Nana Ghana shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Nana, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
What brings me joy lately is being an Aunt to my niece and nephew. Every moment with them fills my heart with joy.
Being an Aunty is my favorite role; their smiling faces are everything to me.
They are such special children; they are filled with fun, love, and laughter. I love taking them on little adventures and showing them new things. We love watching films in pajamas with snacks. I love teaching them filmmaking. I love receiving their surprise hugs and kisses, and them calling me Aunty! I truly enjoy the special Aunty privileges of spoiling them just a little, giving them gifts that make their eyes light up. My niece and nephew turn ordinary days into unforgettable moments.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a filmmaker and actress living in Los Angeles. Currently, I’m developing and writing several projects while also auditioning for film and television. Storytelling has always been at the core of who I am. I’m especially drawn to bold, character-driven narratives that highlight overlooked voices and the exploration of complex emotional worlds.
My work weaves together my experience in front of the camera with my drive for creating original stories and characters behind the scenes.
What sets my journey apart is abiding in the act of creation itself. My devotion starts from making something out of nothing, nurturing my raw ideas, shaping them into complete visions, and pursuing the pathways that transform them into life through film and television.
I love collaborating with other artists and creatives, and I’m constantly inspired by the energy of Los Angeles and the endless opportunities to grow as an artist.
Right now, I’m focused on expanding a slate of new projects while continuing to audition and pitch my work and staying connected to the ever-evolving film industry. I’m excited about where my creativity is taking me and look forward to sharing more of my work soon.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
One of my earliest memories of feeling powerful was as a child growing up in Ghana, West Africa, where I created my first little play. I gathered the neighborhood kids and turned our yard into a makeshift stage using bedsheets, banana leaves, cardboard, and anything we could repurpose as props. I remember the warm air, the sound of crashing waves, the red earth beneath our feet, and that feeling of absolute certainty, pure joy, and magic, as if I knew exactly how the story should unfold and how effortlessly it felt to lead everyone into the story and scenario.
Even though the play was simple and improvised, that moment taught me that imagination could shape my world. I realized I could direct, create, and bring people together through a vision that started in my mind. That early experience became the foundation of the filmmaker and actress I am today, a reminder that my storytelling roots began long before I even knew what “filmmaking” even was.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me things success never could. It taught me humility, resilience, and the ability to sit with myself in the dark and still believe in my own light. When everything is going well, it’s easy to think you’re strong, secure, and on the up and up, but when life strips you down, when things fall apart, when you feel unseen or unheard, that’s when you discover what you’re truly made of.
Suffering taught me the importance of faith, patience, self-compassion, compassion for others, and a deeper understanding of myself and others. It taught me to listen more, to judge less, and to recognize that endurance and fortitude are built in quiet and darkness. Learning to suffer well has made me braver, more grounded, more faithful, and more committed to my purpose. Success can celebrate you and has a way of making you feel aligned in and with the universe, but suffering shapes you; it tests you. Suffering offers the gift of a strong foundation within, building an inner strength that isn’t loud or flashy, just steady, honest, and unshakeable. Suffering forces you to forge your own path, using the very fire that threatens to consume you.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
I differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts by looking at what actually changes behavior and the psyche rather than what simply captures attention.
Fads are loud, fast, and driven by hype; for better or worse, they rise quickly, but they don’t really reshape how we think or create. Real foundational shifts move more quietly at first, but they last because they genuinely spark the mind, spirit, and sometimes even the culture. Real foundation shifts open up new possibilities in the way that we think and participate in the world.
As an artist, I am constantly paying attention to patterns, cycles, and themes in the world, the world within me, and around me.
If something keeps showing up across different communities, industries, and contexts, and if it continues to grow even after the initial excitement fades, that’s usually a sign it’s a true shift. Anything is possible. I am very interested in the spaces between both.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
That is exactly my life!! Yes, I could give everything my best, even if no one ever praised me for it. So far in my artist journey, I have come to realize that the deepest form of motivation isn’t external validation, but the relationship you have with your own work and your own soul. Praise feels good, of course, but it’s fleeting.
As a filmmaker, so much of the journey unfolds in private: long stares at blank pages, writing late into the night, rehearsing lines alone, and nurturing ideas long before anyone sees them or knows their worth. If I only worked hard when people were watching, I would never grow. It’s in giving my best in silence, in the dark, and pushing through rejection that I become the artist I’m meant to be.
I choose to believe that the real reward is the work itself and the person I become through creating.
As an artist, so much of the journey unfolds in solitude, long, quiet stares at blank pages, words spilling out in the soft hours of night, lines whispered into empty rooms, ideas tended like fragile embers long before anyone else can feel their heat. If I only worked when eyes were on me, I would never grow. It is in the unseen hours, in the hush and the darkness, in moving through rejection with a trembling kind of courage, that I become the artist I’m called to be.
I choose to believe that the truest reward is the work itself and the self that slowly takes shape within it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @nanaghana
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nananomadicfilmaker/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nanaghanafilmmaker
Image Credits
Photos by Karen Doolittle
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