The Most Popular Sierra Leone Film Directors Within 2020 to 2022

Our list of the most popular film directors across Sierra Leone is as a result of the information we have ben gathering about them over time, the projects they have been involved in and how they are perceived in the industry by professionals. It is also based on the movie projects and other entertainment activities they have undertaken and accomplished successfully.

It’s very unfortunate that some of them have not been able to update some of their hand works on their social media pages thereby making it very difficult for people outside of the Sierra Leone Film Industry to get a grasp of what exactly they have been doing. However, this medium can proudly certify them to be people you can rely on for your movie projects in terms of how successful whatever project they handle can be. 

No doubt there are a lot of movie directors in Sierra Leone but the ones on this list definitely work harder in accordance to the ranks herein. This list of movie directors are very much business oriented and can do all their best for any movie project they undertake to be successful and accepted by the public. As a platform, we can out rightly say they are professionals and can stand the heat at any level of film production. Here is the list by ranks:

1.  Lansana Kamara

Lansana Kamara alias Sparta is the most popular film director in Sierra Leone with the most successful film projects to his belt. He started as a screenwriter with the Universal Image of Sierra Leone, one of the productions that is known well for its action movie – Deep In The Game. He is able to brand himself and he is one of the few that can really handle their social media pages very well. Sparta has directed the Big Sister Reality TV Show twice – the season 1 and season 2. He had a very good relationship with the executive producer – Zainab Sheriff, but they fell apart at the end of season 2.

Lansana just got his degree in law from the University of Makeni and he happens to be the movie director with the highest awards so far within Sierra Leone. He is yet to be married but seems to be in a relationship. Some of his famous movies are: Together By Law, What E Berah, Profit Point, etc. Lansana is more of a freelancer and most of the previous projects he undertook were based on free service. 

2.          Joseph Fiamapple 

Joseph Fiample is a Ghanian first class citizen with a second class Sierra Leonean citizenship. He has two kids with one of the faces of the Sierra Leone Movie Industry – Zainab Sillah Fiamaple alias Gina. Unlike acting, he does almost everything in terms of the technical aspect of film production. If not the best, he is one of those that does very well when it comes to colour grading. Some of the famous movies written and directed by Joseph range from home movies to a limited TV series. Some of them are Ropolli, Intertwine, Where Lies The Truth, etc. 

Joseph is always open arms to others and renders support for growing in talents. He always wants others to succeed because he feels the industry can only thrive when people you know reach the ladder and open the way for the masses. He definitely has a very beautiful soul. Hardly will you see him angry whether on or off-set.

3.          Musa Orjunie Dumbuya

Musa Orjuni Dumbuya is both an actor and a movie director. He has worked with a lot of filmmakers but especially with Mercy Movies, the film production company he bears membership for. He studied at the Government Technical Institute at Kissy Dockyard in the East-end part of Freetown. He came to fame and recognition within the Sierra Leone movie industry after the movie he directed, Gina,  had a breakthrough across the country and Africa. On his social media accounts, it seems Musa is single but how true is that, this medium cannot justify. 

He is popularly known in the industry with the middle name Orjuni and carries a lot of respect amongst his fellow filmmakers. Unfortunately, he happens to be the first that broke a customized award that was given to his production for the best Horror Film because his executive producer, Wurrie Bah and one of the jurors 

4.          Sheku Mohamed Sheriff a.k.a Living Afrolympic

Alhaji Sheriff alias Living Afrolympic is a screenwriter and movie director. He is the managing director at Jusas Multimedia and he holds a degree from the University of Sierra Leone, Fourabay College. He was once the film production manager at Premier Media and has also worked with BBC Media action.

Alhaji has directed a movie that is about to be out – Stained Scarf. Stained Scarf is a movie that is owned by three companies, and they are assiduously working to release it soon. He is a loving father and a very hard-working filmmaker.

