The Story⚡
Following three festival wins for Ìwe Àla across BINFF and TINFF, Adeoluwa Owu took on a job with no room for retakes: calling the show for a 50,000-person movie night at Tafawa Balewa Square.
Tell Me More
Nigerian filmmaker and director Adeoluwa Owu, popularly known as Captain Degzy, has added two major milestones to his career within the same year. His latest feature, Ìwe Àla: An Ojúde Oba Story, produced by ComeOnNaija, has earned multiple festival awards. He was also appointed Show Caller and Technical Director for Black Market, the large-scale movie experience held at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.
Three Awards Across Two Festivals
Ìwe Àla first won Best Film at BINFF. Owu then travelled to Toronto for the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF), where the film took Best Production Design and Best Original Music. That brought its total to three awards across the two festivals.
A Career Built on Several Disciplines
The recognition adds to a body of work that spans directing, film and television production, cinematography, branded content and large-scale creative productions. Owu is a trained and certified filmmaker with an extensive record in the Nigerian film industry.
His directing and cinematography credits include The Griot, The Tribe Called Judah, This Lady Called Life, Introducing the Kujus, Kambili, My Village People, Far From Home, Battle on Buka Street, Adire, Jagun Jagun, What No One Knows, and Ìwe Àla, among others.
International Production Experience
Owu’s experience extends beyond Nigeria. He has worked on CNN’s Paths Unknown featuring Anthony Bourdain, Beyoncé’s Black Is King, and projects with the BBC. He has also collaborated with leading production houses, producers, agencies and brands.
At home, his 2021 feature The Griot won the Toronto Douglas Award for Best Nigerian Film at AFRIFF. His other films have been recognised at festivals across Africa and internationally.
From the Screen to the Live Experience
After the festival run for Ìwe Àla, Owu moved to a different kind of production. On 26 September 2026, he served as Show Caller and Technical Director for Black Market at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.
Black Market was a one-night movie experience expected to bring together more than 50,000 Nigerians. The organisers used the event to attempt a Guinness World Record for the largest audience at a film screening in a single location.
Running the Show
The role placed Owu at the centre of the live execution. He oversaw show calling and technical coordination, making sure cues, transitions, timing and the many moving parts of the production came together smoothly.
At that scale, the job drew on the technical precision, visual awareness and production discipline that have defined his work in film and television. A film can be corrected in the edit. A live event of this size has to be right as it happens.
The night ended with a result. Guinness World Records recognised over 51,000 attendees who met the requirements for the record, including remaining at the venue from the beginning of the film until the end. That figure surpassed the previous record of 43,624 viewers set in the Philippines in 2015.
The turnout on the ground was higher. Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat announced that 64,000 people attended, but Guinness World Records said the qualifying figure was based strictly on viewers who stayed from the beginning to the end of the film. The announcement drew loud cheers, celebrations and fireworks from the crowd.
Building on Earlier Live Work
Black Market was not Owu’s first large live production. He had previously worked on Global Citizen Live in Lagos. The Black Market assignment took him further into the technical and experiential side of entertainment production.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Owu has major collaborations and projects in development for 2027. He continues to expand his work as a director while taking on more ambitious film, television, and large-scale creative productions.
In Summary
In one year, Adeoluwa Owu has gone from collecting awards for a story told on screen to running the timing of a crowd that filled one of Lagos’ best-known public spaces. With 2027 projects already in development, the question is whether his next move is a bigger film, a bigger live production, or one that combines both.
Thanks for Reading.
Shockng.com covers the big creators and players in the African film/TV industry and how they do business.
Let’s be friends on Instagram @Shockng
