Niyi Akinmolayan
Niyi Akinmolayan is a Nigerian film-maker, director and media consultant. He is best known for directing the highest grossing Nigerian film of all time, The Wedding Party 2, which starred Banky Wellington, Adesua Etomi and Enyinna Nwigwe; it was a sequel to the equally successful film The Wedding Party. He is the founder and Creative Director of Anthill Productions, a media production facility.
Early life
Akinmolayan is from Ondo State, South West Nigeria and is of Yoruba descent. He began a degree in engineering at the Yaba College of Technology,Early career
At the start of his professional career, Akinmolayan worked as a graphic designer, website designer, and as an apprentice to Nollywood filmmakers, during this time, he began to hone his skills in video editing, animations, after effects and visual effects.His debut film titled Kajola, released in 2010, was an experiment in visual effects, but was panned by film makers and critics alike. Akinmolayan had set up his production company, Anthill Productions in 2008, which provided the visual effects for the movie Kajola.
Later career
In 2014, he directed the Nigerian dance movie Make a Move which starred Ivie Okujaye, Tina Mba, Beverly Naya, Wale Adebayo, Victor Godfery, Helga Sosthenes and Eno Ekpenyong. The movie was nominated for the 2015 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for Best Movie .In 2015, Akinmolayan also directed the movies Falling featuring Adesua Etomi, Desmond Elliot and Blossom Chukwujekwu, and Out of Luck which featured Linda Ejiofor, Tope Tedela and Jide Kosoko. The film went on to earn Akinmolayan a nomination for Best Director at the 2016 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and lead actress Adesua Etomi, won the award for Best Actress at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for her role in Falling.
In December 2016, Akinmolayan released a short film titled PlayThing a 3D animated movie, which was premiered at the FilmOne IMAX cinema in Lagos to rave reviews.
In 2017, his movie The Arbitration featuring O.C Ukeje and Adesua Etomi was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Following the success of The Arbitration, Akinmolayan began a competition on his blog for prospective writers, receiving over 300 entries, it led to the production of the short film Room 315.
In 2017, due to the successful reception of Plaything, Akinmolayan produced an animated series in collaboration with FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, titled "Adventures of Lola and Chuchu".
Filmography
Selected Filmography| Year | Title | Major Cast | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Kajola | Keira Hewatch, Desmond Elliot, Adonijah Owiriwa | Director | Feature Film |
| 2014 | Make a Move | Ivie Okujaye, Tina Mba, Beverly Naya, Wale Adebayo, Victor Godfery, Helga Sosthenes and Eno Ekpenyong | Director | Feature Film nominated for the 2015 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for Best Movie |
| 2015 | Falling | Adesua Etomi, Desmond Elliot and Blossom Chukwujekwu | Director | Feature Film |
| 2016 | Plaything | Executive Producer | 3D animated Short film | |
| 2017 | The Arbitration | OC Ukeje, Adesua Etomi, Iretiola Doyle and Somkele Iyamah | Director | Feature Film, available on Netflix |
| 2017 | The Wedding Party 2 | Banky Wellington, Adesua Etomi, Iretiola Doyle, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Patience Ozokwor, Enyinna Nwigwe | Director | Feature Film |
| 2017 | Adventures of Lola and Chuchu | Director | 3D animated series - 13 episodes | |
| 2018 | Chief Daddy | Taiwo Obileye, Joke Silva, Rachel Oniga and Funke Akindele | Director | Feature film |
| 2019 | The Set Up | Adesua Etomi, Kehinde Bankole, Joke Silva, Jim Iyke, Dakore Egbuson, Tina Mba | Director | Feature Film |
| 2019 | Elevator Baby | Toyin Abraham, Timini Egbuson, Yemi Solade, Sambasa Nzeribe, Broda Shaggi | Executive Producer | Feature Film |