BANO
STUDIOS
2026.
A Nigerian indie film studio. Eleven films shot. A bootcamp, a competition, a festival in 2027. Looking for partners for the next leap.
It started with an iPhone 6.
In 2019, a small team in Nigeria decided that the only thing standing between them and great cinema was the courage to start. They had a story to tell — about a boy crushed under the weight of expectations — but they did not have a camera. They had a phone.
That film, Expectations, was shot on an iPhone 6. It went on to win the African Smartphone International Film Festival (ASIFF) in 2021. It proved, in the most literal way possible, the thesis Bano Studios has been operating on ever since: great cinema does not require massive budgets — just compelling narratives and dedicated craftsmen.
Since that first film, we have shipped ten more — short films, thrillers, romantic dramas, psychological pieces, anthologies — collaborating with directors, writers, and production houses across Nigeria. We have built equipment. We have trained over 50 emerging filmmakers through our annual bootcamp. We have launched a screenwriting competition that gives unknown writers a real chance at production.
We did all of that with no external capital. Every camera, every light, every edit suite, every flight, every crew payment — funded by us, our partners, and the projects themselves. The studio works.
And now, having proved we can ship films on shoestring budgets with sheer determination, we are inviting investors, partners, and sponsors to help us answer the bigger question: what could we do with proper capital behind us?
This brief walks you through who we are, what we have built, and three concrete ways to come in. Read it like a short letter — not a financial prospectus.
To become the A24 of Nigeria — a studio known not for the size of its budgets but for the quality and integrity of its films. African stories told by African filmmakers, made in Africa, watched everywhere.
What we are building.
Vision
To empower diverse voices and stories, celebrate Nigerian culture, and contribute to the development of a thriving film industry in Nigeria. We aim to redefine the narrative of African cinema on a global scale.
Mission
To be a leading independent film production company in Nigeria — producing high-quality, impactful films that resonate with local and global audiences, films that explore diverse human experiences and inspire positive change.
What this looks like in practice
- Original Nigerian stories with international production values, told without apology.
- A talent pipeline: bootcamp graduates moving into our productions, screenwriting-comp winners getting their scripts produced.
- A community of artists, writers, and crew who can choose to make their next film with us instead of leaving the industry.
- Distribution through cinemas, streaming platforms, and our own physical Short Film Festival (inaugural edition 2027).
- Equipment, training, and post-production capacity that lifts the floor for every Nigerian indie filmmaker we work alongside.
Where we are heading
From a studio that ships eleven films on indie budgets, to a studio that ships a slate of films per year on production-grade budgets — backed by partners, distributed through real channels, and watched by audiences far beyond Nigeria. The thesis is straightforward: African storytelling is in unprecedented global demand, and indie African studios that can ship consistent quality at indie budgets are the natural beneficiaries.
Eleven films. Five years. No external capital.
Everything we have shipped since 2019, mostly on our own resources, often in collaboration with other indie production houses. Each film was produced with whatever equipment and capital we could mobilise at the time.
Beyond films, we build filmmakers.
Three programmes form the backbone of Bano Studios beyond film production. Together they form a complete talent pipeline — we do not need to find filmmakers, we grow them.
The Filmmaking Bootcamp
Held annually in August. Intensive workshops covering scriptwriting, cinematography, lighting, sound, directing, and post-production. Hands-on, in-person, led by working professionals. Over [X] alumni have come through it since launch — many now collaborating on Bano productions, others working independently across the Nigerian indie scene.
The Screenwriting Competition
An annual call for original Nigerian screenplays. Five stages of judging over three months. Top three winners get production funding from Bano Studios — we either shoot the script ourselves or buy it outright, so we can iterate before shooting or pitch to investors. The pipeline turns unknown writers into produced ones, and produced scripts into Bano films.
The Short Film Festival (Inaugural 2027)
A 3-day physical festival celebrating African short films. ₦30M cash prize pool — ₦15M to first place, ₦10M to second, ₦5M to third — plus category awards for cinematography, directing, performance, and screenplay. Films by Africans, shot in Africa. Brings the African indie film community into one room for three days of screenings, panels, and deals.
