Ebele Okoye (born 6 October 1969,

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. ...

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

) is a

Nigerian-American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany since 2000.

Education

Okoye studied Fine and Applied Arts (Graphic design/Illustration) at the Institute of Management and Technology in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

from 1985 to 1989. On arriving in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2000, she did a guest program at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

, which she promptly left to go register in

Communication Design Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development which is concerned with how media communicate with people. A communication design approach is not only concerned with developing the message in addition to the ...

at the University of Applied Sciences in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

. From 2003 to 2004, she trained in traditional 2D cartoon animation at the

Internationale Filmschule Köln The ifs internationale filmschule köln gmbh (''international film school cologne'') is a privately funded film school in Cologne, Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. The film school was founded by Filmstiftung NRW. In the German film school ranking ...

. She is a fluent speaker of Igbo,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and

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 ...

Career

Ebele Okoye is active in fine and media arts and constantly shows her works in both one-man and group exhibitions (see below). She is the founder of Shrinkfish Media Lab, a production company based in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

. Okoye's 2015 film ''The Legacy of Rubies'' was one of the two closing films at the 2015 Silicon Valley African Film Fest. That year, the film won the

Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Animation The Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Animation is an annual merit by the Africa Film Academy to reward the best animated films for the year. See also * List of animation awards This list of animation awards is an index of articles about ...

. Okoye stated that "I did not make this film to chase awards," in her acceptance speech in South Africa. "I made this film, to inspire every African animator who wants to make animation films." ''The Legacy of Rubies'' had its Canadian premiere at the

Toronto Black Film Festival The Toronto Black Film Festival is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario.Geoff Pevere, "Toronto Black Film Festival". ''The Globe and Mail'', February 14, 2014. Held in February each year as part of Black History Month, the festival programs a ...

in 2016. In 2016 she announced plans for a feature-length film, hinting that it might be "like ''

Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

'' and '' Pocahontas'' put together."

Awards

Her 2007 project ''Anna Blume'', based on a 1919 poem by

Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, pain ...

, won the Robert Bosch Foundation Promotional Prize for Animation."Biography: Ebele Okoye"
Directors, Africa Film Trinidad Tobago. Okoye has won two Africa Movie Academy Awards, for ''The Lunatic'' (2008) and for ''The Legacy of Rubies'' (2015).

Selected group exhibitions

* 1995 Mirrors of Society - National Museum, Lagos (Nigeria) * 1996 Nigeria/China Co-operative exhibition, Lagos (Nigeria) * 1996 Selected Nigerian artists as chosen by the National Gallery of Modern Art, Nigeria (South Korea) * 1997 Small-Small Things - National Museum, Lagos (Nigeria) * 1998 The Rape of Nature - Brazilian Embassy, Lagos (Nigeria) * 2000 Threshold of Peace - African First-ladies' Peace-Summit exhibition, Abuja (Nigeria) * 2001 Women about Women - Goethe Institut, Lagos (Nigeria) * 2003 Ipade Begegnung - Afroasian Institute Gallery Vienna (Austria) * 2004 Globalia - Frauenmuseum (Women's Museum), Bonn (Germany)

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2003 Between Territories - Galerie Haus 23 Cottbus, Germany * 2002 Nomadic Diaries (A travelling pictorial storytelling) - Munich, Cologne, Halle; Germany & Neulengbach, Austria * 2001 Woman about Women - Cologne Germany * 1999 New Culture - Didi Museum, Lagos Nigeria * 1998 Selected Paintings and Portraits in Oil - Lagos. Nigeria * 1996 Realities - Didi Museum Lagos. Nigeria * 1995 Storms of the Heart - National Museum, Lagos Nigeria

Filmography

* 2015 The Legacy of Rubies (Germany/Nigeria/USA) 28Sp min. 2D Animation (Director/co-producer) * 2014 Die Liebe in den Zeiten der EU (Germany) 2D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2013 Closer N' Closer (Commissioned) (Nigeria/Germany) 06:00 min. 2D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2012 Meine Heimat "My Homeland" (Nigeria/Germany) 05:00 min. 2D/3D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2011 Footy My Love (Nigeria/Germany/Denmark) 07:00 Min, 2D Animation/Video Art (director/co-producer) * 2010 The Essence (Nigeria /Germany) 05:30 min., 2D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2009 Anna Blume (Germany/Bulgaria) 09 mins. 2D Animation (producer/co-script writer/animator) * 2009 Patterns (Nigeria /Germany) 10 mins. 2D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2008 Papermouse (Germany) 2,5 min. 2D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2007 Die Verrückte 'The Lunatic' (Germany) 5 min. 2D Animation (director/co-producer) * 2006 The Lunatic - 04.03 mins. 2D animation (director/animator) * 2004 Tag Attack - 05.00 mins. 2D animation. Ifs Cologne (co-director/animator) * 2002 Once upon a dance - 04.00 mins. digital collage (director/animator)

References

External links

Ebele Okoye's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okoye, Ebele 1969 births Living people Artists from Onitsha Nigerian women painters Women animators Nigerian painters Nigerian animators Nigerian women film directors Nigerian women film producers Nigerian film producers Nigerian animated film directors Nigerian animated film producers 21st-century women artists