Filmmaker and director, Nadine Ibrahim is renowned for producing Prime Video’s “Beyond the Veil,” a TV drama series. For Nadine Ibrahim, representation is at the core of her work as a filmmaker.
“For me, primarily, representation is vital. As a woman from the North, I feel showcasing the beautiful and empowering visuals from the North is essential. And for me, that is something important that I like to do. And, I guess, more importantly, paving the way for younger creatives behind me, who are looking up to see that other people are doing it as well,” She tells Document Women.
Nadine pursued film studies in the United Kingdom and further honed her skills through short courses in New York. After returning to Nigeria, she completed her National Youth Service in Lagos, working with Film One, a leading distribution company in Nigeria.
In 2017, Nadine released her short documentary film, “Through Her Eyes,” which tells the poignant story of Azeeza, a 12-year-old girl kidnapped and forced to become a suicide bomber. This film gained significant recognition, becoming a semi-finalist at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival and earning a nomination at the Africa International Film Festival.
Her documentary short film “Marked,” which she worked on for two years, debuted at the Ake Festival in Lagos in 2019. Inspired by the scar on her aunt’s cheek, it explores traditional scarification in Nigeria, a subject both common and taboo. Nadine aimed to highlight its beauty and cultural significance.
Nadine then founded her own production company, Naila Media, with a mission to tell the stories of Northern Nigeria. “I decided to return to the North and start telling our stories. And since 2017, that’s what I’ve done. I have a company called Naila Media, and we’ve made short films, documentaries, and TV drama series. We’re currently working on feature films,” Nadine shares.
On March 7, 2022, the first season of “Beyond the Veil” premiered on Prime Video. “Beyond the Veil is about five northern Nigerian women, and we explore their lives when it has to do with culture, religion, relationships; and it’s an exploration of the modern northern Nigerian woman,” Nadine explains.
“Season one was us experimenting with a new narrative, something we hadn’t seen before in the media. It was about representing the northern women but in a different way. So, for me, looking at content that was out there was mostly about, you know, either child marriage or abusive marriages or just this poverty angle. And for me, it was important to represent Arewa women as, you know, very independent, very beautiful, very smart, and having the same lives you would have in the South,” Nadine continues. “And for us, season one was basically about us, you know, introducing these characters and their lives. And then season two would be for us to go deeper into the narrative and explore, you know, the situations they’re in and their struggles.”
Nadine Ibrahim’s journey reflects her dedication to authentic storytelling and her commitment to changing narratives, one film at a time.
