22-year-old Nigerian filmmaker nominated for two awards at BFI Festival

Young Nigerian Filmmaker, Rashida Seriki-Balogun’s first film has been nominated for two awards by the prestigious British Film Institute (BFI) for The fence. The former student of Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, graduated just over a year ago. At the tender age of 22, the London-based, British-Nigerian writer-director is part of a team of millennia under 25, who got together to create the small budget success.  
 
Seriki-Balogun’s focus on “telling stories that foreground black women and document socio-political issues and experiences from the perspective of ethnic minority people” is sure to capture the attention of many critics and industry experts at this year’s festival BFI Future Film Awards. Titled The Fence, the 10-minute film is about friendship and the conflict of religion and sexual orientation. She wrote the script in April 2017 and filming began in South London a few weeks later in May.

The films’ two nominations in Future Film Lab and BFI Patron’s New Talent awards are an indication of what some have predicted as a breakout year for the young director. The Fence is currently doing the European festival circuit and has been accepted into other film festivals and is due for official release online in August 2018.
 
Shoot for Seriki-Balogun’s Nigerian short film Hillu starts in Abuja at the end of March 2018.