What makes Tunde Kelani a Global Shaker?
Nigerian director, photographer and cinematographer Tunde Kelani is a leading light of the ‘Nollywood’ movement – the second-largest film industry in the world. In a career spanning more than four decades, the artist, more commonly-known as TK, has worked directly on 19 movies. He specialises in films that promote archive and educate people about Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, particularly through the adaptation of literary material.
Kelani became fascinated with photography as a young boy, first becoming an apprentice photographer and later a trainee cameraman at Western Nigeria Television. He then saved up to study at the London International Film School in 1970s, making his first independent film, The Dilemma of Rev. Father Michael (Idaamu Paadi Minkailu), shortly after graduation.
His long and varied career has seen him receive a lifetime achievement award from the African Movie Academy awards, and even work for the BBC and news agency Reuters – with whom he covered the drought in Ethiopia, and the independence movement in Zimbabwe.
Tags: filmLast updated: May 20, 2019
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