She grew up in Ghana, Norway, California, and Hong Kong before moving to New York to study film at Columbia University (BA) and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (MFA). Her first short film, Boneshaker (starring Oscar-nominee Quvenzhané Wallis), premiered at Sundance 2013 and played at over 20 film festivals including Telluride & SXSW. Her second short, Afronauts, premiered at the 2014 Sundance, Berlinale, and New Directors/New Films Festivals. It received the Grand Jury Prize at IFFBoston, Dallas International Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival. She is currently developing the feature version of Afronauts (supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, IFP, the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, and Spike Lee).