NIA, written and directed by Chantelle Ampomah Aboraah, follows a young Black woman in the aftermath of her grandmother’s death as she undertakes a journey of self-discovery. Here, Ampomah Aboraah speaks to Molly Lipson about the inspiration behind the story, removing dialogue for the titular character, and balancing maintaining her vision with listening to her crew’s ideas.

14 August 2025

When Nia’s mother leaves her in the care of her white grandmother, Nia grows up in a white countryside town that leaves her feeling out of place and alienated. After her grandmother dies, the connection she held to her mother frays even more. At her grandmother’s wake, someone shares a photo of Nia’s mother with an address scrawled on the back, sparking a renewed sense of hope and discovery in her.

Moving and graceful, the film packs a punch with its rich, ethereal sequences and a protagonist whose lack of dialogue only enhances her emotional journey. Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Chantelle Ampomah Aboraah, and funded by the BBC, the story is based on the real-life experiences of one of her relatives. The beauty and simplicity of the cinematic style allows the complexities of Nia’s identity to take centre stage.

After screening at festivals including Aesthetica, Bute Street, Cleveland and Women X, NIA is now available to watch on the MYM YouTube channel.

Molly Lipson: This is your debut short film – what were you working on before and how did that impact NIA?

Chantelle Ampomah Aboraah: Before I made NIA, I was assistant script editing on a Disney+ series, which was a great experience in itself and because it inspired me to make edits to my own script after reading so many others. I had this light bulb moment of how I wanted to adapt NIA through that process, and ended up doing a new draft more in line with that vision.

Did you always know that you wanted to make your own work?

I always knew I wanted to make films. When I was 10 years old, I saw Moulin Rouge for the first time, and that was it for me. It was like, what is this, and how do I do it?! It's still one of my favourite films to this day. I also used to tell really extravagant stories in school, and I’ve always had such a love for visual storytelling. I was a bit of a loner in school, to be honest, so I connected with characters on screen, often living through them.

What inspired you to write this particular story?

NIA is inspired by a true story of someone in my family. I saw her going through a lot of struggles with her identity and I thought that this film could really help people. I wanted it to be quite understated, nuanced and delicate. I reckon it's one of those films that you might have to watch twice – there's a lot of reading between the lines. People are still shocked about the ending…I don’t want to spoil it but I'm a huge Christopher Nolan fan so I'm always looking at how I can add in those small twists and turns.

The titular character Nia doesn't speak in the whole film, except for one moment towards the end. Tell me about that decision.

When I was imagining Nia in that situation, I didn’t think she’d be very vocal. And then I met Priscilla Fagbemi, who plays her in the film, and what she gave to the character even without speaking was just so captivating and moving, I realised that I didn’t need to add loads of dialogue for her. I don't think you always need words. The score was crucial for the story too. Our composer Athena was phenomenal at capturing the emotions through sound and it really helped tie it all together, despite the lack of dialogue.

Can you share a bit more about working with the team and what that was like?

When you're making a short film on a small budget you want people who are passionate about the project and we were so blessed with the cast crew that we had – everyone went above and beyond to bring this film to life. Funny story, we shot the scenes where they're at the wake on the hottest day of the year, I think it was about 34 degrees, and we had people wearing suits! But the way everyone came together and did what needed to be done was so inspiring to me. With a small budget, the difficulty is always how you make things come to life. I had such a strong visual sense of what I wanted, and my incredible production designer Angelica was on hand to help, along with my costume designer Roslyn who was amazing. I still work with my wonderful DOP Jasper! 

From an acting and story perspective, Priscilla really holds the whole film together. What was it like working with her?

Oh my god, Priscilla was amazing. She definitely did her homework – she spoke to me a lot about my family member who the story is based on to really understand her experience. She also made this thick binder full of notes and mind maps on the character’s journey and experiences. It was so impressive. On the most emotional day of shooting, she was crying the second she stepped onto set, I had to start rolling immediately! She was just so in the zone and into it. I truly couldn't have asked for a better actress.

You’ve mentioned that this film is based on the experiences of one of your family members. Were they involved in developing the film and how did they react when they saw it?

Yes, she was very much involved with the script. It was really important for me to have her permission, but also her approval of how I told her story. I wanted her to see every cut and version of the film, and she kind of just fell in love with it. She was very touched and moved by the whole process. I think it meant a lot to her. She came to a screening that we had for International Women's Day where they showed a collection of short films, and it was really nice for her to be in that space.

What were the main themes you wanted to explore in this film?

A key theme in NIA is that feeling of being so alien in an environment where you don't see yourself represented. You end up feeling like such an outsider. My family member who the story is based on actually grew up in the same town as me and went to the same secondary school that I went to way back when. It was crazy to me that she was having the same feelings about her Blackness, her hair texture, the colour of her skin. It was really hard to watch. I thought, wow, after all this time, people are still going through the same experiences and having the same trauma, and I wanted to capture that element in the film as well. At the wake, for example, Nia is the only Black person in the room and it was important for me to capture how alien that feels, what it’s like to feel like an outsider and for other people to judge you.

Let’s talk about the final scene. Without spoiling it, Nia comes face-to-face with her biological mother, but the scene isn’t completely rooted in reality. How did you achieve this sensation?

Yes, exactly, there's this magical realism element to those scenes. The entire colour palette shifts, it becomes much more dreamy with warmer, pink and purple tones. Also in those moments where she's travelling, there's a change in the score, signifying that we’re moving into a different realm. There are these little clues I wanted to drop that I hope are effective. Like I said, I'm a huge Christopher Nolan fan and I love the way he uses every single technical element of cinema to tell you something, from the score to sound design and camera movement. I think that's really powerful, and it's so fun to watch something like that and figure it out.

What did you feel you learnt making Nia?

With Nia, even though I was the writer/director, I wanted to wear all the hats and be across everything. I had a really clear vision for Nia, but I also gave my crew the freedom to experiment. At the same time, I had never made a film before so I was super open to suggestions and ideas of different ways of doing things. We came up with things even on the day of the shoot that I hadn’t planned, but it turned out so well. I think even as an experienced director you never stop learning, and that would be my biggest advice to other filmmakers – get involved in all aspects, listen to your crew and just learn!