Imoh Umoren
Born (1982-08-13) 13 August 1982
Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Occupation(s)Director, producer, writer
Years active2007–present

Imoh Umoren (born 13 August 1982), is a Nigerian filmmaker who primarily makes indie films.[1] He is most notable as the director of the 2017 film Children of Mud. Umoren is considered the first filmmaker to make a silent black and white film in the Nollywood film industry.[2]

Personal life

He was born on 13 August 1982 in Nigeria. His father was a politician and mother was a college professor.[3] Umoren credits his mother's influence for his career in filmmaking. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager, and he was raised by relatives until he struck out on his own at 16.[4]

Career

At the age of 9, Umoren started to write a comic series called The Wickeds with his closest friend Richie. He joined as a junior producer for 'Common Ground Production' and worked on an international series called The Station.[1] Later, he involved with franchise TV productions such as Project Fame, MTV Advance Warning, Don’t Forget The Lyrics and Malta Guinness Street Dance.[5]

At the age of 26, he made his first feature film Lemon Green.[4] The film gained critical acclaim. Then in 2010, he directed the short film All Sorts Of Trouble. In 2013, his TV movie Have A Nice Day was nominated for Best Cinematography. In 2015 he directed the black and white silent movie Hard Times, which won him his first AMVCA.[6] For his tragedy film The Happyness Limited, the lead actor Tope Tedela was voted as the Best Actor in Africa at the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (AMVCA).[2]

Umoren later wrote and directed the critically acclaimed film Children of Mud which is loosely based on a real story.[1] The film received 7 nominations at different international film festivals including: Nigeria Entertainment Awards (NEA) and the AMVCA.[7] His next tragedy film Dear Bayo was screened in 11 film festivals and won 6 awards at the UK Nollywood Festival other international film festivals.[2] Umoren also directed the film Lagos: Sex, Lies & Traffic which he co-wrote with Gbemisola Afolabi.

He then completed the production of the period drama The Herbert Macaulay Affair, a biopic about Herbert Macaulay, in 2018.[8][9] In 2020, he made the drama series Channel 77.[10]

Filmography

YearFilmRoleGenreRef.
2004Hard TimesDirector, writerFilm
2007The StationJunior producerTV series
2007Break the BankProducerTV series
2007Don’t Forget The LyricsJunior producerTV series
2008Project FameJunior producerTV program
2008MTN Xtra Connect Game ShowJunior producerTV series
2008MTV Advance WarningJunior producerTV series
2009Lemon GreenDirector, writerFilm[11]
2009Malta Guinness Street DanceJunior producerTV program
2010All Sorts Of TroubleDirector, writerFilm
2013Have A Nice DayDirector, writerFilm
2015Lagos: Sex, Lies & TrafficDirector, writerFilm[12]
2016The Happyness LimitedDirector, writerFilm[13]
2017Children of MudDirector, producer, writerFilm
2018 Club
2019The Herbert Macaulay AffairDirector, producerFilm[14]
2020Dear BayoDirector, writerFilm

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Imoh Umoren: Setting The Pace In Indie Film". The Guardian. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Imoh Umoren career". kweliTV, Inc. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Imoh Umoren, African Filmmaker Talks Career Plus "Lagos: Sex, Lies & Traffic"". Indie Activity. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Losing My Parents And Two Siblings Scared Me Shitless — Man Like Imoh Umoren". Zikoko!. 2021-05-30. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  5. ↑ "Imoh Umoren: The rise of a filmmaker". Omenka Online. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "AMVCA 2015: Imoh Umoren wins Best New Media Online Video". Africa Magic - AMVCA 2015: Imoh Umoren wins Best New Media Online Video. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  7. ↑ "GEP Studios bags another nomination for Children of Mud". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  8. ↑ "Imoh Umoren features Herbert Macaulay's grandson, Wale in a new film, 'The Herbert Macaulay Affair'". Pulse Nigeria. 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  9. ↑ "From an idea to the big screen: The journey of producing a movie". Stears Business. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "Imoh Umoren flashes Kelechi Udegbe as its lead star in 'Channel 77' teaser". pulse. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "I want to take Lemon Green to 22 film festivals says, Imoh Umoren". thenigerianvoice. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "Filmmaker X-rays Lagosians in new film, 'Lagos: Sex, Lies and Traffic". thenationonlineng. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  13. ↑ Umoren, Imoh (2016-12-03), The Happyness Limited (Drama, Family), Tope Tedela, Elvis Duke, Mariam Kayode, Kingsley Nwachukwu, retrieved 2021-01-06
  14. ↑ "The Herbert Macaulay Affair is a timely reminder that Nigerian history matters (Review)". pulse. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
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