Josh Olaoluwa

EARLY LIFE

Josh Olaoluwa was born and raised in mainland Lagos, Nigeria, to parents of Ekiti origin. He is the last of four siblings. His early exposure to film came from watching classics such as Titanic, Rush Hour, Shaolin Soccer, The Matrix, Tarzan, and Blade on DVD at a neighbor’s house (the only one with a color television). As a teenager, he assisted on commercial shoots at the SO&U advertising agency where his mother sold food, sparking curiosity about production. He studied Marine Biology at the University of Lagos, graduating in 2018, and participated in the departmental media team by curating wildlife video screenings. Part of his final-year project was published in a national newspaper. After graduation, he shifted toward film.

CAREER

Olaoluwa entered filmmaking after university through collaboration with Orire Nwani on the short film No Means Maybe? (2017). Early struggles with the result led him to formal training: he studied Cinematography and Lighting at Del-York Creative Academy (where his short Barefoot won Best Short Film) and later Producing at EbonyLife Creative Academy. He also received a fully funded scholarship to study Producing and the Business of Film at Pan-Atlantic University. He worked as a producer at EbonyLife Studios, where credits include the Netflix romantic thriller A Sunday Affair (debuted at No. 1 on Netflix Nigeria) and the limited series Oloture 2. He produced and showran the Amazon Prime Video limited series Grind, which held the No. 1 most-streamed show in Nigeria for eight consecutive weeks (Season 2 debuted in 2025). These achievements made him the only Nigerian producer to simultaneously hold the No. 1 spots on both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video Nigeria. Other notable producing credits include: The Making of a King (documentary on Netflix’s King of Boys) National sitcoms Daddy Yo and Peppersoup (series producer; averaged millions of viewers) Shorts such as Naked Woman (Best Director at New York Tri-State Film Festival; selected by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art for Nigeria’s 62nd independence), Love Language (AMVCA nomination; Nollywood Week Paris), Ije, Kill the Impostor, A Day in September, Iyawo Mi (My Wife), Her Perfect Life (Mo Abudu’s directorial shorts on mental health), T’egbon T’aburo, Onajite, and Deep Dish Dimples (2025; premiered at Slamdance Film Festival; starring Brian Michael Smith and Angelica Ross) Feature One Woman One Bra / 1 Woman 1 Bra (2025; set in the Maasai community in Kenya; co-production with Kenyan creatives; set for premiere at the Venice International Film Festival—described as a first for a Nigerian producer in that context) Additional projects including The Wives (2025), Ella & Selene, Love & Seclusion (New York Foundation for the Arts prize in Producing, only African recipient in the fiction feature category), and development work such as Fantastic Tale (Red Sea Labs and Torino Film Lab) He has also produced commercial campaigns for brands including Unity Bank, Cadbury, and Red Bull (collaborating with artists such as Joeboy, CKay, and Tems). Olaoluwa is a fellow of the Torino Film Lab, Red Sea Lab (Saudi Arabia), Biennale College Cinema (Venice), Global Media Makers, and Film Independent’s Project Involve (2024; first-ever international fellow in the program’s 32-year history). He received a special award from the U.S. Department of State recognizing contributions to the Nigerian creative space. His work has reached over 50 million viewers online and screened internationally.

PERSONAL LIFE

Olaoluwa keeps his personal life relatively private. He has spoken about the challenges of building a film career from Nigeria, including limited formal pathways and the need to seek international opportunities. He collaborates frequently with longtime friend and filmmaker Orire Nwani (they grew up in the same children’s church and attended the same secondary school). He currently spends time between Nigeria and Los Angeles and enjoys teaching children how to use a camera.

Josh Olaoluwa is recognized as part of a new generation of Nigerian producers bridging Nollywood with global platforms and festivals. He emphasizes excellence, authentic African narratives, social issues (including representation and systemic themes), and cross-continental collaboration. He has spoken about the importance of balancing creative vision with business skills and continues to mentor younger talent while expanding African stories onto the world stage.