Movie producer and director Bolanle Austen-Peters has secured the rights to produce a biopic on the legendary Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
The film, titled “Funmilayo: The Lioness of Lisabi,” is scheduled to be released in 2022/23.
It will chronicle the life of the political activist and will include appearances from her grandchildren, Femi Kuti, Yeni Kuti, and great-grandson Made Kuti.
Expressing her excitement at producing the biopic, Austen-Peters said:
“Having directed the stage version of the story of great women such as ‘Queen Moremi,’ ‘Oluronbi,’ and ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens’ (the story of the 27 women that danced and married Fela Anikulapo-Kuti), I am interested in telling the story of this phenomenal woman, Funmilayo.
“She was a woman of many parts and was first in many things. She was the first girl to attend an all-boys school and the first woman to drive a car in Western Nigeria. She was also a political activist who fought for the rights of women, was the first woman to found a political party, and confronted traditional and colonial authorities in unprecedented mass protests. Apart from these, she was a loving wife and mother who raised four successful children, including Fela.’’
ALSO READ: ‘It’s An Honour To Portray Wole Soyinka’s Mother In ‘Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’ Movie – Omowunmi Dada
Funmilayo: Lioness of Lisabi is following the success of other productions from the stables of Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions, including ’93 Days,’ which was screened at several international film festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival, African film festival cologne and Johannesburg Film Festival, winning an award at the festival in Los Angeles.