Bijou Festival Filmmakers 2025
Anniwaa Buachie is an award-winning Ghanaian-British actress and multi-hyphenate known for her powerful storytelling across film, TV, and audio. She starred in the BBC’s Phoenix Rise and won an AudioFile Earphones Award for narrating The Teller of Secrets by Bisi Adjapon. Her voice work includes major animation projects like Archer and Marvel’s X-Men '97, and she has appeared on U.S. platforms such as STARZ. In 2022, she won Best Lead Actor at Australia’s Short + Sweet Film Festival. Anniwaa was the founder and artistic director of Golden Delilah, a UK theatre company focused on bold, black female-led stories.
Kelly Hamlin is a native of Richmond VA, began performing as a youth competitive dancer. Over the course of her training Kelly has also studied at The Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Hispanico, Broadway Dance Center and The Alvin Ailey School. Having spent 13 years in New York as a professional dancer, Kelly has performed works by Alvin Ailey at City Center & The Apollo Theater. She has also performed with The Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, Errol Grimes Dance Group, Genesis Dance, Jennifer Archibald/Arch Dance Co., Earl Mosley, Milton Myers, M'bewe Escobar, Stephen Contreras/SDance, The Riverbank Dance Collective and JP Dance Group.
Lukman Abiose is a multi-talented scholar, playwright, screenwriter, movie producer, director, actor, theatre critic, poet, novelist, creative writer, creative director, theatre experimentalist, theatre historian, motivational, social activist, political analyst, social commentator and journalistic writer with international partners in the Hollywood and British Film Industry.
Lukeman directs this narrative short about an autistic girl finds herself in a toxic and unabling self-centric environment. Her only hope is for her ingenious fine art talent to launch her to stardom.
Andrew Boateng is a multi-award-winning British-Ghanaian screenwriter and filmmaker, whose work explores themes of social commentary, identity, belonging, grief, and resilience through emotionally charged and culturally grounded storytelling. He is the screenwriter of Tribal Mark — the acclaimed 2024 short film directed by Skepta and Hector Dockrill — which won the Audience Choice Award at the African Film Festival and received widespread praise for its bold narrative and powerful cinematic vision.
Joy Don’Kell Deas directed this global exploration of the cultural and social significance of hair within the Black diaspora.
Through a personal lens, the journalist investigates racialization and discrimination of Black hair through ethnographic research in beauty salons in four global cities: Atlanta, Brooklyn, London, and Cape Town.
Richard Mugwaneza is a Rwandan filmmaker based in Montreal, crafting powerful narratives for the past 15 years. An alumnus of L’INIS, Berlinale Talents, and Durban Talents, he was mentored by director Lee Isaac Chung. His films, including Nota Bene, Chora-Chora, Dream Stage, and Neo Ancienne, have been showcased at prestigious festivals worldwide, earning multiple accolades. He is currently developing his first feature film, Muntu, while also leading Briday, a company specializing in wedding films.
Manock Lual is a filmmaker, community leader, and founder of Prezdential, a youth-focused organization dedicated to holistic development through sport, storytelling, and mentorship. With a deep passion for amplifying underrepresented voices, Manock uses film as a tool to explore themes of identity, fatherhood, trauma, and healing within the BIPOC community. Couch Potato marks his directorial debut a deeply personal project that reflects his commitment to authentic storytelling and social impact. Through his work, Manock continues to bridge art and advocacy, creating space for reflection, dialogue, and change.
Dr Karmen Smith is a mental health therapist, metaphysical minister and author of the book The "I AM" SOLUTION- Simple Practices to Transform Fear back to LOVE. With over 30 years of experience as a trauma therapist, she combines shamanism and the embodiment of divine energy for healing.
Dr. Smith provides a safe and compassionate space along your spiritual journey. Her teachings are easy to understand and encourage spiritual practices that support your inner growth.
Daya is an afro surrealist artist, with a mother from Acre and a father from Bahia, she was born from their exodus in the outskirts of Sao Paulo’s east side, in the neighbourhood of Sapopemba, Brazil. In her work, she drifts between cinema, music videos and publicity, working with black positivity, dramedy, magic realism, poetry and utopia in connection with nature and the world. She experiments with diverse techniques and her influences come from different artistic expressions she grew up practicing, such as drawing, dancing, painting and studying art. Later, photography and cinema came into the mix, and she makes use of all these tools to assemble her movies.
