Thomas Ngijol — French-Cameroonian comedian, actor, and filmmaker — has been named Festival Ambassador for the 13th edition of NollywoodWeek, the annual Nigerian and African diaspora cinema festival held in Paris. He will open the festival on May 6 and headline the May 9 programme with a screening of "Untamable" and a Masterclass.
"Untamable" premiered in the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and opened in French cinemas in June 2025. Freely adapted from "Un Crime à Abidjan," a documentary by Mosco Lévi Boucault, Ngijol wrote, directed, and stars as Police Chief Billong, a father in Yaoundé investigating a colleague's murder while struggling to maintain authority in his own household.
Ngijol is best known as a comedian and stand-up performer. As a director, he made his debut with "Case Départ" (2011, co-directed with Lionel Steketee and Fabrice Eboué), followed by "Fast Life" (2014) and "Black Snake, La Légende du Serpent Noir" (2017, co-directed with Karole Rocher).
"Untamable" is his fourth feature.
"Thomas is one of the most compelling voices working in French cinema today," said NollywoodWeek co-director Serge Noukoue. "With 'Untamable', he made something deeply personal. Having him here to present it and talk about his work is a real treat for this festival and furthers the work that we do of connecting different sides of the continent with one another."
"It's a great honour to be part of NollywoodWeek," Ngijol said. "Nigerian and African cinema represent a raw creative force that is reshaping global standards. I can't wait to discover these stories and share this moment of celebration with Parisian audiences."
NollywoodWeek runs May 6–10, 2026, at Cinéma L'Arlequin in Paris. Founded in 2013 by Noukoue and Nadira Shakur of Okada Media, the festival has grown into a leading platform in Europe for Nigerian and African diaspora film.
