| Ekene Som Mekwunye | |
| Birth Date: | 1978 4, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria |
| Occupation: | Film Director, Film Producer, screenwriter, Educator |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Spouse: | Mutiat Mekwunye |
| Children: | 2 |
| Parents: | Ezekolie Peter Mekwunye (d. 2016), Lozie Grace Mekwunye[1] |
Ekene Som Mekwunye (born 22 April 1978) is a Nigerian film director, producer, screenwriter and educator. [2] He is known for Directing and Producing movies like Light In The Dark, One Lagos Night, Honey Money and Sylvia.
Mekwunye started his career being a camera assistant at his church before getting a job at Africa Magic producing 53extra and Jara as well as all Channel O contents in Nigeria. He later went to New York film Academy in Los Angeles to study filmmaking. Shortly after his return, he moved to MTV shuga as the project coordinator where he organized for their hit TV series titled Shuga 3. He shot a short film, Oblivious and it won an AMVCA[3] (Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award) in 2015 for best short film.
He started his Company, Riverside Productions after He left MTV Shuga and created a TV show called My Big Nigerian Wedding which went on to become a big wedding reality TV show in Africa. He later produced 3 short films titled The Encounter,[4] A Simple Letter and Lasgidi Vice. The Encounter won an AMVCA[5] for best Sound track/original score in 2017 and Lasgidi Vice got to screen at the Cannes International Film Festival[6] in 2018. He produced his first Feature film titled Sylvia,[7] which was released in Nigerian cinemas[8] in September 2018 and screened at different film festivals including Nollywood Week[9] in Paris and BFI.[10]
He Directed his first feature film, which he also produced with Chidinma Uzodike titled Light In The Dark, which was released in Nigerian and Ghanaian cinemas[11] on the 25th Of January 2019. It got 3 nominations at the AMVCA 2022 including the highly coveted Best Director.[12] It went on to screen at film festivals in 5 different continents including, Nollywood Week in Paris,[13] Silicon Valley African Film festival[14] and Soo Film Festivals both in the United States, Brasilia International film festival in Brazil, Durban International Film festival[15] in South Africa and other countries in India, Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria and Australia. He won the Best Director award at the Kaduna International Film Festival[16] in 2020 for the same film. He directed his second feature film, which he also produced titled 'One Lagos Night'[17] that was acquired exclusively by Netflix[18] and the international release on their platform was on the 29th of May 2021. It was also the closing film at Nollywood week Film Festival, Paris[19] which held online in 2021. It got 2 nominations at the AMVCA 2022.[20]
In 2022, he made the movie titled 'Honey Money' starring Nancy Isime, Timini Egbuson, Iyabo Ojo, Femi Branch, Babarex, Uzee Usman, Sandra Okunzuwa, Junior Pope etc. He was the Director, Co-Producer and also an Executive Producer.[21] The movie was released in cinemas In April 2023. Amazon Prime released[22] 2 of his films exclusive to their platform Prime video in April 2024 titled AMBIVALENT and KALI.[23] He directed and Produced the Movie 'Move Like A Boss' which premiered in Nigerian cinemas in August 2024.[24] His films 'I Hate Love Stories' and 'Honey Money' screened at the Zanzibar International film Festival in August and were the first Nigerian films to screen at the film festival in close to 10 years.[25] He is also an adjunct faculty[26] at the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University where he teaches final year students film Production and Techniques. He also organises free workshops for young filmmakers called The Imagery Program where he teaches Screenwriting, Filmmaking and acting for screen. It has held twice. He was one of the speakers invited by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to speak at a conference titled 'Videography In The Hands Of The People' which held at the school campus in October 2022 in Boston.[27]
He got married in April 2012 to Muti Mekwunye, (née Omotosho) in Lagos and they have 2 kids together.[28]
Selected Filmography
| Year | Title | Major Cast | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-2013 | Jara | Helen Paul, Uti Nwachukwu, | Producer | TV Show |
| 2011-2013 | 53extra | Eku Edewor, Dolapo Oni, | Producer | TV Show |
| 2011-2013 | Channel O | Denrele Edun, | Producer, Director | TV Show |
| 2013 | MTV Shuga 3 | Project Coordinator | TV Series | |
| 2013 | My Big Nigerian Wedding | Sisi Yemmie, Bobo Yomi, | Director, Producer, Executive Producer | TV Show |
| 2013 | Oblivious | Screenwriter, Producer, Executive Producer | Short Film, winner for the 2015 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for Best short film | |
| 2015 | The Encounter | Gregory Ojefua, Amarachi Onoh, Stan Nze, | Producer | Short Film, winner for the 2017 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for Best Sound Design |
| 2015 | A Simple Letter | Producer | Short Film | |
| 2016 | Lasgidi Vice | Producer | Short film | |
| 2018 | Sylvia | Zainab Balogun, Chris Attoh, Ini Dima-Okojie and Udoka Oyeka | Producer | Feature Film, available on Prime Video |
| 2019 | Light In The Dark | Rita Dominic, Joke Silva, Kalu Ikeagwu, Kiki Omeili, Bimbo Ademoye, Ngozi Nwosu, Saidi Balogun | Story Writer, Director, Producer, Executive Producer | Feature Film, available on Netflix |
| 2021 | One Lagos Night | Frank Donga, Gold Ikponmwosa, Eniola Badmus, Genoveva Umeh and Ali Nuhu | Director, Producer, Executive Producer | Feature film, available on Netflix |
| 2023 | How To Love Me | Yvonne Jegede, IK Ogbonna, | Director, Producer, Executive Producer | Feature Film, available on Prime Video |
| 2023 | Honey Money | Nancy Isime, Timini Egbuson, Iyabo Ojo, Femi Branch, | Director, Producer, Executive Producer | Feature Film |
| 2024 | Ambivalent | Gabriel Afolayan, Derby Frankson, Aereis Umusu, Anita.O James, | Writer, Director, Producer, Executive Producer | Feature Film, available on Prime Video |
| 2024 | Kali | Lota Chukwu, Bimbo Manuel, Preach Bassey, Nedine Love, Blessing Martyn, Doddy Abili, Christle Lotanna Chris-Okafor, | Writer, Director, Producer, Executive Producer | Feature Film, available on Prime Video |
| 2024 | Move Like A Boss | Nancy Isime, IK Ogbonna, Yemi Solade, Jaiye Kuti, Tope Olowoniyan, MC Lively, Denrenle Edun, | Director, Producer, Casting Director | Feature Film, available on Prime Video |