Tope Oshin is a Nigerian television and film director, producer and casting director, listed as one of the most influential

Nigerians Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

in film in 2019. In 2015 ''Pulse'' magazine named her as one of "9 Nigerian female movie directors you should know" in the

Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...

film industry. In March 2018, in commemoration of the

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with Internationa ...

, Tope was celebrated by

OkayAfrica OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has become ...

as one of the ''Okay100 Women''. The interactive campaign celebrates extraordinary women from Africa and the diaspora making waves across a wide array of industries, while driving positive impact in their communities and the world at large.

Early life and education

Tope hails from a devout Christian family. As a child, she engaged in drawing, singing, and dancing, and had aspirations to be a painter. She studied Economics at the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the ancient city of Ilorin; making ...

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

, and then Theatre Arts, TV & Film Production at

Lagos State University Lagos State University (LASU) is a state-owned university established by the Lagos State government in 1983. Its main campus is situated at Ojo, Lagos State, Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe. The university was set up "for the advanceme ...

. She became more interested in filmmaking and later studied Film Production, and Cinematography at Colorado Film School of the

Community College of Aurora The Community College of Aurora (CCA) is a public community college in Aurora, Colorado. It is part of the Colorado Community College System. CCA serves over 10,000 students annually at its CentreTech Campus in Aurora; Lowry Campus at the form ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, and

Met Film School MetFilm School (MFS) is a private film school headquartered at Ealing Studios in London, United Kingdom. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as short courses in filmmaking, screenwriting, and related disciplines. The sch ...

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

, London respectively. Tope is also an alumnus of 'Talents Durban' and

Berlinale Talents Berlinale Talents, formerly Berlinale Talent Campus, is the talent development programme of the Berlin International Film Festival (also called Berlinale). An annual summit and networking platform for 200 outstanding creatives from the fields of ...

, a networking summit of select outstanding creatives from the world of film and drama series across the globe.

Career

Tope, who was an actor for 12 years, featuring in films like '' Relentless (2010 film)'', before veering into directing, working as an associate producer and assistant director for ''

The Apprentice Africa ''The Apprentice Africa'' is an African version of the original American Reality TV format, ''The Apprentice'', hosted by Donald Trump. The show was hosted by Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, an advertising magnate, co-founder of Insight Communications a ...

''. and has since become known for directing popular African TV dramas and soap operas such as ''Hush'', ''Hotel Majestic'', ''

Tinsel (TV series) ''Tinsel'' is a Nigerian soap opera that began airing in August 2008. On 23 May 2013, the show's 1000th episode aired. It has been called "the most successful television drama on Nigerian television in recent times". On April 23, 2015, the show ...

'' and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Shuga. Though she has directed and produced several introspective short film projects such as ''The Young Smoker'', ''Till Death Do Us Part'', ''New Horizons'' and ''Ireti'', she is known best for her highly successful 2018 feature film releases ''

Up North (film) ''Up North'' is a 2018 Nigerian drama film produced by Anakle Films and Inkblot Productions, and directed by Tope Oshin. The screenplay was written by Naz Onuzo and Bunmi Ajakaiye, based on a story from Editi Effiong. It was mainly shot in Bau ...

'', and ''

New Money ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social clas ...

''. Oshin has produced some of the highest box office breaking movies in Nigeria, including the 2015 romantic film '' Fifty'', about four fifty-year-old female Lagos residents, which broke box office records upon release in December 2015, taking N20 million in the first weekend. and '' The Wedding Party 2'', as at 2018, the highest grossing Nigerian film. In 2016, she produced and directed the documentary, ''Amaka's Kin: The Women Of Nollywood'', as a memorial to prominent filmmaker

Amaka Igwe Amaka Igwe (2 January 1963 – 28 April 2014) was a Nigerian filmmaker and broadcasting executive. Igwe was the owner oTop Radio90.9 Lagos and Amaka Igwe Studios. She was recognized as one of the second-generation filmmakers who helped begin t ...

, who died in 2014. The documentary addresses issues facing Nigerian female directors, working in a male-dominated industry. As a follow-up to her documentary, in 2017, and as part of the

BBC 100 Women ''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's wome ...

season, Tope celebrated the new generation of women filmmakers reinventing Nollywood, by presenting the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary ''Nigeria-Shooting It Like A Woman''. Apart from the BBC World Service documentary, Tope's ''Amaka's Kin - The Women Of Nollywood'' also influenced a lot of other TV shows and literary works alike, including Niran Adedokun's book ''Ladies Calling the Shots''. Oshin racked up some controversy in Nigeria, when she co-wrote, directed and produced the Queer film We Don't Live Here Anymore (2018 film) for human rights organization TIERs ( The Initiative For Equal Rights) in 2018. The movie was not accepted for a cinema release and received only a limited online release with FilmOne Distribution in 2018. ''We Don't Live Here Anymore'' however screened at Africa In Motion Film Festival in Glasgow, and also racked up a lot of nominations and awards surprisingly at 2018 Best Of Nollywood Awards in Nigeria. The film can be found currently on Amazon. Tope also has a thriving career as a Casting director and has cast for several film and television projects including all 3 Nigerian seasons of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation drama series Shuga Tope, through her company Sunbow Productions g was commissioned to produce Season 8 of MTV

Shuga (TV Series) ''Shuga'', also known as ''MTV Shuga'', is a television drama that first aired in November 2009 on MTV Base as part of an initiative dubbed "MTV Staying Alive Ignite!". Its first two seasons were commissioned by MTV Networks Africa in associati ...

, dubbed MTV Shuga Naija 4, and is credited as Head Director, Showrunner, Executive Producer and Producer, after directing and casting Season 6 of the show in 2017. In 2015 Tope served as a juror for the

International Emmy Award The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York City, New York–based International Academy of Televisi ...

for the first time.

Personal life

Tope's 2002 marriage to screenwriter, Yinka Ogun, ended in 2014. The union produced four children.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Documentaries

Television

Awards and nominations

Honors

''Okay100 Women'' 2017 Honoree *Excellence in The Creative Industries Award - Sisi Oge Awards 2018 *Distinguished Alumni Medal of Honor 2016 - In-short film festival *African Woman In Film Award 2015 by African Women Development Fund * Special Award For Outstanding Contribution To Film & TV In Nigeria - Eko Star Film & TV Awards by Lagos State Govt./Nigerian Film & TV Summit/Ebonylife Media 2021

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshin, Tope Nigerian women film directors Living people Nigerian television producers Nigerian film producers Nigerian women film producers University of Ilorin alumni Lagos State University alumni Yoruba filmmakers Nigerian film actresses Yoruba actresses 1979 births Nigerian film directors Nigerian women film directors Nigerian documentary filmmakers Nigerian women television producers Women documentary filmmakers Nigerian media personalities 21st-century Nigerian actresses