Jameelah Houston is a filmmaker, storyteller, and cultural advocate from the South Side of Chicago. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Independent Film & Digital Imaging at Governors State University, where she is honing her craft in directing and visual storytelling. Houston made her directorial debut with 'Birthday Jay' (2024), a short film that celebrates Black joy and community. She served as Assistant Director on 'Life in My Eyes' (2024), which won at the Black Harvest Film Festival. Her work is deeply rooted in exploring identity, resilience, and the intersections of race, culture, and individuality.
Ibinabo Fortune directs this experimental short that suggests “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” His character travels between realms of consciousness, explores grief and the lines between life and afterlife, while immersed in the natural world. What does it mean to be in a dream state? Does what you see there carry over into your life? How do we explore messages that come to us through mysteries?
Sara Jordan is a choreographer, director, and cinematographer working at the intersection of movement, image, and identity. Her artistic language is rooted in street dance styles such as hip hop and house, woven with African-American cultural influences and shaped by a minimalist choreographic aesthetic. She is an all-round dancer, but her first love has always been old school hip hop foundations and house dance. Starting out in the freestyle and battle communities across Europe, Sara began her journey in 1998 in Copenhagen and has since lived and worked as a dancer in both Los Angeles and London.
Ali Kisitu is a 27-year-old Ugandan film enthusiast born in Luwero with an extraordinary love of visual effects and 3d computer generated imagery. I have an urge to expand the Ugandan film market to the youths with exciting action and adventurous films. Currently working on a COMEDY ANTHOLOGY , THE OPEN LOOP made of 6 short films with a couple of interesting social, intellect, economic, political and creative themes.
Francis Prince is a passionate writer/director who approaches his films with an air of dark curiosity and poetic irony. His work is heavily inspired by low budget cult films, internet subcultures and his relationship with spirituality. The Dallas native uses visual and performance arts to challenge ideas of linear BME storytelling. His id lies in representing an unrepresented Americana from the perspective of being black, queer and raised online.
Molefi Moses Molefe is a filmmaker with a Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture Medium from AFDA Botswana, specializing as a screenwriter and director. He believes in the power of filmmaking to influence positive societal change. Molefi has contributed to the production of several television dramas, including Being Iponeng Season 1 for Now TV and Botshelo Jo Season 3 for BTV (Botswana Television), where he worked as a first assistant director.
Mantile M Mashish is a young hardworking individual, she has the ability to work with people of various ages and levels. Mantile also able work under pressure, independently and in a team. She is very professional, organized, pays attention to detail, technology savvy, able to work efficiently under pressure, and is always punctual. Mantile plans and follows through projects, she also is very analytical and outstanding multilingual communicator (fluent in English, Afrikaans, Setswana, Zulu and Venda) with sound conflict management skills.
Ousmane HANNE and Modou DIENG from Senegal directed Entre Sortie a film that suggests “Nothing is more uncertain than a life we hang on circumstances whose ins and outs escape our will. From life to death, from dawn to dusk, could life be a race with an uncertain and unpredictable outcome? Regardless of our age or social status, we navigate through situations shaped by the environment in which we exist. 'In-Out' is the mirror that reflects the daily life of man.”
Rosa Fernanda Vidal is from Brazil. She has a degree in Cinema and Audiovisual (UFPE), and is currently studying for a master's degree in Communication at the same institution. She made her debut as a screenwriter and director in the short film "Milkshake" (2023). She is currently distributing the short film "As Musas" (2024), where she wrote and directed the script, and is developing her first feature film "Noite de Amolar as Facas", where she wrote and directed the script.
SHITTU OPEYEMI ABDULAFIZ directed this poignant documentary The Grief. This film dives deep into the heart of loss, exploring the raw, real experiences of those navigating grief, and finding paths towards healing. Join us as we uncover the shared human experience of sorrow and discover that even in darkness, hope persists. Prepare for an emotional journey. This documentary delves into the depths of grief, capturing the raw vulnerability and unexpected strength of those who have experienced profound loss.
Tamara Williams directed this lush film which is an investigation of the influences of ritual, nature and place in Black women’s traditional practices to care for community. The film will consist of 4 dancers that take the audience through a journey of movement gestures and situations that narrate how water is used to heal, elements of the earth are used to cleanse, and wind is used to transform in sacred traditions of the Black women in the south. The film features traditional songs and spirituals, speak to the power of water in nature and Yorùbá songs that connect the relationship of women and fresh waters.
