A film screening that will be preceded by a Keynote from the producer and director of the film, followed by a Q&A session with the project partners, filmmakers and researchers amongst others.

“Funmilayo Ransome Kuti” is a film directed and produced by Mrs Bolanle Austen-Peters.

The film is a biopic about the life and times of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a renowned Nigerian activist and mother of Afrobeat, who started a revolution against colonialism and patriarchy in Nigeria.

The Keynote will discuss the place of Creative Economies and the Arts, particularly film and theatre, in spotlighting the ways African art is able to disrupt distances on a national, continental and global stage.

This event is supported by the Cluster of Research Excellence for Creative Economies.

About the speaker

Mrs Bolanle Austen-Peters

Bolanle Austen-Peters (BAP) is an award-winning film and theatre director, and producer. She has pioneered the national and international re-emergence of the Nigerian theatre industry, dedicated to showcasing the culture, the experiences and the glamour of Nigerians through art. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Terra Kulture, an arts and cultural center in Lagos, Nigeria. Terra Kulture was established because there were few places in Nigeria with the appropriate ambiance, for Nigerians and foreigners alike to learn about Nigeria’s rich cultural and linguistic heritage.

Through her production company, Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions has produced 9 plays that have been performed on three continents. Her plays include, Saro The Musical, Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, Motherland the Musical, Death and The King's Horseman written by Nobel prize winner, Wole Soyinka and many more. As a filmmaker she's directed the award winning film Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and other films including The Bling Lagosians, Man of God and Collision Course and produced 93 Days.

Respondent: Estrella Sendra

Estrella Sendra is Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries Education (Festivals and Events) at King’s College London. Her main research interests are film and creative industries in Senegal, with a particular focus on festivals. She was the co-principal investigator of ‘Decolonizing Film Festival Research in a Post-Pandemic World’, funded by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRFR-2021-00161, 2022-24). She is an advisory board member of the ERC-funded research project ‘African Screen Worlds: Decolonising Film and Screen Studies’ (grant agreement No. 819236, 2019-24), led by Prof Lindiwe Dovey. In 2024, she was awarded the King’s Research Impact Awards (International Collaboration) for her collaborations with festivals and film programs curating African cinemas.

About King's Africa Week

Hosted by the African Leadership Centre and Africa research group, Africa Week is an annual celebration of research, education and outreach activities on Africa.

King's Africa Week brings together academics, researchers and students from across King's – and offers the opportunity to hear from African scholars, leaders and thinkers. It also showcases King's collaboration with African universities and partners.

Find out more about Africa Week