BIOGRAPHY
Temi Coker is an American-Nigerian Film & Television Producer and Director. Her journey to becoming a Filmmaker can only be best described as destiny taking its course. Born in the USA to parents of Nigerian heritage, her father being a filmmaker, meant she was fortunate to have parents who encouraged her on the journey as she strived towards realizing her dream of following in his footsteps.
Having been enraptured by the world of TV and Film at an early age, she embarked on the course of making her dream a reality. To better understand the craft of filmmaking, she attended The Academy of Art University in San Francisco and graduated with a BFA in Motion Picture and Television. Whilst there, she produced and directed several short films: “Shadow of Hate,” “Sonia's Pain,” “Hiendo Enel Destino,” “Obsession,” “Limbo,” and “Dancing in the Moonlight” - Shot on various formats ranging from Super8, 16mm B&W Negative, 16mm Color Negative, and HD digital cameras.
Temi has also produced and directed music videos for international talents, and award winning short films. In 2010, she produced the award winning short film "Doorways" starring Emmy Award Winner, Diahnna Nicole Baxter (Scandal), and Elimu Nelson (‘Love don’t Cost a Thing’, ‘Things Never Said’, and ‘Private Practice’). "Doorways" toured the national and international film festival circuits in 2011 and 2012 bagging several notable official selections and awards, including screening at the Festival de Cannes – Court Métrage Short film Corner. It also aired on Aspire Television.
In 2012, Temi relocated to Los Angeles, to pursue an MFA degree at The USC School of Cinematic Arts. While at USC, early collaborations as a producer found Temi discovering a newly realized passion for the creative process of collaboration, and always striving for the best version of a finalized mutual-desired vision. She produced “Lou the Champ,” “Pride” and co-produced a short documentary film: "Deeper Than Black", - about a Ghanaian-American filmmaker who looks to bridge the divide between his African pedigree and his American birthright. "Deeper Than Black" went on to receive over half a dozen official selections at notable festivals which included San Diego Black Film Festival and The Pan African Film Festival. In 2013 she co- produced an independent, award-winning short-film "Finding Neptune." “Deeper Than Black” and “Finding Neptune” both screened at the 2015 Festival de Cannes – Court Métrage Short film Corner.
“En Bloc,” “Ice Cream Sunday” and “Dear Nora” were some of the films she went on to direct. Rounding out her time at USC, Temi produced her thesis film, “Still in San Pedro" - a family-centered romantic drama, Starring: Clayton Snyder (Lizzie McGuire), and "The Deadlight” - a science-fiction short in the vein of “Momento” meets the “Matrix,” starring: Raychel Diane Weiner (Flesh and Bone) and Osric Chau (2012 and Supernatural). Temi graduated with an MFA in Cinematic Arts Film and Television from the University of Southern California in May 2015. She was nominated for Outstanding Producing at USC’s First Look Faculty Awards 2016 for "Still in San Pedro".
Since graduating she has gone on to co-produce her first feature film, the Theatrical Motion Picture “Lara and the Beat” - an international co-production between Biola Alabi Media and Skylar Pictures LLC; shot entirely on location in Lagos, Nigeria. The film has received over a dozen Official selections at festivals world wide. It was nominated at the 27th Pan African Film Festival in both the Best Feature Narrative and Best First feature film categories. It went on to win the Programmers Award - Narrative Feature.