Seydina Mouhamed Ndiaye directed this narrative short where Xalil and Yamis, a couple bound by years of love, see their world shattered by the tragic loss of their only daughter. The accident that took her away leaves behind an immense void — a silence so heavy, it almost screams. Since that day, Xalil has withdrawn into himself. Once vibrant and full of life, he has become cold and distant — especially toward Yamis. As if grief had frozen him from the inside.With tenderness, patience, and sometimes confrontation, she tries to pierce the ice. To reignite the light in Xalil’s eyes.
Oliur Rahman and Henry Egware directed OOMPH - a tale of strength and resilience. It's the story of the contrasting roles looted Benin Art plays across cultural divides of the West versus the people of Benin. It is told through the lenses of Prof Peju Layiwola a descendant of Oba Ovaramwen Nogbaisi who ruled over Benin during the British Punitive Expedition of 1897. It chronicles the pains of mass murder, the theft of cultural heritage items, and the agitations of Orientalism.
Experience the Oomph!
Timothy Niwamanya is a Ugandan culture writer, film critic, video essayist and an award-winning independent filmmaker. Timothy Niwamanya wrote, produced, and directed a neo-noir thriller debut short film titled, Askari, funded through the Maisha Screenwriting Labs in Kampala in 2018. He also served as a screenwriter on Ugandan television series, Beloved, produced by Multichoice/DSTV for Pearl Magic Prime.
Peter Muvunyi directs Afrissippi, about a Senegalese chef and musician's journey from Dakar to the U.S..
The story unfolds through the rhythms of his music and flavors of his cuisine, revealing how food and art transcend borders to forge identity, belonging, and cultural connection.
Djalma Ramalho is an artist from the Aranã Caboclo people whose work overflows with ancestry, resistance, and passion. Son of a indigenous mother and a black father, he embodies a heritage born from the meeting of Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian cultures.
His art traverses the Jequitinhonha Valley, telling stories that blend love and the fight for environmental protection and life itself.
Dinu Oruvannoor hails from Kerala, India studied Masters in Leadership & Management from Anglia Ruskin University, UK, and presently living in Kenya, Nairobi. He is a keen and passionate lover of movies and widely traveled around the world closely watching human lives and various cultures.
He discovered a passion for Editing, Cinematography & Direction and started making short films "Pukkuzhi Mana A Decade After (2001)" “The Great Real Indian Kitchen” (2020), “Reptiles” (2021), “Koythu” (2021) Swantham (20211) are widely accepted in the OTT platforms
Boaz Dvir directs the feature documentary Class of Her Own, which tells the story of GLORIA JEAN MERRIEX’s rebellion against a system that has neglected many of its vulnerable students. Gloria, an African-American single mother of two, could have gone anywhere to teach. But she chose to spend her entire career in the economically disadvantaged neighborhood in which she grew up, East Gainesville, Fla. She used hip hop, dance, call-and-response and other innovations to lead her elementary school students to the academic Promised Land.
Ruyter Curvello Duarte directs the documentary It’s Not a Tale, a Cuban story told in Brazil. Pomelapocha D’ Cuba is an artist with multiple talents, poet, musician, writer, actor and dancer. Due to life's difficulties, he was forced to leave his country to try his luck away from his home and family. Using the street as a stage Pomelapocha exhibits his art and struggles day after day to make a living from his work.
Lau Santos is a director, university professor, researcher in the performing arts and audiovisual languages. Lau directed KAI.OMI - The Guardians Of The Waters. The waters that have always inhabited this world, inhabit our bodies, flow in the rivers, in the seas, in the veins of our ancestors. KAI.OMI, two deities, two enchanted, Afro-Brazilian queens dance and move the waters to try to save our planet from the chaos we live in. An audiovisual poem, an ori.kai, which discusses the destruction of planet Earth.
Since 2009, Carol AÓ has been a native of Salvador, filmmaker, screenwriter, co-founder of Arruda Filmes, and director at Prodigo Films. She has been residing in São Paulo since 2014, working in directing and screenwriting in cinema, as well as serving as a script supervisor, assistant director, and script consultant on productions for Netflix, Amazon, Star+, HBO, etc. In 2024, her film “Heaven Doesn't Know My Name” received an Honorable Mention at its first screening at the 2024 Rio Film Festival.
MUSAFIRI James is an award-winning Rwandan film director and screenwriter, known for crafting emotionally resonant stories that explore identity, resilience, and the power of community. With a background in Accounting and Certified Public Accountancy, James brings a sharp strategic mindset to the creative process, blending business acumen with artistic vision.
