From Accra to Toronto: Shirley Frimpong-Manso Debuts Nollywood Feature Stitches at TIFF 2025

When the curtains rise at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025, one of Africa’s most celebrated filmmakers will take her bow on a new stage. Ghanaian director Shirley Frimpong-Manso, known for her bold storytelling and refreshing approach to African cinema, is making her long-awaited TIFF debut with Stitches, a Nollywood drama produced by Chris Odeh under BRS Studios.

For Shirley, the film is more than just another entry in her career; it is a deeply personal experience that resonated with her in unexpected ways.

“I spent over a month in Lagos working on my first Nollywood film, and the experience was unforgettable,” she reflects. “The story offered me refuge on my hardest days, a world of love, loss, family, and judgment that felt achingly familiar yet refreshingly new.”

Stitches is already generating buzz as a layered story of human connection, weaving together themes of pain, forgiveness, and resilience. Its selection at TIFF signals not only Shirley’s growing international acclaim but also the strength of collaboration between Ghanaian and Nigerian cinema.

The director is quick to credit her collaborators. “I’m thankful to BRS Studios for trusting me with this beautiful film,” she says. “This recognition at TIFF fuels my drive, and I’m eagerly looking forward to more exciting and challenging projects from around the world.”

For more than a decade, Shirley Frimpong-Manso has been a trailblazer in African film, with titles like The Perfect Picture, Potato Potahto, and Devil in the Detail redefining modern Ghanaian cinema. Yet Stitches marks a new chapter one where her vision meets Nollywood’s bold storytelling, with the global stage as its audience.

As TIFF 2025 unfolds, Stitches is not just Shirley’s debut at the festival. It is a milestone that underscores the evolving power of African cinema stories told with heart, rooted in culture, yet universally resonant.