Wednesday, August 19th, 2026

Josh Olaoluwa Completes Short Film Shooting for Prestigious Project Involve Fellowship

Award-winning Nigerian-based producer Josh Olaoluwa has completed principal photography on his short film project, Deep Dish Dimples, as part of the Film Independent Project Involve Fellowship, which has stationed him in LA since the beginning of the year.

Olaoluwa, known for his work on Prime Video’s GRIND, was selected as one of only 27 filmmakers to participate in the 10-month residency program in Los Angeles, making him the first international fellow to be accepted into the initiative.

L-R: Israel Vasquez, Brandon Bui, NOVA CYPRESS BLACK, Manuel ‘Alex’ Villareal, Angelia Sciulli and Josh Olaoluwa on the set of their short film in LA.

The program brings together five producers, five directors, five editors, five cinematographers, five writers, and five creative executives from the USA who are grouped into five teams to create five original films during the course of the program.

Over three shoot days in Los Angeles, Olaoluwa, serving as producer, collaborated with his team of Fellows, including NOVA CYPRESS BLACK (writer), Manuel ‘Alex’ Villareal (director), Angelia Sciuli (cinematographer), Israel Vasquez (editor), and Brandon Bui (executive producer).

Their short film, Deep Dish Dimples, is slated to premiere at the Directors Guild of America in January 2025 as part of Film Independent’s prestigious annual First Look Screening Program on Sunset Boulevard.

L-R: Brandon Bui, Manuel ‘Alex’ Villareal, NOVA, Angelia Sciulli and Israel Vasquez make up the production team of Deep Dish Dimples.

With principal photography of Deep Dish Dimples now complete, Josh Olaoluwa and his team will move into the post-production stage where they will collaborate with renowned Hollywood sound design studio Formosa and leading color grading company Picture Shop ahead of its anticipated screening next year. 

The Project Involve Fellowship is supported by major industry players, including Warner Bros, Panavision, the Golden Globes, Amazon MGM Studios, LAIKA, Formosa, Picture Shop, and Sony. 

Past mentors and guest speakers include Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, Christine Vachon, and Bradford Young.

Film Independent Project Involve Fellowship wraps up in October 2024.

Film Independent, a non-profit arts organization that champions indie filmmakers, is known for the Spirit Awards, where C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi was nominated in the Best International Film category for Mami Wata, and most recently selected another Nigerian filmmaker, Priye Diri, as a Global Media Makers resident.

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