GROWN, the 2024 fantasy-drama about a spoiled teenager who desperately wants to be an adult, was written by three emerging African storytellers: Nosa Isibor, Boakye D. Alpha, and Uyioghosa Etinosa. The film, which received an AMVCA nomination, follows a teenager who hates her mother and yearns for adulthood, only to wake up 31 years older and must find a way to become young again.
The Writers and Their Backgrounds
Nosa Isibor is a filmmaker and writer whose screenwriting credits include GROWN and Guess Who. Her work on GROWN builds on her formal training and practical experience behind the camera. Boakye D. Alpha, a Ghanaian writer and filmmaker, brings a broader literary background as a Global Voices Scholar at the University of East Anglia, with experience in poetry, prose, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting. Uyioghosa Etinosa is a creative artist, actress, and sound recordist for film, having recorded music for short films, documentaries, and Africa Magic.
The MultiChoice Talent Factory Connection
GROWN is a product of the MultiChoice Talent Factory, a program designed to train and introduce new African filmmakers to various elements of film and television production. The project served as a conduit for the three writers and the larger creative team to flesh out the story as a feature film. The film was directed by Ola Jegede, with a cast including Efe Irele, Bobby Ekpe, Myde Glover, Najite Dede, Oluwaseyi Akinso, Halimat Ganiyu, Sarah Obiekwe, Yemi Cregx, and Jane Efagwu.
The Film's Premise and Impact
The core of GROWN is a common teenage fantasy: that adulthood will provide liberty and correct the injustices of childhood. The movie turns that desire into a fantasy, leaving its heroine to deal with the repercussions of getting what she wanted. When GROWN debuted on Africa Magic in 2024, it marked a significant turning point for the new creative crew, as they stepped away from development workshops and into commercial film projects. The film's path highlights the importance of co-created stories in Africa's growing creative economy, with multiple creative minds—writers, actors, directors, sound, and other production talents—coming together to create one finished story.
GROWN represents a major screen credit for Isibor, Alpha, and Etinosa, and another milestone in their careers, which span multiple genres. Their unique routes to filmmaking converge in GROWN, uniting them around the theme: what happens when you get what you want before you're ready? The film's premise is that question, and the collaboration between three emerging writers makes it a story.
