Actress Funke Akindele will star in filmmaker Bolanle Austen-Peter’s Netflix epic film House of Ga’a alongside her colleague Toyin Abraham.
The announcement was made at an International Women’s Day event on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, organised by the streaming platform to celebrate leading female film producers, directors, actors and members of the Nigerian film community.
House of Ga’a is directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters whose award-winning Man of God similarly streamed on Netflix in 2022. The biopic is set in the 18th century when the real Bashorun Ga’a became so powerful he enthroned kings and dethroned them for sport.
This will serve as Funke and Toyin Abraham’s first movie project together.
The rest of the cast includes Femi Branch, Mike Afolarin, Ibrahim Chatta, Dele Odule, Bimbo Manuel, Lateef Adedimeji, and Femi Adebayo.
Others are Gabriel Afolayan, Jide ‘JBlaze’ Oyegbile, Seun Akindele, Yemi Blaq, Adeniyi Johnson, Muyiwa Ademola, Willam Benson, Gbenga Titiloye, and Kunle Coker.
For years, there have been speculations about a rift between Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham which the latter debunked.
However, despite clearing the air, fans have continued to compare the two thriving filmmakers and have made several attempts to pit them against each other.
In September 2021, actress Iyabo Ojo accused Funke Akindele of sponsoring a negative review of Toyin Abraham’s film The Ghost and the Tout Too.
Toyin once described Funke as her senior colleague and someone she respects in the movie industry,
“She is my senior colleague and she is someone I respect a lot; so, I do not know what people are talking about, trust me. She is one of the few people I look up to. Sometimes, people do not understand that we are colleagues and not family. So, you cannot be talking to all your colleagues. We talk, we follow each other.
“If I see her, I will kneel down and say, ‘Aunty Funke se wa okay,’.A lot of people do not understand that we are working in the same space; we do not have to be close friends. When we see ourselves we greet each other. Forget social media, trust me,” she said in a radio interview.
