Willis Ikedum Launches Musical Film ‘Sweet 16’ in Nollywood

Willis Ikedum, a Nollywood filmmaker, has recently released his musical film ‘Sweet 16,’ marking it as one of the few feature-length film musicals from Nigeria. The film enjoyed a strong opening weekend, largely due to Ikedum's vigorous promotional activities.

He traveled from Port Harcourt, where the film was shot, to Lagos and then back to Abuja, managing media tours and other commitments. Ikedum, who initially studied pre-law before switching to Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt, credits his career shift to Funke Akindele, whom he met in 2003.

He expressed a desire to improve the quality of Nigerian films, particularly in technical aspects like sound, and has been an advocate for Nigerian films to be submitted for Oscar consideration. Despite efforts, no Nigerian film has made it to the final shortlist at the Oscars, with Ikedum noting that only Genevieve Nnaji’s ‘Lionheart’ achieved the necessary sound quality.