Theo Ukpaa

Theo Ukpaa (born May 30) is a Nigerian film director and producer for stage and television.[1]

Theo Ukpaa
Born
Theo Ukpaa

30 May
Surulere, Lagos State
NationalityNigerian
Education
Alma mater
Occupation
Years active2008–present
Employers

Early life and education

Ukpaa, born in Surulere, Lagos, was raised in both Lagos and Los Angeles. He is the child of Capt. Herbert Ukpaa and Beatrice Ukpaa. His father, a Sailor, passed away in 1998. In 2005, Ukpaa graduated with first-class honors in Economics from the University of Benin. He then pursued his Master of Business Administration (MBA) on a full scholarship at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. During his time in the United States, Ukpaa enrolled to study filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. He also has a Diploma in Contract Law from the esteemed Harvard University.[2]

Career

Ukpaa started his career at 16 years of age by learning stage production, and at some point was mentored in stage theatre by Wole Oguntokun and Rogers Ofime.[3] He was taught screenplay writing by the veteran late filmmaker Amaka Igwe, who doubled as being one of two people who inspired him to get into stage theatre in the first place with her indigenous language feature film "Ahanna", as well as Tunde Kelani with "Ti Oluwa Nile".[4]

As a TV director, he has worked with Soundcity TV, Spice TV and Trace Urban, Linda Ikeji TV.[5][6] In an interview with This Day, he credited Tajuddeen Adepetu and Sam Onyemelukwe for giving him the links to these opportunities.[3] As well as being the director of at least one edition of MTV Africa Music Awards and The Headies Awards, he has been the director of The Experience gospel concert for at least five editions.[3] He also hosted Coal City Film Festival, alongside Izu Ojukwu and Chichi Nwoko.[7][8]

His movie The Hunter was exclusively premiered at the by Africa Magic.[9] His movie Lagos Landing was released in collaboration with Alliance française.[1] He commended the impact of the ingression of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video into the Nigerian movie industry, as well as the influence of cinema.[10] He is the Chief operating officer (COO) of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF),[1] through which he creates and environment where veteran filmmakers can equip and inspire upcoming directors.[11]

He was named among the Top by directors by African Culture Magazine in 2020.[12]

Controversy

Ukpaa was accused of rape by TV personality Emilia Samuel.[13] The incident was alleged to have occurred for the first time when he was still working with Spice TV and she came as a contestant for a pageant organized by the TV station in 2008.[14][15] He denied the incident and no charges were filed,[16] although his employer offered to foot the legal bills if the victim wanted to press charges.[17] This accusation to his sacking by Linda Ikeji as Head of programmes from Linda Ikeji TV.[18][19]

Filmography
  • Experience Marathon (short) 2015
  • MTN Space (short) 2015
  • MTN Callertunes (short) 2016
  • Run 2017
  • Landing Lagos 2018
  • My Name Is Not Olosho 2019
  • The Call Girl 2021
  • Enitan (short) 2022
  • Third Party 2022
  • The Hunter 2023
  • Haywire 2023[20]

References
  1. "Nollywood Generates Over $1.2b Annually But Only A Few Are Cashing Out, Nollywood Generates Over 1.2 billion Dollars Annually, But Only A Few Are Cashing Out, Says Afriff COO, Theo Ukpaa". This Day. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. "Nollywood Has Capacity To Surpass Hollywood, Bollywood With FG Support - Theo Ukpaa". Ivory NG. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  3. "Theo Ukpaa: My Mother Taught Me To Treat Women Delicately. They Are Like Raw Eggs and Should Be Handled Gently". This Day. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  4. "Theo Ukpaa". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  5. "Days After His Wedding, Linda Ikeji's Staffer Theo Ukpaa Accused Of Rape". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  6. "Theo Ukpaa To Mentor Youths At Coal City Film Festival". The Sun (Nigeria). 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  7. "Ukpaa, Others To Headline Masterclass At Coal City Film Festival". The Guardian (Nigeria). 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  8. "AFRIFF COO Ukpaa Discusses Business Of Filmmaking At Coal City Film Festival". The Nation (Nigeria).
  9. "MultiChoice Reiterates Commitment To Nollywood Ahead AMVCA 2023". The Guardian (Nigeria). 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  10. "Influx Of Streaming Platforms Undermining Growth Of Nollywood – Filmmaker, Ukpaa". Vanguard (Nigeria).
  11. "Theo Ukpaa, Others Empower African Filmmakers At AFRIFF 2021 | Business Post Nigeria". Business Post. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  12. enkay (2023-05-16). "Nollywood has capacity to surpass Hollywood, Bollywood with FG support - Theo Ukpaa". Ivory NG. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  13. "Days After His Wedding, Linda Ikeji's Staffer Theo Ukpaa Accused Of Rape". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  14. "Linda Ikeji Fires Staff Accused Of Rape". TVC News. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  15. "Linda Ikeji Sacks Staff Accused Of Rape". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  16. "Theo Ukpaa: I Was A Player And I Broke Many Hearts, But I Never Raped Emilia Samuel". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  17. "Rape Allegation: Linda Ikeji Writes Open Letter To Ex-Staff". This Day. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  18. "Linda Ikeji Fires Theo Ukpaa Following Rape Allegations". Daily Times (Nigeria).
  19. "Linda Ikeji Sacks Staff Accused Of Raping Teenager". Daily Nigerian. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  20. "Theo Ukpaa | Nollywood, Nigerian Movies & Casting". N List. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
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