Derek Ugochukwu (born 7 June 1991) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

director, writer, and actor. He studied at Dun Laoghaire Institute Of Art Design and Technology in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and was named one of

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

Rising Stars of Ireland.

Early life and education

Ugochukwu was born in Port-Harcourt,

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

. He is the third of six children raised in an Igbo Catholic family. He graduated with a 1st class master's degree in Screenwriting for Film & Television at Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT). He also holds a master's degree in international management and global business awarded by the University of Limerick in 2014, making him a double master's holder.

Career

In May 2020,

Screen Ireland Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, is the Republic of Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. It provides funds for the developm ...

announced Ugochukwu as one of the successful 15 writers selected from a pool of 195 applicants for its inaugural Spotlight development scheme aimed at fostering new and diverse writing talent. In January 2021, Ugochukwu was one of the successful 10 writers shortlisted from over 600 entries for the

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

Discovers short film competition in partnership with Screen Ireland. ENGINE Shorts which aims to inspire and support up-and-coming writers, directors and producers in Limerick, Tipperary and Clare, announced Ugochukwu as one of the six winning directors selected to create inspiring, engaging world-class short films that resonate with a wide international audience. ''To All My Darlings'', a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written by Ugochukwu, and starring

Demi Isaac Oviawe Demi Isaac Oviawe ( ; born 2 November 2000) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Linda Walsh in the RTÉ and BBC comedy '' The Young Offenders'' (2018–2020). In 2017, the '' Irish Examiner'' named Oviawe as one of their an ...

, was shortlisted for the 2021 BAFTA Student Film Awards. It also won the Audience Award for Best Short at the 2021

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ' ...

. His directorial short film, ''You're Not Home'', was nominated for an

IFTA Ifta is a former municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it has been part of the town Treffurt Treffurt () is a small town in the western region of the Wartburgkreis district which belongs to the f ...

for Best Live-Action Short, screening at various prestigious international film festivals including

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

and

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

Filmography

As filmmaker

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* Living people 21st-century Nigerian male actors Alumni of Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Black Irish people Nigerian male film actors Nigerian male stage actors Irish people of Nigerian descent 1991 births Igbo people {{Nigeria-actor-stub