Joy Deas is a multimedia journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. What began as a childhood interest in storytelling has grown into a deep commitment to highlighting underrepresented voices and perspectives. She is a recent graduate from New York University with a double major in Media, Culture & Communication and Journalism, passionate about raising awareness around environmental issues and social stories that spark meaningful conversations. Her most recent work, Naturally Crowned explores the radicalization and discrimination of Black hair through ethnographic research in four global cities: Atlanta, Brooklyn, London, & Cape Town.
Deco Machado is a filmmaker and visual artist born in the Quilombola Community of Caçandoca, on the coast of Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. His work emerges from a deep connection between quilombola and caiçara cultures, blending ancestral memory with contemporary visual storytelling. With a degree in Photography from Senac São Paulo and in Filmmaking from AIC (Academia Internacional de Cinema), Deco creates poetic, contemplative, and sensorial narratives that center Black lives, environmental consciousness, and collective memory. His films and photographs explore identity, belonging, and the subtle, organic relationship between people and nature.
Sade Sellers is a director, screenwriter, and producer whose work examines the cycle of grief through bold, character-driven stories. She wrote the TV One thriller Deadly Dispatch (Tamala Jones, Bone Crusher) and co-produced the horror feature Survival (Elise Neal). Her credits also include associate producer on The App That Stole Christmas (Ray J, Netflix), line producer for the horror feature Hawaii Vacation, and staff writer on Facebook Watch’s Sci-Fi/Thriller mini-series Kontaxt.
Rodrigo Ferreira directs this film, Òkúta, which delves into the universe of black sculptures in Brazil, revealing how these works transcend mere artistic representation to become powerful portals of connection with the past, with Afro-Brazilian and African ancestry. It is an essay documentary that explores the historical trajectory of black statues, from the first attempts at erasure and invisibility to the growing recognition of their aesthetic, cultural and political value.
Naná Prudencio Zalika is a photographer and documentary filmmaker, graduated in audiovisual and entrepreneur, founder of Zalika Produções, an audiovisual production company that uses cinema and audiovisual as a tool for ethnic affirmation, with the aim of giving visibility to the stories of black and peripheral people, seeking to portray their realities and cultures, highlighting the strength and resilience of their struggles and resistance, through documentary projects, institutional, artistic, cultural and educational videos. www.zalika.com.br
Carlos Pereira was born in the rural community of Prata, where he learned traditional construction techniques from an early age, following ancestral traditions. After moving to the city of Cavalcante at the age of 12, he worked as a bricklayer's assistant, but continued to contribute to his community by constructing homes for family and friends. Directed by Carlos Pereira, a Kalunga leader and educator, the documentary goes beyond technique: it is a tribute to the resilience and creativity of a community that transformed clay into art, ancestral knowledge into a sustainable future, and the fight for cultural preservation into a living legacy.
Aderemi Ayotunde Davies popularly known as AyaworanHO3D is a creative documentary photographer, filmmaker and visual content developer, who uses his art to celebrate African indigenous values, cultures, people, places, arts and identity in general, creating documentaries and film projects that stimulate a Pro-African consciousness in his audience. Aderemi strongly believes in the power of using visuals to tell deep stories about our origin, history and purpose as Africans. So much can be told about our societies, cultures, people and events that will help shape the future.
Genís Baró Gandia and Aitor Gómez Valera direct the narrative short Takeover. A young man, who has long carried the weight of his absent father, faces the choice of leaving home.
Torn between duty and his own path, he finally steps away. As the road unfolds ahead, echoes of a father’s remorse linger—a farewell never spoken.
Jason Hill is a photographer and filmmaker currently living in Portland, Oregon. He started working with a camera during his adolescence and is largely self-trained. His practice today is focused on portraiture with an emphasis in the mechanics of light, vibrant color, emotion, and natural beauty. His work has been featured in the Portland Art Museum with his “In My Skin’’ and “A Day in Eugene” series in 2022. And, was also recently featured in The Black Artists of Oregon at the Portland Art Museum.
Sebastian Brito is an Afro-Dominican filmmaker from Kissimmee, FL. As a writer & director, he aims to combine his love for cinema with real world experiences of his generation. Brito aims to push boundaries through hard work, determination, and creativity. “For me, this story was about trying to understand the simplicity of creativity as a child and how my mothers love allowed me to further my development as an artist in todays world. While also trying to grasp a level of status and responsibility that comes with being an adult.”
Oliver Crawford During many years of working with Hollywood director 'Paul McGuigan' Oliver learned and embraced story telling, vision and creating stories to engage and spark emotions and conversation within an audience. Asking the hard questions and pushing the audience to think about the difficult issues in life they may not want to confront.
