2021 Princess Grace Award
Nominated by: Jacob Burns Film Center
Cary Grant Film Honor
Additional Grants:
2023 Special Project
Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Abbesi Akhamie is a Nigerian-American writer-director and producer working between Lagos and Washington D.C. She is an MFA Film graduate of New York University with her work focusing on Africa and its diaspora as well as the politics of culture and identity. Her debut short film, Still Water Runs Deep, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and her short film, The Couple Next Door, premiered at Aspen ShortsFest and is currently streaming on the Criterion Collection. She is also developing her debut feature film, In My Father’s House, which has graciously been supported by Athena Writer’s Lab, TIFF Writer’s Studio, and the SFFILM. As an artist, Abbesi was selected as a resident at Black Rock Senegal, founded by renowned American artist and Obama presidential portraitist, Kehinde Wiley.
