Nigerian filmmaker Damilola Orimogunje’s second feature film, ‘Dear Ajayi’, has been selected for the Giornate degli Autori competition at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival, holding in Venice, Italy, from Sept. 2 to 12.
The film, scheduled for a public screening on Thursday, follows estranged sisters Ade and Titi Ajayi as they confront family tensions while caring for their ailing mother in 1990s southwestern Nigeria. It explores themes of family, faith, ambition and the choices women make in a changing society.
The Nigeria-Germany production was written and directed by Orimogunje and features Bimbo Akintola, Tosin Adeyemi, Lanre Hassan, William Benson, Antar Laniyan, Uzoamaka Power, Michelle Dede and Chioma Omeruah, popularly known as Chigul.
‘Dear Ajayi’ is scheduled for release in Nigerian cinemas on Nov. 13. Orimogunje previously directed ‘For Maria Ebun Pataki’ and produced ‘All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White’, which won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.
Leave a comment