Bolanle Austen-Peters

Jeremiah Aluwong

3 years ago

Bolanle Austen-Peters was born on the 4th of February, 1969. She is a Nigerian Movie and Theatre Director, and Lawyer. She is the founder and Managing Director of Terra Kulture, the foremost Nigerian Art and Culture centre located in Lagos. Her movie and Theatre company, BAP Productions has produced musicals, including ‘Saro: The Musical,’ ‘Wakaa The Musical,’ ‘Moremi The Musical,’ ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens,’ ‘The Oluronbi Musical,’ and most recently ‘Death and The King’s Horseman.’ It has also produced films, including 93 Days, Bling Lagosians, Collision, and Man of God. She is a movie and theatre Producer/Director whose plays have travelled to London’s West-end, South Africa and Egypt.

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Early life and education Austen-Peters was born on 4 February 1969. She is the daughter of Emmanuel Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. She attended the Command Secondary School Ibadan, the International School Ibadan and the University of Lagos for her undergraduate studies and earned a master’s degree in International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Career Bolanle Austen-Peters began her career in her father’s law firm, while working in her father’s firm, she kept sending out job applications to other companies. She was invited by the United Nations for an interview and eventually got a job as the company secretary of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Switzerland. After a while, she moved on to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the United Nations Development Program. In 2003, she founded Terra Kulture Arts and Studios Limited, an educational and recreational organization set up to promote Nigerian languages, arts and culture. Terra Kulture is also the first privately owned ultra-modern theatre in Nigeria. In 2013, Austen-Peters established her own production company called Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions (BAP). The company entered the Nigerian theatre industry with its first production, SARO the Musical. The show toured Lagos and was performed in London’s West End from 21 to 25 July 2016. In December 2017, Bolanle Austen-Peters directed the Fela and The Kalakuta Queens musical. The musical is based on the real-life story of Nigerian music icon and activist, Fela Kuti and the women who stood by him. Bolanle Austen-Peters also directed in 2018, Moremi the Musical which tells the story of the 12th century Yoruba legend Queen who liberated the people of Ife from the grasp of their enemies.

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BAP Releases In 2015, BAP commenced production of the film 93 Days (2016), a feature film on the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria which premiered on 13 September 2016 in Lagos. It was selected for premiering and viewing at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Chicago Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, the Johannesburg Film Festival, the Africa Film Festival in Cologne/Germany, and nominated for a RapidLion Award. It also received the highest nominations in the 2017 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, a total of thirteen nominations, receiving an award for the best lighting design. 93 days was nominated in 7 categories for the 2017 African Movie Academy Awards, which was the highest nominated film in 2017 AMAA. In 2019, BAP Productions released The Bling Lagosians, a movie about the lifestyle of the high class of Lagos. She has featured three consecutive times in Forbes Afrique as one of the most influential women in Africa. Also described by CNN as the ‘woman pioneering theatre in Nigeria’. 93 Days and Bling Lagosians were selected in film festivals including Toronto International Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival. Reference bolaaustenpeters.com Wikipedia Featured image: The Guardian Nigeria

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