Kaelo Iyizoba

Kaelo Iyizoba is a Nigerian-American Filmmaker pursuing a Masters of fine art in film at Columbia University, New York. He was a practicing pharmacist before he found his voice through film. His work explores the concept of identity, specifically on "otherness" and what it means to belong. He is committed to amplifying the quietest voices. Kaelo was cited by Buzzfeed as one of four up and coming black filmmakers shaping the future of the industry. He is a winner of the Arthur Krim award for excellence in producing at Columbia University, a Blackhouse-Meta fellow and a Facebook SEEN future filmmaker grant recipient. In 2022, Kaelo spoke on a panel at the Sundance film festival. Kaelo's first narrative short film "Boy meets girl" won the award for Outstanding experimental film at the 2021 Abuja International Film Festival. It was also an official selection of the BAFTA qualifying Bolton International film festival. His following short film "Nkemefuna" premiered at the 2022 Phoenix film festival and subsequently screened at the Lincoln center as part of the New York African Film Festival. "Nkemefuna" also won the prize for outstanding dramatic acting at the 2022 Micheaux film festival.