Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Abbesi Akhamie is a Nigerian-American writer/director currently based in New York City. She received her MFA in Film from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and also holds a BA in Communications from George Mason University.

She has a keen interest in African storytelling and uses film as a medium to share these stories. She has produced two African short films—Samedi Cinema and Facing North—that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016 and 2018. She wrote and directed her debut short film Still Water Runs Deep in Nigeria that also premiered at TIFF and won Best Student Film at the prestigious Aspen ShortsFest.

She is a 2019 Berlinale Talent as well as a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellow and an NYSCA/NYFA Fellow in Film. Currently, she is Creative Culture Fellow at the Jacob Burn Film Center where she will create two short films. She is also developing a pilot and her first feature film that she intends direct in Nigeria.

Director’s Statement:

“My sister is the inspiration for Candice’s character and my personal experiences inspire the story (while it is fictitious). This story allows me to truly express my feelings and it is my hope that the finished film will be cathartic for me as well as others. Stylistically, this film is heavily influenced by Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love and Mother of George by Andrew Dosunmu. Both films are shot with attention to detail in styling and color scheme, which is very critical for my short as well. I use tight shots to convey conflicted emotion and slow motion and push-ins. Most of the shooting takes place inside an apartment and features various textiles and colors to represent the brightness of West African culture.”