Uche Okocha and Babatunwa Aderinokun’s Nigerian studio Trino Motion Pictures is celebrating its 10th anniversary by attending Cannes with a fresh remit that sees it add international sales to its production and distribution activities.
The sales slate stands at around 16 films, with in-house productions including Daniel Oriahi’s Tribeca and BFI London Film Festival thriller The Weekend, which has sold to HBO Max in Eastern Europe and Canal+ for 60 French-speaking territories.
“We had no idea [Eastern Europe] would be interested in African films until we saw the offer,” says Okocha of The Weekend’s Eastern European deal.
The company also has acquisitions such as Grace Yakubu’s Aljana, Nwamaka Chikezie’s To Adaego With Love and Soji Ogunnaike’s Dead Tide.
Okocha, co-founder and managing director of Trino, is hoping to bolster the studio’s international relationships. The US streamers’ retreat from the African market, after a short-lived boom, has propelled Trino’s shift into international sales. “It’s a necessity,” he notes.
Trino is also releasing select titles through Kava, a burgeoning streaming platform for African content that was founded last summer by Nigeria’s Filmhouse Group and Inkblot Studios. Titles include Lyndsey Efejuku’s The One For Sarah and Love Lockdown.
While most of its international deals to-date have been for VoD, Okocha is keen to increase its theatrical output. “We’ve done theatrical in the past, mainly West Africa,” he explains. “In theatrical distribution, we’ve seen that there’s a growing appetite in the UK for Nigerian films, and that’s something we’re exploring. There’s also a growing appetite in Canada as well, and we’re discussing with distributors in that territory.”
Okocha is particularly interested in connecting with the Brazilian industry while at Cannes. “We understand there is a decent Yoruba community that lives in Brazil,” he says. “We are looking at co-production opportunities as well. We have titles we believe will be great to adapt to other territories.”
A barrier to co-production in the past has been a lack of tax incentives in Nigeria. Could that change? “I understand that’s been on the agenda of the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy,” notes Okocha. “It hasn’t happened yet, but it would be great to have that. It’s something I look forward to maybe happening in the next three or five years.”
Okocha and Aderinokun co-founded the Lagos company in 2016. “We wanted to produce African stories that are globally exportable, and showcase Africa for its authenticity,” says Okocha. “Tell our stories in the right way. That has not changed in 10 years.
“What has changed is distribution, the quality in African storytelling, production, streamers and the entire Nigerian film and TV landscape.”
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