Clare Anyiam-Osigwe wins major prize for ‘No Shade’ at 2018 NY African Diaspora Film Festival

‘No Shade’, a raw, fresh take on race and colourism in the UK has scooped the African Diaspora Film Festival’s award for best film directed by a woman of colour.

According to the jury, the drama from first-time director Clare Anyiam-Osigwe “…explores the hardships of the modern dating world through the dysmorphic presence of colourism as well as the fetishization of black women in a way that is tactful and honest”.

The winner of the Women of Colour Filmmaker Competition was announced last week after the conclusion of the 2018 NY African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF NYC). ‘No Shade’ was 1 of 6 feature length films directed by women of colour which received their New York premieres at the festival which ran from 23 November – 9 December.

The award win completes an impressive end to the year for Anyiam-Osigwe who was 1 of 4 Black British directors to release a feature film theatrically in the United States in 2018 with ‘No Shade’.

She also became the 6th Black British female director in over a century to release a feature film theatrically in the UK with ‘No Shade’.

“I’m truly honoured to receive this award just 10 months after shooting the film,” said Mrs Anyiam-Osigwe. It’s a testament of the hard work which has gone into this and it gives me great encouragement going forward in my journey as a film director“.