Nora Awolowo

Nora Awolowo
Born
Oreoluwa Racheal Awolowo

(1999-03-02) 2 March 1999
Lagos, Nigeria
EducationEkiti State University
Occupations
  • Producer
  • Cinematographer
  • Director
Known for"Red Circle" Life at the Bay, Symphonies, All Lives Matter, David, Baby Blues
Websiterixelstudios.com

Oreoluwa Racheal Awolowo (born 2 March 1999), popularly known as Nora Awolowo, is a Nigerian film producer, director, and cinematographer.[1][2][3][4] In 2025 she became the youngest Nigerian filmmaker to reach the ₦100 million box office milestone for Red Circle, a film for which she served as both producer and cinematographer. She is also the first Nigerian woman nominated for Best Cinematography at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) for her work in the Nigerian 2024 epic Lisabi: The Uprising.[5]

Early life

Awolowo was born, raised and schooled in Lagos State, Nigeria, where she still lives. She received her degree in Accounting from Ekiti State University in 2019.[6] At university, she developed a passion for photography and learned to take images with her phone, earning some paid work while still a student. More interested in storytelling, she transitioned to filmmaking, beginning with documenting behind-the-scenes footage for unscripted television projects, such as Lota Chukwu’s Lota Takes. During this period, she also taught herself to edit television content, solidifying her interest in a filmmaking career.[6]

Career

By the time she graduated from university in 2019, Awolowo had been working in the film industry for two years. That year, she established her production company, Rixel Studios, and released her debut documentary, Life at the Bay, which follows the lives of women living in Tarkwa Bay. The short was screened at the Africa International Film Festival[7][8] and established a pattern in her early work, which often explored the personal and societal challenges faced by Nigerians, particularly women. That same year she followed up with Symphonies, a short narrative film about a young woman whose life begins to unravels amid personal challenges. In 2021, she released David, a faith-based film about a young man on the verge of taking his life. The film went on to win two awards and screened at six international film festivals.[6][9][10]

Awolowo's breakthrough came with Baby Blues: The Trials of Childbirth (2021), a documentary that highlighted the challenges of Nigerian women facing childbirth and post-partum depression.[11] In 2023, Baby Blues was nominated for Best Documentary at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, alongside another of her films, Nigeria: The Debut—a documentary commissioned by International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), which went on to win the category.

In 2024, she served as cinematographer alongside Barnabas Emordi in the Netflix historical drama, Lisabi: The Uprising, with both receiving a nomination for Best Cinematographer at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA).

In 2025, she served as both producer and cinematographer to the thriller Red Circle, her biggest commercial success to date. In less than a month following its June release, its crossed the ₦100 million mark at the box office, establishing Awolowo as the youngest Nigerian filmmaker to reach that benchmark.[12]

Distinctions

Awolowo is a three-time nominee—in 2020, 2021, and 2023— for The Future Awards Africa in the Prize for Film category.[13][14][15]

In 2025 she received Zikoko’s HERtitude award for Film.[5]

Awards and nominations

Year Award ceremony Award description Work Result Ref
2020 The Future Awards Africa Prize for Film Nominated [16]
2019 25 Under 25 SME Awards Best Media and Communications Person Won [17]
2023 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards Best Documentary Nigeria: The Debut Won [18][19][20]
Baby Blues Nominated
The Future Awards Africa Prize for Film Herself Pending [21]

Filmography

Year Title Role
2019 Life at the Bay Director
2019 Symphonies Director
2021 David Cinematographer
2021 Baby Blues Director
2022 The Order of Things Cinematographer
2023 Dear Men Cinematographer
2024 What Are You Truly Afraid Of? Director
2024 Lisabi Cinematographer
2025 Red Circle Producer and Cinematographer

References

  1. ^ "Nora Awolowo". filmfreeway.com. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Popular Nigerian Cinematographer, Nora Shares The Best Thing A Stranger Has Done For Her". ghgossip.com. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  3. ^ "#Symphonies: Watch The Trailer To Nora Awolowo's Short Film "Symphonies"". stationmag.com. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  4. ^ "This Must Watch Documentary "Life at the Bay" portrays the Inspiring Survival Tales of Tarkwa Bay Women | Watch the Teaser on BN". bellanaija.com. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b "These Emerging Nigerian Filmmakers are Having a Great Year - What Kept Me Up". 20 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Sule, Mariam (5 April 2022). "I Went From Taking Pictures With My Phone to Making Award Winning Films in Less Than Five Years – Nora". Zikoko!. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Here's the Full List of Films Selected for AFRIFF 2019". bellanaija.com. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  8. ^ Native, The (18 February 2019). "See the women of Tarkwa Bay in trailer for new documentary, "Life At The Bay"". The NATIVE. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  9. ^ "DAVID". filmfreeway.com. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Nora Awolowo Releases Teaser For Her Documentary "All Lives Matter"". stationmag.com. 3 August 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  11. ^ Rapheal (6 January 2022). "Nora Awolowo holds private screening for Baby Blues: The Trials of Childbirth". The Sun Nigeria. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  12. ^ Henry, Uchechukwu (11 July 2025). "Nora Awolowo Sets Record as Red Circle Hits ₦100M Box Office". Rex Clarke Adventures. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  13. ^ "The Future Awards Africa names 2020 nominees, all under-28 + Full list". theeagleonline.com.ng. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  14. ^ "The Future Awards: Rema, DJ Cuppy, Others Nominated (Full List)". allnews.ng. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  15. ^ "The Future Awards Africa 2023: All the nominees". Music In Africa. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  16. ^ "DJ Cuppy, Tomike Adeoye, Taaooma, Jemima Osunde Nominated For The Future Awards Africa (TFAA) 2020 (See Full List)". fabwoman.ng. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Meet The Winners of 2019 25under25 Awards". bellanaija.com. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Full List: Here are all our AMVCA 9 Nominees". AMVCA - Full List: Here are all our AMVCA 9 Nominees. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  19. ^ "AMVCA 2023: Nora Awolowo bags Best Documentary award". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  20. ^ Udugba, Anthony (20 May 2023). "Full list of winners at the 9th AMVCA 2023". Businessday NG. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  21. ^ "FULL LIST: Asake, Tobi Amusan, Osimhen nominated for TFAA 2023". TheCable Lifestyle. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
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