5. Aiah Momoh alias Pastor

Aiah Momoh alias Pastor is the only elite filmmaker with a very long history as a leading film director that has made it to this list. He came to fame when he released the movie Refugees way back in the early days of filmmaking immediately after the eleven years civil war in Sierra Leone. He has been involved at the helm of affairs in the leadership of the Sierra Leone movie industry. Even though he has done that much in terms of the leadership of the film industry but has proven to be a business-oriented film director and has stood the test of time to cross most of the stages the film industry has gone through. He is very approachable and has been involved in an open argument with other filmmakers especially when it comes to his leadership.

His name, Aiah means the third son in his local tribe – Kono. Aiah has done quite a lot behind the scenes even though some of the films he has directed were not aired on TV nor premiered for the general public because the executive producers happened to only be going in for VP Premiers. He is currently working on a movie project. He was once a ZAFAA nominee.

6.          Iscandri Alimamy Sankoh 

Iscandri Alimamy Sankoh is a movie director, screen writer and founder of the Faces of the Northern Entertainment Awards, Salone Culture Alive and other entertainment shows in the Northern Region. He first won an award for the best short film with the Human Right Commission of Sierra Leone in 2018 and the National Entertainment Awards. He has a kid and is in a relationship with Adama Fofah, one of the leading female radio show hosts and presenters in Makeni.

He is currently working on the first edition of the Salone Culture Alive Reality TV Show alongside the fourth edition of FaNEA. He lives over one hundred and thirty miles away from the capital city but he has been able to stretch his influence across the industry in its entirety. His greatest advantage is networking power, which he is able to utilize at his own advantage.

7.  Chucks Franklin

Chucks Franklin Sierra Leonean Nigerian by nationality but has lived most of his life in Sierra Leone because of one of his parents who happens to be a Sierra Leonean. He is a movie director and editor.

He is one of the movie directors in Sierra Leone that can handle any set with ease. His recent movie, Tangled With The Boss, got a lot of nominations and public approval. Chucks is certainly a business minded film director one can count on to turn the ties. He is very soft spoken, approachable and easy going.

8.   Mohamed Sow aka 001

Mohamed Sow aka 001 is a movie director based in Bo, the second capital city of Sierra Leone. He has done quite well in terms of filmmaking in the southern province of Sierra Leone. It seems he has since become the most prominent since the most popular director from that region – Sibbie Alpha Sibbie passed away in a car accident in 2021.  He is one of the few movie directors in Sierra Leone that can handle the marketing of their movies very well. He is often updating his Facebook account about his latest movie projects.

001 serves as the liaison for Afrinity Production in Sierra Leone, the company that organises the Special Movie Awards (SME Awards). He is wholehearted a filmmaker and everything about him is filmmaking.  Some of his popular movies are, Freedom Fighters, Daru Bridge, Dead Zone, Blind Price, etc.

9.  Abdulrahman Gbla

Abdul Rahman Gbla aka Diretor Sweet happens to be in the Sierra Leone Movie Industry for over a decade. He has a very good human relationship with most of the filmmakers especially across the capital city of Freetown.  Some of the movie his has directed are, Jenneh, etc. Abdul started as an apprentice until he climbed the ladder and became a director. He is a very cool personality that one will love to work with. He was once nominated by the New Skool Awards as the best director in their first edition, almost half a decade a go.

10.             Sylvester Malvin Kanteh

Sylvester Malvin Kanteh aka director success, is a movie director and managing director of Philip’s Creation. He happens to be one of the few movie directors with international experience.  He is fairly new in the Sierra Leone movie industry but has been consistent since he stepped into the Sierra Leone filmmaking scene. However, he seems to be drawing closer to politics after we saw his current movie project – In Our City, which he directed towards the incumbent political party, seeking to get funding from the opposition for its production. Taking such a path has clearly put his artistic work under the spotlight of politicians.

From a professional standpoint, filmmakers have all the will in their power to be very satirical in their artistic work by showing social issues without being seen as supporting a political party against the other. It could endanger their work. Some of his films are, Long Lost, In Our City, Malice, etc.