Korede Azeez
{{Short description|Nigerian filmmaker, writer and director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Korede Azeez
| born = c.1990
| image =
| occupation = {{hlist|Writer|Director|Producer}}
| children = 2
| nationality = {{flag| Nigeria}}
| notable_works = With Difficulty Comes Ease
}}
Korede Azeez (c.1990 - ) is a Nigerian writer, director and producer. She is known for directing With Difficulty Comes Ease and It Blooms In June.
Early life and education
Born in about 1990{{Cite web |last=Munu |first=Adama |date=2024-10-25 |title=Sci-Fi, Folklore, and Faith: Korede Azeez’s unique lens as a Nigerian Muslim filmmaker |url=https://africanarguments.org/2024/10/sci-fi-folklore-and-faith-korede-azeezs-unique-lens-as-a-nigerian-muslim-filmmaker/ |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=African Arguments |language=en-GB}} in Lagos, Azeez was two years old when she moved to Enugu State in southeastern Nigeria, where she also attended school. She studied mass communication at Caritas University.{{Cite web |title=Reimagining African Folktales Through the Lens – THISDAYLIVE |url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/03/26/reimagining-african-folktales-through-the-lens/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=www.thisdaylive.com |language=en-US}} She described herself as an "odd one", because she was the only Yoruba Muslim in her classes, even at university.
Success
In 2022, Azeez was one of six winners of the Netflix-UNESCO African Folktales Reimagined competition, a groundbreaking initiative that aimed to find some of the continent’s breakout filmmakers.{{Cite web |title=NETFLIX-UNESCO WINNERS |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/netflix-unesco-announce-winners-african-folktales-reimagined-short-film-competition/ |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=UNESCO |language=en-US}} She was the only West African Muslim woman to achieve this feat among six other finalists. She received $75,000 to create short films through a local production company and under the guidance of Netflix-appointed supervising producers and industry mentors from across the continent.
Her short film, Halima's Choice, is a sci-fi story about a young girl who fights for control over her fate. Set in the not-so-distant future where everyone but the people of a small Fulani village have uploaded themselves into a virtual world, the plot unfolds in a familiar but different world. It was based on a folk tale from southern Nigeria, which she revived to tell a contemporary northern Nigeria story.{{Cite web |title=Halima's Choice |url=https://whatkeptmeup.com/nollywood-movies/zabin-halima-halimas-choice-a-closer-look-and-breakdown-of-korede-azeezs-short-film/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=What Kept Me Up |language=en-US}} Azeez directed her second full-length feature film, With Difficulty Comes Ease, which was released in August 2024. It explores the complexities faced by a recently widowed Igbo-Hausa woman who grapples with cultural expectations, personal struggles and grief.{{Cite web |last=Munu |first=Adama |date=2024-10-25 |title=Sci-Fi, Folklore, and Faith: Korede Azeez’s unique lens as a Nigerian Muslim filmmaker |url=https://africanarguments.org/2024/10/sci-fi-folklore-and-faith-korede-azeezs-unique-lens-as-a-nigerian-muslim-filmmaker/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=African Arguments |language=en-GB}}
Filmography
- Tip of the Edge (short film) (2020)
- Halima's Choice (2023)
- It Blooms in June (2024)
- With Difficulty Comes Ease (2024)
References
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=12024018}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azeez, Korede}}
Category:Nigerian film directors
Category:Nigerian chief executives
Category:Nigerian media executives