Dayo Ogunyemi
Dayo is a creative entrepreneur, investor and producer who works with storytellers with unique perspectives, especially those underrepresented in the film and television industries. He has worked as a trusted partner and advisor to acclaimed and emerging writers, directors and producers in North America, Africa and Europe.
As a producer, he has been selected by the Cannes Film Festival for the Cinefondation L’Atelier and has also participated in the Producer Network. In addition to the US, he has worked extensively in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, successfully pioneering theatrical distribution in East and West Africa for independent and arthouse films like Viva Riva, the award-winning Congolese noire, the Bob Marley biopic, and The Artist, best picture Oscar winner.
Dayo started out his career as a DJ, radio host and music producer. As an attorney and consultant, he represented and advised artists, entrepreneurs and companies in the technology, media and creative sectors. He has also advised governments and regional communities in Africa on policy and regulatory matters relating to e-commerce, intellectual property, technology and the creative industries.
Over a million people have watched his talk, “Visions of Africa’s future, from African filmmakers,” delivered at TedGlobal2017 and he authored the Framing The Shot report on Africa’s evolving film industry, released in 2018 in partnership with the Goethe Institute and German Foreign Office. He is a founding board member of the African Film Academy, served on the board of the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Africa Information Society Initiative, and has been a panelist and presenter at film festivals including Berlinale, Cannes, TIFF, Sundance, Durban, Zanzibar and Carthage.
Dayo earned an SB from MIT and holds a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Paul Bucknor
Paul is an investor and film producer. Classically trained in drama, he moved to the business side of film, working in Europe as a pre-sales executive and marketing consultant for major studios. In 1995, he assembled a consortium to buy out London’s iconic Electric Cinema. The same year, he co-produced and wrote the original story for The Full Monty which earned nominations for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Score. After a brief spell in Hollywood, he moved to Kingston to help develop the emerging digital film industry in Jamaica.
Debo Olatunde
Debo is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in the media and technology spaces. A seasoned team leader, he has managed creative and technology development projects in 8 countries and three continents. His combination of technical, creative and communication skills has kept him in demand from leading technology and media companies to drive digital strategy and execution.