About Kayode

A London born screenwriter and filmmaker, Kayode I. Jegede attended North Carolina Central University, USA and the London School of Economics in the UK.  He draws from his Nigerian heritage and his experiences living and growing up on three continents to create characters and stories that are culturally rich and diverse in worldview. Kay has written and co-written several screenplays, including GANGS OF LAGOS (2023) - Amazon Prime’s first African original.

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GANGS OF LAGOS debuted at number 3 globally on Amazon Prime Video and has gone on to feature for several weeks in the Top 10 most watched films in 57 countries, in as diverse a range as Afghanistan, Australia, Hong Kong, the United States, Slovakia and Nigeria.  It was also number one in several countries including Belize and Ukraine.  In addition, Gangs of Lagos has been recognised as one of the top ten best performing non-English originals in the history of Prime Video.
 

Kayode recently signed a multi-project deal with a major streamer. The agreement includes a production partnership with his Kayodeville imprint, which will spotlight his feature film and TV projects on its streaming hub. Kay  has also been tasked with creating, writing and co-producing the crime thriller HUSTLE UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS (H.U.S.H) Television series, which is now in development for a major American TV network.  Kay participated as a tutor in the 2023 Script-to-Screen programme, a screenwriting masterclass initiative of the African Export-Import bank through its Creative Africa Nexus scheme, in partnership with the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF).
 
Before he began writing full-time Kay worked in technology infrastructure, building hyperscale cloud centres for a global technology leader. Today, he is passionate about telling stories that portray the colourful cultures that are not often represented in mainstream media.