Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Unreported World is from Nigeria, home to one of the world’s most prolific film industries.
Reporter Anja Popp meets the women risking their livelihood and reputations to push the boundaries on screen.
In the conservative northern city of Kano, Kannywood produces movies for more than 80 million Hausa speakers. But the region is governed by strict Sharia law, and actresses and filmmakers face intense censorship and moral scrutiny.
On a rowdy set Popp meets pioneering director Mansurah Isah, one of the industry’s few female directors. Determined to reflect the challenges of Hausa women in a male dominated world, we observe Mansurah anguishing over a childbirth scene that risks being cut for showing too much of a woman’s body.
Under Kannywood’s religious restrictions, actresses can also fall foul of the censors, and conservative family expectations. For rising star Amina Shehu, choosing to act has meant losing her family’s support.
Yet in southern Nigeria’s booming Nollywood, women are box office powerhouses, though they too say success demands relentless resilience in a male-dominated culture.
Director: Stefania Buonajuti
Picture Editor: Einav Leshetz
Series Producer: Andy Lee
Executive Producer: Ed Fraser
Production Company: Channel 4 News
Subscribe to our channel for more Unreported World episodes youtube.com/unreportedworld.
----
0:00 Introduction
1:10 On a Kannywood film set
3:01 Censorship and religious scrutiny on Kannywood
6:46 Being a female Muslim actress
9:06 Editing a controversial film scene
10:40 Banned after a social media post
11:43 Inspiring young girls to act
13:03 Facing the censorship board
16:05 Meeting the head of the censorship board
17:54 Meeting the stars of Nollywood
21:07 Meeting Mansurah's family
----
Subscribe to our channel for more Unreported World episodes youtube.com/unreportedworld.
Unreported World is from Nigeria, home to one of the world’s most prolific film industries.
Reporter Anja Popp meets the women risking their livelihood and reputations to push the boundaries on screen.
In the conservative northern city of Kano, Kannywood produces movies for more than 80 million Hausa speakers. But the region is governed by strict Sharia law, and actresses and filmmakers face intense censorship and moral scrutiny.
On a rowdy set Popp meets pioneering director Mansurah Isah, one of the industry’s few female directors. Determined to reflect the challenges of Hausa women in a male dominated world, we observe Mansurah anguishing over a childbirth scene that risks being cut for showing too much of a woman’s body.
Under Kannywood’s religious restrictions, actresses can also fall foul of the censors, and conservative family expectations. For rising star Amina Shehu, choosing to act has meant losing her family’s support.
Yet in southern Nigeria’s booming Nollywood, women are box office powerhouses, though they too say success demands relentless resilience in a male-dominated culture.
Director: Stefania Buonajuti
Picture Editor: Einav Leshetz
Series Producer: Andy Lee
Executive Producer: Ed Fraser
Production Company: Channel 4 News
Subscribe to our channel for more Unreported World episodes youtube.com/unreportedworld.
----
0:00 Introduction
1:10 On a Kannywood film set
3:01 Censorship and religious scrutiny on Kannywood
6:46 Being a female Muslim actress
9:06 Editing a controversial film scene
10:40 Banned after a social media post
11:43 Inspiring young girls to act
13:03 Facing the censorship board
16:05 Meeting the head of the censorship board
17:54 Meeting the stars of Nollywood
21:07 Meeting Mansurah's family
----
Subscribe to our channel for more Unreported World episodes youtube.com/unreportedworld.
