BBC journalist Peter Macjob turns filmmaker with movie about African slavery

Peter Gbolahan Macjob, the award-winning journalist, is set to make his Nollywood debut as a filmmaker with the film ‘Ireke’.

‘Ireke’ tells the story of African slaves captured and taken to Europe to work at sugar, coffee, maize, and tobacco plantations.

Speaking on the project, Macjob, a producer at the BBC World Service, revealed that he was inspired to make the film in 2024 while working on a documentary.

“The slave theme is not new, but every single slave movie we have watched was made in Hollywood,” he said.

“The time has come for us to be the one telling our stories and the fact that this particular story is about the heroics of our ancestors is the reason I, as a journalist and a storyteller, want to tell it.

“In the course of making one of my documentaries in 2024, I came across a story of how African slaves rebelled against British colonial authorities in the Caribbean and how Britain was forced to agree to a treaty with these slaves known as the Maroons from Jamaica.

“I realised that these Jamaican Maroons had some Yoruba, Ghanian and Igbo ancestry and decided to tell their story by weaving it into a Nollywood feature and thereby bridging the gap with our relatives in Jamaica, Brazil, Colombia etcetera and the Caribbean Islands where the slave rebellion had an impact.”

The Emmy-nominated journalist also disclosed that he delved into Nollywood to help push the industry into the global mainstream by telling compelling local stories that resonate with international audiences.

“My aspiration for Nollywood is for the industry to go mainstream – just like Afrobeats has managed to do but to achieve that, we would have to push the envelope,” he added.

“We would have to not make films just for ourselves but for a global audience because we are very interesting people, and a lot is happening around us that offers good storytelling, so I have come into Nollywood to contribute my bit to an already amazing industry.”

The trailer will be released in April. The film will feature a star-studded cast, including Tobi Bakre, Kolawole Ajeyemi, Bolanle Ninalowo, Fathia Balogun, Atlanta Bridget Johnson, and Peter Fatomilola.

Macjob also disclosed that the film will premiere in London before making its way to cinemas across the UK, Europe, the Caribbean, and North America, ahead of its Lagos debut.

“Ireke will premiere in London in the summer of 2025 and will be distributed to selected cinemas across the UK, Europe, the Caribbean, and North America, followed by a Lagos premiere and distribution across West Africa,” he said.

“We want to spread the word and give the global north a taste of Nollywood cinema experience after which we would be open to streaming.”