Nigerian Graduate Student Wins $1m Grant To Produce Film

Nigerian Graduate Student Wins $1m Grant To Produce Film

Faraday Okoro, a Nigerian graduate student at the New York University, has won a trans-formative grant of $1m to produce a film.

Mr. Okoro emerged top among five finalists listed for an award being given by AT&T, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Institute to a promising young filmmaker, with a focus on underrepresented perspectives.

According to the report, after a game-show that look more like pitch-off, Okoro won the trans-formative grant. His thesis project would have a million-dollar budget.

But the money came with some strings. The film must be filmed in Africa.

The film, “Nigerian Prince,” follows a Nigerian-American high schooler whose mother sends him to live with his aunt in Lagos. There he befriends his cousin, a professional scammer who sends phishing emails, among other deceitful business pursuits.

Winning a $1 million grant to make his film was “much different than winning the lottery,” Faraday said, “because I still had to make the movie for it to mean anything. And I could really feel that.”




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