Shariffa Ali, a New York-based filmmaker and assistant director to award winning actress Cynthia Nixon in her directorial debut, a play called Rasheeda says she looks up to Lupita Nyong’o.
“I have caught Lupita fever! I watched her perform in a reading in 2013 and was drawn by her radiant energy. I am encouraged by her global appeal and good fortune. Lupita is a multi-dimensional artist because, like me, she is not only a performer, but also a director and producer. Her success is a victory for all Africans,” Shariffa told Heads Up.
Shariffa is half-Kenyan and half-Ethiopian. Having spent most of her formative years in Mbabane, Swaziland and Pretoria, South Africa, she considers herself an Afropolitan - a citizen of the entire African continent.