Pioneer Nigerian filmmaker, photo-journalist and lecturer (1932-2015)
Born to Oyo parentage, on August 30, 1932, Francis Adetunji Oladele passed on June 22, 2015 at Ibadan, after a brave battle with prostate cancer.
At 22 years old, he studied photography at New York Institute of Photography (USA), then worked at Technicolor, USA. He became the Head of the Film Unit of the defunct Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Ibadan.
In 1965, he established Calpenny-Nigeria Films Limited - the first private film production company in Nigeria. He adapted on screen several novels as "Kongi's Harvest" (written by Wole Soyinka) and "Things Fall Apart" in 1971 (an amalgam of Chinua Achebe's novels; "Things Fall Apart" and "No Longer at Ease"), shot under the title "Bulfrog in the Sun", due to the civil war at the time.
In conjunction with his associates and friends, iREP Documentary Film Forum gathers to celebrate his life and times on July 3rd, 2015 at the Freedom Park in Lagos. In 2012, Francis Oladele was conferred with the iREP Documentary Film Forum's Lifetime Achievement award.