Zeb Ejiro

Zeb Ejiro is known as Shiekh of the Nigerian video film industry. He graduated in Mass Communications at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka and in 1985 started to work as a scriptwriter for Nigerian public television NTA (Nigeria Television Authority). He created, produced and directed Ripples (1989-1994), the longest run television soap on national television in Nigeria. As one of the pioneers of Nollywood, he directed and produced a number of bestselling video films such as Mortal Sin (2003), Extreme Measure (2003), Night in the Philippines 1 and 2 (2001), President Must Not Die (2004), including Nneka the Pretty Serpent (1992) that caused the shift of audience attention from foreign movies to Nigerian movies, and Domitilla (1996), one of the major box office hits. He is a founding member and past president of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) and trustee of Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN). —Melita Zajc