Yinka olaito
BlackBox, Where African stories meet global stage
Africa’s storytelling game just got a major boost. Legendary filmmaker Femi Odugbemi has thrown open the doors to BLACKBox, a high-energy creative hub in Lekki built to supercharge the continent’s next wave of TV, film, and documentary talent. From every information gathered Billed as “an ecosystem for shaping compelling African stories with global impact”, BLACKBox isn’t your regular studio. It’s a nerve centre where ideas are forged, scripts sharpened, and visions brought to life—with commercial success firmly in sight.
The space boasts sleek training rooms, breakout zones, and roundtables for collaboration—enough to host 50 creators in hands-on workshops. Here, industry rookies and veterans alike can tap into top-tier mentorship, project consultancy, and deep-dive sessions on scriptwriting, directing, production design, and audience engagement. By merging consultancy, production support, and ongoing professional training under one roof, BLACKBox is positioning itself as a vital engine in Nigeria’s creative economy.
And it’s not just training. BLACKBox now houses Zuri24 Media—the hit-making machine behind Battleground, Brethren, Covenant, and award-winning films Gidi Blues and The Man Died. That means fresh talent will be learning in the same building where prime-time hits are made.
“Our mission is simple,” Odugbemi says. “Equip creators with the craft, structure, and delivery skills to tell authentic African stories that travel the world—and make money doing it.” Adding more thought, Femi odugbemi emphasized “We are indeed excited to push forward on this path of empowering African storytelling at the development stage to be much more representative of our best ambitions as a continent. Storytelling is our superpower and technology and the emergence of tools like AI offers us efficient and affordable opportunities to create boldly”.
With its blend of consultancy, live production, and constant skills-building, BLACKBox is positioning itself as a creative economy game-changer—not just for Lagos, but for Africa at large.
The iconic Femi Odugbemi behind the BlackBox idea
Odugbemi is an internationally recognized documentary filmmaker, writer, and content producer, and a voting member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Beyond being thes CEO of Zuri24 Media and co-founder of the iREPRESENT Documentary Film Festival (IREP), launched in 2010 to promote documentary storytelling in Africa, Femi Odugbemi constantly speaks and motivate younger creatives in the industry