Ryan Mesidor is a storytelling-driven artist and animation filmmaker. He produces films that provoke minds spiritually and philosophically—with a taste of fun and adventure! When he’s not drawing, you'll most likely find him in an eclectic outfit reading the Bible with a fresh cup of pineapples on a warm, sunny day.
Agnes Aguirre directed this wonderful narrative short called If Words Fail Us, The Sea Tells Our Story. On a beach in Salvador, two Black women, Joana, a mature woman who has seen much in life, and Yara, a young woman at the beginning of her journey, meet to share their experiences.
Two women connected by the strength of the sea.
Stan Joni is a talented director and filmmaker known for his evocative storytelling and thought-provoking films. With a passion for exploring complex emotional and societal themes, Stan has gained recognition for his works such as Ghost Stories and the short film I See You.
His films often delve into the human experience, focusing on identity, relationships, and the challenges people face in society.
Raquel Bernardo Barra Nova trained as a radio broadcaster through FAPCOM, receiving a full Prouni scholarship. She is an audiovisual producer, and her first feature-length work was selected by the VAI program. The film, which lasted two years and six months, documented the search for answers within herself and others about the development of self-esteem among young Black people from the periphery through female rap. The entire production was centered on the director.
Rowen Smith was born in Welkom and is currently living in Cape Town doing part-time cinematic videos and filming videos with a great passion for photography and independent filmmaking.
His short doeumentary, How We Move, follows four pantsula dancers from the Delft South rural area outside of Cape Town to learn more about this South African historic dance and its origins.
Kezia SAKHO is a Marseille-born filmmaker dedicated to authentic representation of communities that reflect her own experiences. Currently studying cinema and audiovisual arts, she draws inspiration from the rich cultural diversity of her hometown, striving to portray it beyond common stereotypes.
Through her projects, such as her short film "Enfants des Courants d’Eaux" (Children of the Waves) , Kezia explores universal themes like childhood, identity, and aspiration while highlighting stories rooted in local and Afro-diasporic experiences.
Leo de Souza Santos is the director of the feature documentary RIGHT THERE - SOUTH AFRICA (2018), the short documentary COORDINATES (2019). He is also the creator of the Favelacademy project, which teaches film scriptwriting to residents of favelas and peripheries.
Isabel Seixas is a founding partner of the studio M'Baraká. She holds a degree in Cultural Production (UFF), a postgraduate degree in Entertainment Marketing (ESPM) and trained in Filmmaking at the Prague Film School. She has experience in narrative creation, project planning and execution.
Beto Oliveira directs the narrative short A Day in Black. In a despotic future, Carolina prepares for the Dia de Preto, or Dia de Zumbi dos Palmares. Only day black people can go out freely to celebrate their blackness. But how can a 65-year-old black woman look pretty for a special day? The day you can go to the place where your son was killed by a security guard in front of a mall.
Kleber Mazziero is a maestro, filmmaker, composer, philosopher, teacher, writer and theater director. Mazziero wrote 22 books, including novels, poetry, essays and biographies. He composed and recorded 10 albuns of classical and popular music. He directed and wrote 11 plays that were shown in several places around the worls. He directed and wrote 36 award-winning short and feature films on five continents.
Stephen Graham is an author, documentarian, and a lived experienced trauma practitioner. He is the founder of Stephen Graham Projects, a company that offers a wide range service for young people and the community. From active mentoring, boxing, Thaiboxing, film production, to a vast range of workshops geared to develop physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Stephen is now excited to announce the recent launch of his very own video-on-demand service. SGP-VOD—is more than just a streaming platform, it is a hub for connection, cultural understanding, and discovery.
Isabela da Silva Alves is a journalist and filmmaker. She is the founder of the production company Parasita Filmes, dedicated to making films about the outskirts of the extreme south of São Paulo. Her short films are: Filming In The Hood (2022), Love The Island (2023), The Kite (2023) Punk from the Periphery (2024). She also acted as the character Milena in the short Blogueira da Favela (2022).
Ricardo Souza is a young and ambitious award-winning director. He strives to tell authentic and compelling stories. His visual style is bold and courageous.
Ricardo was born in the extreme south, from the outskirts of São Paulo and has collaborated with some names in music (Anitta, Cesco.blz, Boombeat, Djonga, Dexter).
His insane look for Funk Rave – “Anitta” won him the award for best Latin music MTV VMA video clip, he won the Whext new director award, his work reflects Brazilianness and the truth of racial causes in our country