The Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN) introduces its first-ever awards alongside a week-long industry programme aimed at repositioning directing as a distinct creative discipline within Nollywood. The initiative comes as the guild seeks to address what it describes as gaps in how filmmaking is currently recognised across existing award systems. It also forms part of a wider effort to strengthen professional standards around directing practice.
In an exclusive interview with The Nollywood Reporter, the guild’s National President, Uche Agbo, says the awards are designed to place directors at the centre of industry recognition. He notes that existing platforms often blur the focus between craft, visibility, and commercial performance. “The idea is to concentrate on the actual filmmakers — the people at the centre of the filmmaking process,” he says.
Agbo explains that the awards are strictly limited to directors across film and television genres, with emphasis placed on creative and technical execution. He stresses that the intention is not to compete with broader industry awards but to refine how directing is assessed. “This is not a general award that caters for everybody,” he says. “It focuses on those responsible for the highest creative decision-making.”
He adds that the DGN Awards are intended to correct what he describes as an imbalance in recognition systems that often prioritise marketability and visibility. According to him, directing requires a more focused lens of evaluation. “Some existing awards tend to focus more on marketability and visibility,” he says. “This is purely about the craft of filmmaking and television production.”
The awards are structured as the centrepiece of Directors Week, a one-week programme that includes panel discussions, masterclasses, and the guild’s annual general meeting. Agbo says the initiative is designed to extend beyond recognition into structured industry engagement. He notes that it also creates space for collaboration between filmmakers, investors, and policymakers.
“It is going to be an avenue where filmmakers, investors, producers, and policymakers are in one room,” he says. “We also focus on discussions around better pay, welfare, royalties, and residuals for directors.” He adds that the programme is also intended to strengthen opportunities for emerging filmmakers to learn directly from established professionals.
A key feature of the DGN Awards is its 100 percent jury-based structure, with no public voting or box office influence. Agbo says this decision is intentional, as it prioritises artistic and technical merit over popularity. “It is going to be purely jury-based,” he says. “Nothing about hype. It focuses on artistic, technical, and creative excellence.”
He explains that the jury will include both Nigerian and international filmmakers and scholars, selected based on experience and technical knowledge of cinema. While the panel has not yet been unveiled, he insists the selection will reflect the standards the guild intends to uphold. “When we release the list, people will understand the level of consideration that went into it,” he notes.
Agbo further describes directing as a discipline that extends beyond storytelling into leadership and coordination. He explains that it involves managing cast and crew, aligning resources, and shaping a unified creative vision. “Directing includes how you manage your cast and crew and how you bring together all resources to achieve a vision,” he says.
He adds that excellence in directing is ultimately reflected in how effectively these elements come together in the final film. While acknowledging the relevance of commercial success in the industry, he says it cannot serve as the only benchmark. “You do not measure success on just commercial performance,” he says. “You also consider whether the film achieves its purpose and connects emotionally with its audience.”
Responding to concerns about the relevance and impact of awards in Nollywood, Agbo says each system must be judged based on its objectives. He notes that impact differs depending on what an award is designed to achieve. “Every award system has its own goals,” he says. “You judge success by whether those goals are achieved.”
For the DGN Awards, he explains, the goals include elevating directing as a profession, contributing to policy discussions, and setting clearer benchmarks for evaluating film quality. He adds that the guild sees the initiative as part of a longer-term industry development process.
The guild is also exploring the introduction of a film and television market as part of Directors Week, aimed at connecting filmmakers with investors and distributors. Agbo says the platform will cover projects at different stages of production, not just completed films. “We aim to attract both local and international partners,” he says. “Not just for finished works, but also for projects in development and production stages.”
He explains that the long-term aim is to create practical pathways between creative work and funding opportunities. According to him, the guild plans to use the platform to increase access to distribution and financing networks for directors.
On concerns around bias or industry politics, Agbo acknowledges that controversies may arise but says safeguards are in place to protect credibility. He notes that jury members will not have competing entries in the awards. “We maintain transparency,” he says. “The final selections reflect true excellence.”
The DGN Awards and Directors Week are scheduled to debut in July 2026, marking the guild’s most structured attempt yet to shape directing standards and recognition within Nollywood.