Interview with Noni Salma

Noni Salma is a filmmaker who doesn’t ask for permission, she creates with purpose, beauty, and unapologetic urgency. A Nigerian-born, New York-based transgender woman, Noni is part of a generation of storytellers redefining cinema on her own feminist terms. Her work dares to center women, queer people, and those whose lives are too often pushed to the margins. Through film, she offers both resistance and celebration, carving out space not just to be seen, but to be understood, respected, and remembered. Raised in the electric chaos of Lagos, Noni’s earliest impressions of the world came with color, contradiction, and complexity, all of which inform her storytelling today. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Lagos and later honed her directorial voice at the New York Film Academy. Her NYFA thesis film Morning After Midnight earned 1st Place at the Treasure Coast International Film Festival, signaling the arrival of a bold new voice in cinema. That voice became unmistakable with Veil of Silence, her haunting, heartfelt short documentary that premiered at the BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film Festival and later screened at the United Nations, Egale Canada, and the German Foreign Office. The film resonated deeply across continents, winning second place for Best Short Documentary at CineHomo Film Festival in Spain, an audience award that speaks to the impact of Noni’s human-centered lens.

 

Her storytelling isn’t confined to genre. With Alibi, a suspenseful short thriller, she claimed Best Crime Mystery at the Manhattan Film Festival. And her recent screenwriting projects show the same defiant tenderness: Raison D’être, a feature drama, was a finalist for the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship, and her razor-sharp comedy pilot Badass earned her a spot on The GLAAD List 2022, which honors the most promising LGBTQ-inclusive screenplays yet to be produced. A Stowe Story Labs Fellowship finalist, Noni Salma writes and directs not from theory but from lived experience, from survival, joy, and feminist fire. Noni is a woman building worlds where our stories matter, where silence is shattered, and where laughter, pain, resistance, and love coexist.In the conversation that follows, I had the immense pleasure of speaking with Noni about her journey, her vision, and what it means to create as a trans woman, as an African woman, and as an artist who refuses to compromise.

Interview with Veso Golden Oke

Veso Golden Oke, born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and a Ghanaian mother, is a prominent transgender model, actress, activist, and entrepreneur. Raised in an Anglican household, Oke exhibited feminine traits from a young age and identified as a woman, never considering herself a gay man. At eight, she prayed to wake up in a girl's body, and by fourteen, she discovered the concept of being transgender online, helping her come to terms with her identity. Initially met with resistance, her family eventually became supportive. In 2014, Oke relocated to Ghana, where she pursued a career in modeling and mentored aspiring models in Accra.

 

Her groundbreaking moment came in August 2019 when she became the first openly transgender woman to compete in a beauty pageant in Africa, participating in Miss Europe Continental Ghana. Although she didn't win, her participation marked a significant milestone for transgender visibility on the continent. Beyond modeling, Oke is a professional make-up artist and hairstylist. She has been an outspoken advocate for transgender rights, sharing her experiences and challenges to raise awareness. By 2018, she had begun hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as part of her transition journey. Oke's story has been featured in various media outlets, including an interview where she discussed her struggles and aspirations. She continues to inspire many by breaking barriers and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community in Africa.

Interview with Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi

Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi is an artist, activist, and visionary whose life and work defy boundaries. She is of Nigerian, Cuban, and Indigenous American heritage and has built a career as an actress, singer, dancer, writer, radio host, oracle, healer, and teacher. Known as the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, a title given to her for the timeless power of her performances, she has carried her ancestral legacy into every note she sings and every word she writes. Lady Dane is also a pioneer, becoming the first trans woman of color in Washington DC to publish a work of fiction, breaking barriers in literature while uplifting the voices of those too often silenced. Her novels, poetry, and cabaret performances reveal her devotion to storytelling as an act of resistance, remembrance, and love. Whether honoring her birthplace in Baltimore: A Love Letter, weaving spiritual narratives in Yemaya’s Daughters, or conjuring new magical worlds in her Ghetto Goddess Series, she demonstrates how fiction and poetry can both heal and empower. Her artistic vision is inseparable from her activism. Lady Dane serves as a leader in the Trans Women of Color Collective, one of the few organizations founded and led by Black trans women.

Interview with Miss saHHara

Miss saHHara is a British-Nigerian beauty queen, model, singer, and pioneering human rights advocate. In 2014, she made history as the first black transgender woman to be crowned winner of Super Sireyna Worldwide in the Philippines. She had previously become the first Nigerian trans woman to come out publicly through her participation in Miss International Queen 2011 in Thailand, where she earned the title of first runner-up. These achievements marked a turning point for transgender visibility, especially for African LGBTQ+ individuals. Born and raised in a conservative village in northern Nigeria, Miss saHHara endured severe bullying, abuse, and imprisonment simply for expressing her identity.

 

After surviving two suicide attempts, she fled to the UK in 2004, determined to live freely and authentically. In London, she found community, began her gender-affirming journey, and flourished in her education, earning a Master’s degree in Digital Media from London Metropolitan University in 2011. Beyond pageantry, Miss saHHara has walked the runway at London Fashion Week, graced the covers of magazines, and held a long-standing music residency in London. Through her visibility and activism, Miss saHHara has challenged transphobia, especially in Nigeria, where anti-LGBTQ+ laws threaten lives. She remains a powerful voice for human rights and a symbol of resilience, beauty, and self-determination.