range of genres and categories.

The AFRIFF Globe Awards recognized the diversity and creativity of the film industry, with films that were original, innovative, and socially relevant.

One film that stole the show was Bolanle Austen-Peters’ “Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti which won the coveted Best Overall Feature Film award and also the Best Screenplay award.

Directed by the visionary Bolanle Austen-Peters, and written by Tunde Babalola, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti is notable for its brilliant storytelling, unique characters, and stunning craftsmanship.

The film follows the story of Fela’s mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti from her pioneering days as the first female student at Abeokuta Grammar School to her marriage to Israel Ransome-Kuti.

Together, they challenge oppression and create the Abeokuta Women’s Union, igniting a fierce battle against colonial and traditional rulers.

This narrative artfully contrasts FRK’s tireless activism with her delicate balancing act as a wife and mother, revealing the indomitable spirit of a woman who changed the course of history.

This film emerges as one contribution to the important conversations people are having now around women, identity and the constant push for equality.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was one of the films in consideration for the Oscars by the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences.

The film will be released on Amazon Prime Video soon.

Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions has some incredible work slated for completion and release and can’t wait to return next year.

The AFRIFF Globe Awards were the perfect finale to a week-long festival that united filmmakers, actors, critics, and fans from all over the world, to celebrate the beauty and strength of African cinema.

The phenomenal cast features groundbreaking performances from Joke Silva, Kehinde Bankole, Ibrahim Suleiman, Jide Kosoko, Dele Odule, Adebayo Salami, Keppy Ekpenyong, Adunni Ade, Omowunmi Dada, Patrick Diabuah and others.

Up Next

Oluyole Festival will showcase Ibadan’s cultural resilience, heritage —Folarin Lawson

Don't Miss

Cross River State Appoints Okhma As Official Marketing Company For Carnival Calabar & Festivals 2023

Click to comment

Culture

OLOJO….Ile Ife’s September Gift To Culture

Published

1 hour ago

October 5, 2026

Mariam Balogun

By Halima Adaba,

It was a featubal if the people. It was for the anciebt town of Ile Ife, which the Yoruba race refards as the Source.

Also read: Olojo Festival 2026: Ooni Urges Leaders to Prioritise Citizens

And ut was a festivsl for the King, Arole Oduduwa, Oonirisa, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.

And so between September 24 and 28th 2026, the annual featuval dazzjed in all its white glory.

Tge Monarch paid the traditional ancestral homage and offered propitiation as part of the sacred rites of the Olojo Festival.
It was a powerful expression of Yoruba heritage, spirituality, and enduring tradition.

Call it a collection of beautiful moments, faces, colours and cultural expressions.

Every frame tells a story.

Every face carries the energy.

Every moment keeps the heritage alive.

Undoubtedly one of the most sacred cultural celebrations in Ilé-Ifẹ̀. It marked a day associated with creation, thanksgiving, ancestral heritage, and the sacred appearance of the Ooni of Ife wearing the revered Aàrẹ crown.

There were also the devotees of the famed god of thunder – Sàngó who were hardly conspicuous at the festival.

Many other traditional groups came out with candor, showing a powerful expression of Yoruba cultural identity, spiritual devotion, and respect for the ancient traditions of Ilé-Ifẹ̀.

Devotees of Sàngó bekieved the ‘appearance’ of the god of thunder on Seotember 26th could be understood as a symbolic meeting of ancestral heritage, spiritual devotion, and the celebration of creation.

It was a moment when the sounds of drums, chants, and traditional praise poetry brought the history of the Yoruba people to life.

Although Olojo is closely associated with Ogun, the god of iron, and the sacred traditions of Ile-Ife, the presence of Sàngó devotees reflected the rich diversity of Yoruba spiritual heritage.

Also read: Olojo Festival 2026: Ooni Urges Leaders to Prioritise Citizens

As a participant enthused at the festival, “To witness Sàngó Olúkòso emerge on Olojo Festival day is to witness a living expression of history, identity, and ancestral pride.”