Akin Omotoso (born 1974) is a Nigerian film director, writer, and actor. He is best known for directing the 2022 film ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...

''. Both his father Kole Omotoso and his sister

Yewande Omotoso Yewande Omotoso (born 1980) is a South African-based novelist, architect and designer, who was born in Barbados and grew up in Nigeria. She is the daughter of Nigerian writer Kole Omotoso, and the sister of filmmaker Akin Omotoso. She currently ...

are also writers.

Early life and education

Omotoso was born in Nigeria where he grew up in

Ile Ife Ile may refer to: * iLe, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino acid * Anothe ...

Osun State Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Og ...

. His family emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1992 after his father, Kole Omotoso, took an academic appointment with the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

. This prompted Akin Omotoso to study at the same university, obtaining a diploma in speech and drama. His mother died in 2003.

Career

Omotoso ventured into entertainment while at the university. His acting debut was in ''Sunjata'' by Mark Fleishman. This also earned him a Fleur du Cap Award for Most Promising Student in 1995. He used the money from acting in the play to direct his first short films, ''The Kiss of Milk'', ''The Nightwalkers,'' and ''The Caretaker''. By 1999, he wrote his first full-length film, entitled ''God is African''. The film was released in 2003. He started a production company along with Robbie Thorpe and Kgomotso Matsunyane called T.O.M pictures in 2003. Omotoso directed the television series ''

Jacob's Cross Jacob's Cross is an African prime time drama series that premiered on M-Net in January 2007 and ended its 8 series run in 2013. Produced in South Africa, the show initially aired on M-net series but was later repurposed as a drama for M-Net's Afri ...

'' on

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and n ...

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

and

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

between 2007 and 2013. In 2010, he began working on ''

Tell Me Sweet Something ''Tell Me Sweet Something'' is a 2015 South African romantic comedy film starring Nomzamo Mbatha, Maps Maponyane and Thishiwe Ziqubu. The film was directed by Akin Omotoso and produced by Robbie Thorpe. The film received nine nominations at the ...

''; speaking about the script with ''Pulse Nigeria'', he stated that Theodore Witchers′ '' Love Jones'' (1997) was the influence behind the film. Omotoso also noted that he received a grant from the African Women's Development Fund. The film earned him the best director award at the

2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards The 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) was held on March 5, 2016 at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. It was hosted by Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa and Minnie Dlamini. Nominees were revealed on December 11, 201 ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

. In an interview with Azania Mosaka, he described the South African film industry atmosphere as having an enabling environment for aspiring filmmakers. He particularly acknowledged funds from the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) that prepares film stakeholders for the industry. In 2022, Omotoso directed Giannis Antetokounmpo biopic

Rise (2022 film) ''Rise'' is a 2022 biographical sports drama film directed by Akin Omotoso, from a script written by Arash Amel. Based on the true story of three young Nigerian-Greek brothers, Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo, who emigrate to the Uni ...

for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

which received generally positive reviews. Sourav Chakraborty of Sportskeeda found Rise to be an inspiring sports movie, stated Omotoso successfully provides an atmosphere of tension across his direction, and praised the performances of the cast members.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omotoso, Akin 1974 births People from Ife Nigerian film directors University of the Western Cape alumni Living people Akin Yoruba filmmakers Yoruba male actors Nigerian people of Barbadian descent Nigerian male film actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors 20th-century Nigerian male actors Nigerian screenwriters Nigerian film award winners Male actors in Yoruba cinema

Early life and education

Career

Filmography

See also

References

External links