Ella Ezeike

London, United Kingdom
@ellaezeike
ella elzeke

Art and Photography

“I hope those who watch Words We Don’t Say feel seen in their own dynamic and perspectives with their fathers, and hopefully, that can allow for conversation.”
Ella Ezeike

Nobody explores family trauma, sisterhood, and personal growth quite like photographer and director Ella Ezeike. Ezeike, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to London in 2016 to study fashion and media at the London College of Fashion. Her storytelling is fearless and dreamy, often reflecting the difficulties of being young and alive through the Black female lens.

Ezeike’s first short film, Bluebird (2021), was a labour of love. The self-funded project explored the power and necessity of Black sisterhood, especially after heartbreak. Her second short, Words We Don’t Say (2022), examined Black masculinity and fatherhood, and featured the musician, and Dazed 100 alum, cktrl. Though different, both films have the same proposition: to have empathy, patience, and love for one another.

Art can heal wounds, and Ezeike approached both films as a sort of therapy for herself and the viewer. “I think relationships are never black and white,” Ezeike told Dazed earlier this year. “I hope those who watch [Words We Don’t Say] feel seen in their own dynamic and perspectives with their fathers, and hopefully, that can allow for conversation.”

Text Halima Jibril