Renowned actress Genevieve Nnaji has shared her desire to see greater collaboration among African film industries.

Speaking on the Deadline Podcast, Nnaji said she had long hoped for more intercontinental productions within the African region and looked forward to that becoming a reality.

“I think my dream has always been that we have some intercontinental production within the African region. And I can’t wait to see that happen,” she said.

Nnaji, who produced and directed Lion Heart, the first Nigerian film acquired by Netflix, noted that she found the rise of female producers, directors, and filmmakers in Nigeria’s film industry encouraging.

She described the Nigerian industry as relatively young at about 40 years old but said it had recorded considerable progress within a short period and still held strong potential for future growth.

“Seeing a lot more female producers, directors, and filmmakers come up is also very inspiring to me. The industry is barely 40 years old, but we’ve achieved so much in such a short time”, she said.

The Imo State-born star expressed optimism about the future of filmmaking in Africa and said she was eager to see how the industry would evolve.

Nnaji was recently recognised at the Red Sea Film Foundation’s Women in Cinema gala during the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

She reiterated that the industry was still in its early stages and had much more to accomplish.

“I think we just started. I think, you know, time is still very young, and we have a lot more to achieve.”

Celebrated for her role in expanding Nollywood’s global reach, Nnaji highlighted the richness of Nigerian and African narratives.

She said she hoped those stories would receive wider international recognition and allow audiences to better understand the depth of Nigeria, its culture, and Africa as a whole.

“The stories that come out of Nigeria, I can’t wait for people to actually see the depth of who we are as a nation, as a culture, as a continent, Africa as a whole”, she added.

After a long absence from acting, the Nollywood veteran is set to return to the screen in Wahala, a six-part thriller series produced by BBC Studios and based on the novel by Theresa Ikoko.