With Difficulty Comes Ease director Akorede Azeez alongside producer Fulfilment Fuchi Nwaturuocha and screenwriter/director Hajarat Alli have been selected as part of an Africa No Filter cohort of filmmakers from Nigeria and Kenya creating gender-equitable, Christian and Muslim faith-focused entertainment media.
The three filmmakers are working on Daddy Bear, a contemporary Nigerian family drama exploring the intersection of grief, masculinity and caregiving.
The project, delivered by Africa No Filter in partnership with CcHUB and the Gates Foundation, promotes positive narratives through faith-inspired films, television shows, podcasts and social media content. It brings Christian and Muslim storytellers into the conversation around gender representation, with a focus on challenging harmful norms that affect girls and young women.
With this selection, Azeez’s body of work continues to center women, faith and communities that are usually not mainstream Nigerian cinema. A writer and director, Azeez began her filmmaking career after working at BBC Media Action as a sound recordist, camera operator and video editor. She directed her first short film, Tip of the Edge, before going on to direct feature films and shorts across drama, science fiction and fantasy.
In 2022, Azeez was one of six winners of the Netflix-UNESCO African Folktales, Reimagined competition. Her film, Halima’s Choice, reimagines a Nigerian folktale through a near-future sci-fi story about a young Fulani girl who turns to an AI-driven virtual world to escape an arranged marriage. The film became part of the anthology released on Netflix.
Azeez later directed It Blooms in June, her debut feature under the First Features Initiative, and With Difficulty Comes Ease under Nemsia, a 2024 drama about a recently widowed woman dealing with grief, identity, faith and cultural expectations. Her work has consistently made room for women’s agency and for perspectives informed by her experience as a Nigerian Muslim woman.
Nwaturuocha has been credited with producing and executive producing films like Azeez’s With Difficulty Comes Ease and Ekene Som Mekwunye’s Ewo.
A 2021 alumni of EbonyLife Creative Academy, Alli is mostly known for writing the short film Monitoring Spirits.
Africa No Filter’s recent support for Nigerian cinema has largely come through its Gates Foundation-backed Entertainment and Media Hubs Program with CcHUB’s Creative Economy Practice, which provides filmmakers with grants alongside training, mentorship and creative development support. Beneficiaries have included the teams behind Onobiren, EVI, The Other Side of the Bridge and The Spectacular Death of Prisca, while Korede Azeez’s Daddy Bear is among its newer projects in development. Individual grant amounts have not been publicly disclosed.
Become a patron: To support our in-depth and critical coverage—become a Patron today!
Track Upcoming Films: Keep track of upcoming films and TV shows on your Google calendar.
