A13 Films founder Chidozie Christian Ahiwe and UK-based Hong Kong creator Hiu Man Chan have been tapped to executive produce My Nigerian Fiancé, as the Nigerian-UK-Hong Kong romantic comedy opens at the Cannes Film Market.
In the project, a successful Nigerian man based in London hires an Asian dancer to pose as his fiancée at a family anniversary celebration in Lagos. Both characters are forced to confront family pressures, ambitions, and identities when the arrangement gives way to genuine emotion. The film depicts Nigerian music and fashion throughout.
“This is a rare opportunity to take a romantic comedy that resonates globally and reinterpret it through the richness, humor, complexity and emotional energy of both Nigerian and British culture,” Ahiwe told Variety. “While the themes of love, identity, family pressures, immigration and cultural clashes are very universal, we also believe there is something fresh, commercially exciting and globally relevant in telling this story from both a Nigerian and a British perspective.”
Chan is also an executive producer on My Indian Boyfriend: The Golden Mile, a British remake of a Hong Kong romance film. Although this project was the creative inspiration for My Nigerian Fiance, the two films tell different stories.
“There is a growing market in Nigeria and the British screen industry, including us, is looking to seize new opportunities,” Chan told Variety. “It seems that my latest portfolio could potentially become a romantic trilogy. After ‘Boyfriend’, now ‘Fiance’, and the third film will definitely be called ‘My Husband’. A description will be decided in due course. In my opinion, cinema is still the best space to explore love. We need to do everything in our power to preserve this magical space for the younger generations to come.”
This collaboration took shape during a conversation at the Hong Kong Pavilion at Cannes Film Market and later at Hong Kong Cinema Night. A13 Films is also developing “G-Boyz,” an investigative documentary thriller co-developed with producer Matthew Torne that examines Nigeria’s internet fraud economy. “My Nigerian Fiancé” is currently in development, with casting expected later this year.
