Portal:African cinema/Selected birthdays/19

Kulanen Ikyo (b. August 5) is a Nigerian composer and sound editor. He is known for his work on some of Nollywood's most notable films of the past few years including October 1 (2014), The CEO (2016), Lionheart (2018), Oloture (2019), and The Black Book (2023). All these films are available to stream on Netflix. He is one of four Nigerian film composers featured in a short documentary series, Sounds of Nollywood, that can be viewed on YouTube.

Abdellah Taïa (b. August 8, 1973) is a Moroccan writer and filmmaker who writes in the French language. Based in Paris since 1999 he has published nine novels, many of them heavily autobiographical. Taïa became the first openly gay Arab writer in 2006. His first movie, Salvation Army (2013), is widely considered to have given Arab cinema its first gay protagonist. The film won multiple awards, including Best First Feature Film at the Durban International Film Festival.

Funke Akindele (b. August 24, 1977) is a Nigerian actress, director and producer who holds the distinction of helming the top three highest-grossing Nigerian films: Omo Ghetto:The Saga (2020), Battle on Buka Street (2022) and A Tribe Called Judah (2023), the only Nigerian film to have crossed the billion naira mark.

John Kani (b. 30 August, 1942) is a South African actor, author, director and playwright. He first gained renown for his theater roles in Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island co-written with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona. In 1975 he and Ntshona jointly won a Tony award for Best Actor for Sizwe Banzi is Dead. In recent years he has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such as Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2018), and voicing Rafiki in The Lion King (2019). In July 2024, he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to drama and the arts.