Ayo Lawson

Ayo Lawson is a Nigerian filmmaker who tells stories for those who grew up never seeing themselves on screen. Through films like Nightmare on Broadstreet and Unburied, Ayo explores the ways identity, memory, and fear shape our lives. Their work looks at what it means to exist authentically in a world that often refuses to understand, using genre storytelling to create space for reflection, connection, and visibility. Growing up non-binary in Nigeria, where being queer is still criminalized, Ayo learned early what it feels like to be erased. There were no stories about people like them, so they decided to write their own. Inspired by storytellers like Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, and Zoë Kravitz, Ayo uses genre not just to scare, but to reveal. Their work blurs the line between the terrifying and the tender, the brutal and the beautiful, creating space for every queer, Black, and marginalized person to feel seen. For Ayo, filmmaking is more than art. It is a form of resistance, a form of healing, and a way to start the conversations many are too afraid to have. Their films invite audiences to step into the uncomfortable, to sit with the questions, and maybe, to see the world and each other a little differently.

Ayo Lawson is a film-maker, curator, and creative theorist whose work focuses on telling queer and minority stories through authentic storytelling. Their practice explores identity, community, and representation, centering underrepresented voices. They studied at the University of Surrey, England, and worked as a curator and producer for Art X Live, fostering contemporary African artistry for seven years. Lawson directed the two short films 14 Years and a Day (2023) and Nightmare on Broadstreet (2020), both addressing complex narratives of identity and belonging. Lawson lives and works between Lagos and Toronto.