Nigerian filmmaker Ifan Ifeanyi Michael was recently spotlighted by GQ South Africa for his creative contribution to the Nigerian filmmaking industry.
The 'Foreigner's God' director spoke to GQ's Ekow Barnes about his journey to finding a path in Nigeria's blossoming industry as a creative artist, actor and film producer.
Speaking on telling black stories, the award-winning filmmaker shared: "I love the fact that conversations are happening about telling black stories in the filmmaking industry at large. This shift of attention provides black people like me the visibility and finance to authentically tell our stories, as we have been marginalized for a very long time in the media space."
While highlighting how Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay success stories impacted his filmmaking journey, Michael also opened up about his forthcoming film 'We Were Born Girls'.
"My greatest inspiration has been the fear of going back to where I’m coming from. However, my inspiration in filmmaking comes from my experiences, and more importantly, the need to amplify underrepresented voices". He added: "This will reflect in my next film “We Were Born Girls”, which follows the complex relationship of two best friends and their place in the world as queer people."