Producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor on Her Directorial Debut ‘Dreamers,’ What to Expect From Ashley Walters’ ‘Animol’ and the London-Based ‘Goonies’ Film She’s Developing

Best known as a fast-rising producer with focus on diversity, Nigeria-born Londoner Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor made her breakout out in 2019 with “Blue Story,” Rapman’s musical crime drama that smashed box office records, and followed this in 2021 with Aml Ameen’s rom-com “Boxing Day,” the U.K.’s first all-Black Christmas movie.

Despite having numerous projects in the pipeline through her Joi Productions banner, including “Animol.” the directorial debut of Emmy-nominated “Adolescence” star Ashley Walter, Gharoro-Akpojotor has now taken her own turn in the director’s chair for “Dreamers,” which she also wrote.

The film, which first bowed in London and has just had in U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, is a queer romance set within a British immigration center following two Nigerian asylum seekers who find love while battling the system and dreaming of a new life beyond confinement. As Gharoro-Akpojotor — who herself claimed asylum based on her sexuality — notes,…