Filmmaker Jade Osiberu has credited actress Joke Silva for supporting her during the process of securing funding for her first feature film Isoken.
Osiberu made the revelation on Instagram on Monday while reflecting on the women who have supported her career over the years. The post followed a talk she gave at an International Women’s Day event where she spoke about the role women played in opening doors for her.
She wrote, “I was speaking at an International Women’s Day event and was reflecting on how women have been pivotal at every stage of my career, advocating, championing, opening doors, sacrificing…
“Today I celebrate my first real cooperate boss, Mrs Lola Odedina, who when I came up with the idea for @ndanitv booked a meeting with the MD of GTBank and asked me to pitch it to him myself. As an ET at the time, it was such a confidence boost that she had that kind of faith in me. And she continued to show that faith and advocate for me throughout my career at the bank.
“@jokesilvafans was the only female on @bionigeria Nollyfund panel when I was pitching for a loan to make my first film, Isoken. When a number of the men on the panel dismissed my plans as idealistic, Aunty J spoke up for me and ensured I was shortlisted to get the funding. I ended up being one of only a handful of filmmakers who paid back that loan.
“I never tire of saying how my mum put up her house as collateral at the bank for me to take the loan for Isoken. I know how hard she worked to buy that house and what losing it would have meant so the fact that she would risk that for my dreams 🥹
“The last few years of my career have been some of the most transformational with Prime acquiring Gangs of Lagos and signing a 3year deal with me and @greohstudios . @w.a.n.g.i_ was at the center of making that happen, advocating and championing in rooms where it mattered.
“Perhaps my most consistent collaborator. Even @chef_fregz knows we’re sharing here. There’s no time I’ve picked up the phone to say @lalaakindoju I have this idea that she hasn’t said “how we Dey run am”. That she never has to pause to think about it, to check her calendar, to ask if it’s even achievable… that faith is like fuel to a creator and it spurs me to fly.
“Today and always I celebrate all the women who have showed up for me in big and little ways. May we have the good fortune of knowing these types of women and may we be them.”
Osiberu started her career in banking before moving into media where she worked with Ndani TV. She later transitioned into filmmaking, directing and producing films including Isoken, Sugar Rush, Brotherhood and Gangs of Lagos.
Her 2023 film Gangs of Lagos became the first Nigerian original film released on Prime Video, produced through her company Greoh Studios. The project formed part of a three year deal between the studio and the streaming platform to develop original films and series.
Isoken, released in 2017, marked her feature film debut and helped establish her as one of the prominent female filmmakers in Nollywood.
