about / naa adei
naa adei (nah • aday) is a writer, director, producer, and avid traveler based in New York City. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Film at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (2026). Throughout her time at Tisch, she was awarded the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship (2023), the HEAR US Mentorship Research Grant (2024), and the coveted Spike Lee Production Fund (2025) for her thesis film, The Titty Trip.
filmmaker / naa adei
she has produced several short form documentaries, commercials, and short films, including several recipients of NYU’s Spike Lee Production Fund. Where the Insects Hide at Night, directed by Lucas Acher and produced by naa adei, was awarded the Best Student International Short Film at the Palm Springs ShortFest 2024!
her dramedy short, plan c, was one of four inaugural recipients of the USC Annenberg Reproductive Rights Accelerator Award, which helped fund the development of the film. her previous work has screened regionally at the Baltimore International Black Film Festival, the San Francisco Black Film Festival, and the Wheaton Film Festival.
origins / naa adei
naa adei loves to tell stories that explore those internal, unspoken, and even unpleasant emotions that Black people, but primarily Black women, struggle with in a post-colonial era. originally born to Ghanaian immigrants in the DMV, naa adei leverages her multi-layered identity to create stories that bridge the gap across the diaspora.
she holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California (2015), and was one of 20 inaugural recipients of the full-tuition Mork Family scholarship at USC, which funded her undergraduate education.
naa adei was also an engineer for the federal government in a past life :-)
in her spare time, she loves to explore the globe. she travels frequently in celebration of Blackness, and attends various cultural festivals and events. she has visited ober 35 states and 60 countries to date, but who’s counting?
awards / naa adei
2025. Spike Lee Production Fund Recipient, The Titty Trip (w/d by naa adei)
2024. Best International Student Short Film, Where the Insects Hide at Night (w/d by Lucas Acher), Palm Springs International Short Film Festival
2024. HEAR US Grant Awardee, glamour day (w/d by naa adei), NYU Tisch School of the Arts
2024. Scholarship Recipient, Black Women in Film Network
2023. Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholar, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
2022. Annenberg Reproductive Rights Accelerator Inaugural Awardee, Plan C (w/d by Naa Adei)