CJ Obasi, Cheta Chukwu, and Tomi Folowosele Represent Nigeria at Red Sea Souk Project Market

Three Nigerian filmmakers; CJ “Fiery” Obasi, Tomi Folowosele, and Cheta Chukwu   have been selected for the 2025 edition of the Red Sea Souk Project Market, part of the Red Sea International Film Festival taking place from December 4 to 13 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

This year’s Souk will feature 40 titles from across the world, including Obasi’s La Pyramide: A Celebration of Dark Bodies, a Nigeria–UK–US–Senegal–Brazil co-production thriller currently in post-production. The project, which participated in the market’s development strand last year, returns in the work-in-progress category.

Obasi, best known for Mami Wata, which premiered at Sundance 2023 and became Nigeria’s Oscar submission, continues to cement his reputation as one of Africa’s most distinctive filmmakers.

Cheta Chukwu joins the projects-in-development strand with To Catch a Falling Sky, a Nigeria–UK co-production, while Tomi Folowosele will present her series Till Death Do Us Part through the Red Sea Labs SeriesLab programme.

The 2025 lineup includes 24 projects in development and production, eight works-in-progress titles, and eight series projects developed through the Red Sea Labs. According to organisers, this year’s selection marks broader international inclusion, with 35% of entries from Asia and 42% from female filmmakers, chosen from a pool of over 1,900 applications.

Notable filmmakers in this year’s Souk include Palestine’s Maha Haj with Playhouse, Sudan’s Mohamed Kordofani with About Love and September Laws, and Senegal’s Mamadou Dia with Coumba.

The Red Sea Souk, organised in partnership with TorinoFilmLab and supported by Film AlUla, awarded more than $900,000 in prizes last year, including a $75,000 production grant.