The young
woman above is 12 year old Zuriel Oduwole, who lives in California, but was born
in Nigeria, and who happens to be, not only a political journalist and
interviewer, but is currently the youngest professional working filmmaker
in the world today.
She started
out 3 years ago, at the age of 9, interviewing presidents and prime ministers
in Kenya, Liberia, South Sudan and Jamaica among other countries, and celebrities, such as the Williams sisters. And, on top of that, she is still, to date, the youngest
person in the world to be featured in Forbes Africa, was named one of the
world’s 100 most powerful individuals by Business Insider magazine, invited to attend the African Union’s 50th
anniversary conference, selected as Global Brand Ambassador for Ethiopian
Airlines, and Heritage Bank’s Financial Literacy Ambassador in Nigeria.
And that’s just the beginning…
She makes it
clear with everything she does, and every opportunity she has to speak, that her
goal is to inspire young black women such as herself, and that she is “concerned
that not every girl has a right to get an education or a chance to accomplish
her dreams like she does."
Now she has
added to her very impressive resume (more impressive than 90% of most adults
wouldn’t you say) that of a documentary filmmaker.
Her feature
doc, "A Promising Africa," her fourth one to date, was released last November at
the Film House Cinema theater chain in Lagos, and will open this month in
London. This makes her currently the youngest filmmaker in the world to have
her film shown in a commercial movie theater.
Now, just to make
it clear, before some wise guy commenter jumps in, Ms. Oduwole is not the
youngest professional filmmaker in history. That credit, according to the
Guinness Book of World Records, goes to Indian filmmaker Kishan Shrikanth, who started out as a child actor and directed
his first theatrically-released film, "Care of Footpath," in India, when he was 10.
Now he’s a veteran, at the age of 19, with several films to his credit, which makes
Ms. Oduwole the youngest professional filmmaker in the world today.
But no
matter, Ms Oduwole is a true inspiration, and if she can’t get us motivated to
make our own films, then who can?
You can find
out more about her on her website HERE; and here’s a TV news segment about her
from last year:
And an interview with her on British TV from last month: