Odiete
One may be tempted to think that the film industry is only about glitz and glamour. But in many respects, it is beyond that. While there is the ‘show’, there is also the ‘business’, where the dollars, naira and cents are aggregated to ensure the smooth running of the industry. Of course, it is a path most people confess they are afraid of walking, because one needs a lot of courage to fit into its requirements: risks, capital and connections. But one woman, Joy Efe Odiete, has been able to navigate this slippery road with outstanding success, which is why her company, Blue Pictures has been at the top of the game, brokering partnerships with some of the world’s biggest production and streaming platforms to ensure film lovers are entertained with the best of content online and in-cinemas.
Her buffet of activities in the African entertainment business also includes film production, which has spawned Nollywood films like ‘Gone’, and ‘Money Miss Road’, her newest film, currently showing in cinemas across Nigeria, Europe, USA and Canada. Always eager to break new grounds, Joy Odiete’s new work, ‘Money Miss Road’, which was directed by Obi Emelonye and starring Charly Boy Oputa, Josh2funny, Swanky JKA, Melvin Oduah, Oma Iyasara and Anthony Monjaro is an action-comedy, with a new aroma as regards box office experience. As the only female heading a global film distribution company in Nigeria, Joy says her courage comes from her dire belief that something needs to be done to engender inclusivity in the industry: “it is a field, less travelled by women, let alone establishing a business whose core mandate is distribution. Predominantly, the men lead conversations in this field even in the international market. It feels great knowing that a woman too can create a table to sit at and not just looking to sit at the table,” she says.
