Prof. Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Branwen Kiemute Okpako (born 25 February 1969), is a

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n–born

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. She is most notable as the director of critically acclaimed films ''The Education of Auma Obama'', ''Dirt for Dinner'' and ''Landing''. Apart from direction, she is also a writer, producer, cinematographer, film editor as well as a lecturer.

Personal life

She was born on 25 February 1969 in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria. At the age of 16, she moved to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. In 1991, Okpako obtained her B.Sc. in political sciences from

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, England and later followed a course of MFA equivalent in film directing from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin GmbH, Berlin (DFFB) in 1999. She was married to

Johannes Brandrup Johannes Brandrup (born 7 January 1967) is a German actor. Career Born in Frankfurt am Main, Brandrup was the first detective in the TV series Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei. After the first season Brandrup moved on to other project ...

, where they later divorced.

Career

While in the final year of the DFFB, she produced her maiden short film ''Dreckfresser'' in 2000. The film focused about the first black policeman in East Germany. The film won several international awards including First Steps: The German Newcomer Award for Documentary Film 2000, IG Media Award at

Dok Leipzig DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every year in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Doc ...

in 2000, Distributions prize from Sales 2000. It also won the Best Newcomer Film Award at 24th Duisburg Film Week. In 2001, the film honored with Bavarian State Government Documentary Award “The Young Lion” and as the Best graduation film at the See Docs Dubrovnik festival. In 2003, she made the fiction feature ''Tal der Ahnungslosen''. The film had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in the same year and included in the feature film competition at

Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It ...

(FESPACO) in 2005. With the success of first two films, she made the documentary film ''Die Geschichte der Auma Obama'' in 2011, where the film received Viewers Choice Award at the

Africa International Film Festival The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Nigeria. It was founded in 2010 with its Inaugural edition in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. AFRIFF was founded by Chioma Ude a passionate fil ...

. The film partially based on the early life of former US-president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, as Okpako is a close friend of Barack's older sister

Auma Obama Rita Auma Obama (born 1960), is a Kenyan-British community activist, sociologist, journalist, author, and half-sister of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama. Obama serves as the executive chairwoman of Sauti Kuu Foundation ( ...

. In 2012, the film won

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

for Best Diaspora Documentary as well as the Festival Founders Award for Best Documentary at the

Pan African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film festival and an ar ...

in Los Angeles. In 2014, Okpako made a documentary-drama film ''Fluch der Medea''. The film focused about the life of the late German writer

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; née Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist.
Barbara Gard ...

. The film made the premier at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

in the same year. Okpako also made several theater plays such as, ''Schwarz Tragen'' (2013), ''Maggie Burns'' (2009), ''Scramble Quiz Video'' (2008), ''Das Singende Kamel'' (2007), ''Bloodknot'' (2007), and ''Seh ich was, was Du nicht siehst'' (2002). Apart from cinema, Okpako is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema and Digital Media at

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
The Hybrid Approach: An Interview with the Filmmaker Branwen Okpako

Branwen Okpako
Living people 1969 births Nigerien film directors German film directors German Film Award winners People from Lagos Alumni of the University of Bristol Nigerian cinematographers Nigerian film editors {{Nigerian-cinematographer