New York, USA – June 30, 2025 —In a landmark moment for Nigerian cinema, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Joel Kachi Benson has secured the Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary at the 2025 News & Documentary Emmy Awards in New York. The recognition, awarded to his Disney Original Documentary Madu, marks the first-ever Emmy win for a Nigerian documentary in this prestigious category.
Madu, co-directed with Oscar nominee Matt Ogens, chronicles the remarkable journey of Anthony Madu, a young Nigerian ballet dancer whose barefoot twirls in a rain-drenched Lagos courtyard went viral in 2020. The documentary follows Anthony’s evolution from a local sensation to a student at the Elmhurst Ballet School in the UK, capturing the challenges and triumphs of chasing artistic dreams across continents.
“This Emmy is a win for Nigeria, for storytellers everywhere, and for anyone who dares to dream. Madu is proof that our stories matter,” said Benson during his acceptance speech.
But Benson's week of triumph did not end there. His latest feature, Mothers of Chibok, claimed the Best African Feature Documentary at the Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival—Africa's premier platform for documentary excellence.
Premiered earlier this year, Mothers of Chibok is a powerful continuation of the story told in Benson’s earlier work Daughters of Chibok, the groundbreaking virtual reality documentary that won the Venice Lion for Best VR Story in 2019—the first ever awarded to an African filmmaker. The new film shines a spotlight on the grief and unyielding strength of the mothers whose daughters were kidnapped in the 2014 Chibok tragedy, keeping the memory and struggle for justice alive in global consciousness.
“Stories like Madu and Mothers of Chibok reinforce my belief that documentaries truly can change lives,” Benson said.
With an Emmy and a continental grand jury prize now under his belt, Joel Kachi Benson is cementing his legacy as one of Africa’s most powerful impact storytellers. Operating from his JB Multimedia Studios in Lagos, he continues to amplify underrepresented voices, reshape global narratives, and champion African stories on the world stage.
Mothers of Chibok is currently making its rounds on the international festival circuit, drawing critical acclaim and further shining a spotlight on Nigeria’s growing influence in the global documentary landscape.