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 taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

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 is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

film industry. and in March 2018, in commemoration of the

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with ...

, 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, also known as Unilorin, is a federal government-owned university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. It was established by a decree of the federal military government in August, 1975. The establishment aimed to implement one o ...

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), 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 internation ...

, and then Theatre Arts, TV & Film Production at

Lagos State University Lagos State University, also known as LASU, is located in Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe both towns in Lagos State, Nigeria. The university was established in 1983 by the enabling law of Lagos State, for the advancement of learning ...

. 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 former ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and Met Film School,

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

, 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 f ...

, 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) ''Relentless'' is a 2010 Nigerian drama film, co-produced and directed by Andy Amadi Okoroafor; it stars Gideon Okeke, Nneka Egbuna, Jimmy Jean-Louis and Tope Oshin Ogun. It was released on 13 October 2010 at the BFI London Film Festival, and ...

'', 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 and ...

''. 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 21 Jan 2021, the show's 3 ...

'' and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

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 Bauc ...

'', and ''

New Money ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...

''. Oshin has produced some of the highest box office breaking movies in Nigeria, including the 2015 romantic film ''

Fifty 50 (fifty) is the natural number following 49 and preceding 51. In mathematics Fifty is the smallest number that is the sum of two non-zero square numbers in two distinct ways: 50 = 12 + 72 = 52 + 52. It is also the sum of three squares, 50 = 32 ...

'', 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 ''The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai'' is a 2017 Nigerian romantic comedy drama film directed by Niyi Akinmolayan. It is a sequel to '' The Wedding Party'', which was released in December 2016. Principal photography for the film, which was ...

'', 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 women ...

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

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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) ''We Don't Live Here Anymore'' is a 2018 Nigerian film directed by Tope Oshin and produced by Olumide Makanjuola, Bose Oshin and Tope Oshin. The drama is based on the story of two LGBT high school students Chidi Egwuonwu (Temidayo Akinboro) and ...

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 series that was 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 ...

, 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–based International Academy of Television Arts and S ...

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 documentary filmmakers Women television producers Women documentary filmmakers Nigerian media personalities 21st-century Nigerian actresses