Nollywood director Bolanle Austen-Peters takes to social media to celebrate her 56th birthday.
In a heartfelt morning post, the creative powerhouse reflected on her journey, expressing deep appreciation for her career, and loved ones.
“Stepping into 56 years of boldly achieving purpose. Blessed, accomplished and poised. Walking through our garden, I reflected on everything God has done for me and all I can say is “THANK YOU LORD” for making me a Beautiful African Princess (BAP) with the Baddest Amazing Productions (BAP) surrounded by the most amazing people that love me and doing what I love best; appreciating nature. I am looking up to God Almighty for the journies ahead of me and thanking all my loved ones for being part of my making,” the post said.
From theatre to Nollywood
Before Nollywood fully felt her impact, Austen-Peters was already making waves in the theatre world. She founded Terra Kulture, Nigeria’s leading cultural and arts hub, and through it, she helped revive and modernise stage performances. But she didn’t just stop at producing plays; she made them blockbusters.
Her stage productions like Saro the Musical, Wakaa! The Musical, and Fela and the Kalakuta Queens weren’t just local hits; they toured internationally, proving that Nigerian theatre could command global attention. And then, as if she hadn’t already done enough, she took that magic to Nollywood.
Nollywood storytelling
When Bolanle Austen-Peters ventured into filmmaking, she didn’t come to play. She came with vision, class, and a commitment to telling compelling, socially relevant stories.
Her 2019 movie The Bling Lagosians is a glitzy drama that explores the extravagant lifestyles of Lagos elites while tackling themes of family, legacy, and scandal. The film was a box-office success, further cementing Austen-Peters’ place in the industry.
She proceeded to direct Man of God (2022), a thought-provoking drama about faith, ambition and identity. Her most recent work, House of Ga’a made the Netflix’s Top 10 Global Chart for Non-English Films.
Her biopic Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti became the biggest biopic in West Africa during the time of its release. In Nigeria, it led Nollywood films at the box office two weeks in a row.
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