How they connect
The Bootcamp finds and trains talent. The Competition surfaces the best scripts that talent writes. The Festival gives the resulting films a real audience. And the production studio at the centre turns the strongest pieces into proper releases. Each programme feeds the next — the whole thing is one machine, not three separate initiatives.
Lean. Shipping.
We currently operate with the following equipment — modest by Hollywood standards, productive enough to ship eleven films:
What investor capital unlocks
Capital allocated to equipment unlocks the next tier — cinema-grade cameras (Sony FX9, RED Komodo), professional audio departments, dedicated lighting kits — without which we cannot compete with bigger productions for streaming-platform deals.
Why equipment is one of the three capital forms we accept
An investor who buys us a Sony FX9 (≈ ₦12M) has effectively invested ₦12M in the studio's production capacity. Same outcome as cash, different form, same credit. We deploy the equipment immediately on the next production and you are credited as gear-financier across every project that camera shoots. For some investors — especially distributors, equipment houses, and brands with existing kit — this is a cleaner way to come in than writing a cheque.
Three ways to come in.
Every investor relationship at Bano Studios takes one of three forms. All three accept capital in any of these forms: cash investment, equipment purchase, or tenured loan.
Back a specific film
Short film, series, three-part film, feature, or comedy series. You can come in on projects in development OR pre-production. Returns are deal-by-deal: percentage of net distribution revenue, named EP credit, recoupment plus a premium, or a combination — structured to standard practice.
No minimumPer projectStandard structuresLong-term operating partnership
You bring capital. We bring expertise, equipment, the production team, and the bootcamp talent pipeline. Revenues are shared per the agreed structure across the partnership window. Not equity in Bano — a project-and-revenue partnership.
6 / 12 / 24 monthsOr per slateNo minimumPut your brand on the work
Sponsor any part of the Bano universe — Filmmaking Bootcamp, Screenwriting Competition prize pool, an individual film's credits, equipment, or the 2027 Short Film Festival. Custom — no fixed bronze/silver/gold tiers, just a conversation.
Custom packagesCash or in-kindNaming rightsHow they compare at a glance
| Dimension | Production | Partnership | Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline | One film cycle (3-12 mo) | 6, 12, 24 mo or per slate | Per programme / per film |
| Returns | Revenue share + EP credit | Slate revenues | Brand value + impact |
| Best for | Film-specific investors | Multi-project capital | Brands, sponsors, CSR |
What is a "slate"?
A slate is a bundle of films a studio plans to produce together — for example, 5 films over 18 months. Instead of backing one film and taking the risk it underperforms, you back the whole slate. If one film flops but another over-performs, returns balance out across the bundle. For early-stage indie investors, slate deals are often the safer way in.
We discuss slate structures inside the Studio Partnership avenue (§ 06 / 02) — you commit capital up front, we commit a defined number of productions over a defined window, recoupment comes from collective revenues across all of them.
Pick your avenue.
We are not asking you to fund the existence of the studio — we are asking you to fund the next ambition. The studio works. What we are inviting you to back is the leap from "small studio that ships" to "the A24 of Nigeria".
What happens after you reach out
What you can expect from us
- A senior person on every call. No junior account managers, no sales pipeline.
- Honesty about timelines. Indie film moves at the speed it moves. We tell you what is realistic.
- Quarterly progress reports. Once you are in, written updates every 90 days — what shot, what shipped, what hit which festival.
Let's talk.
Reach us through whichever channel suits you. We typically respond within 48 hours and try to schedule a call within the first week of contact. Every conversation is led by a senior member of the Bano team — not a sales pipeline.
Office line, weekdays 09:00 – 18:00 WAT
Per-avenue intake forms, current opportunities
What to expect
A note from the founder
We started this with a phone and a story. Every film we have shipped since has been an argument that great cinema does not need permission, just the courage to start. If any of what you have read in this brief lands with you — for any of the three reasons we laid out — please reach out. The next chapter of Bano Studios will be written with the partners who show up now.
— Barnabas Atu, Founder