Amber Akaunu is filmmaker working in cinema and art to document and imagine Black British regional stories.
2025 Biennial Year Find out more
Akaunu’s research-informed films often explore international links to her hometown of Liverpool.
Her work has previously exhibited at Iniva (Can Publications be Porous?, 2023) and The British Library (Celebrating Beryl Gilroy, 2022), and screened at festivals including London Short Film Festival (LSFF x T A P E Collective: Bonded 3.0, 2024).
In 2018, Akaunu obtained a BA in Fine Art from Liverpool Hope University and an MA in Filmmaking (Screen Documentary) from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2021 when she also received the BAFTA Kirsh scholarship.
As the co-founder of ROOT-ed Zine, Akaunu has played a key role in amplifying Black, Asian and Global Majority artists in the North West of England through curating, publishing, workshops and producing.
Liverpool Biennial 2025
'Dear Othermother', 2025
Amber Akaunu is a Liverpool born Nigerian-German filmmaker working in cinema and art to document and imagine stories from regional Black communities. Her documentary-style works aim to capture the essence of human relationships and their complexities on film, often using real life stories to celebrate intergenerational family bonds.
For Liverpool Biennial 2025, Akaunu has created a new film which tells a deeply personal tale of single motherhood in Toxteth, Liverpool – an area in which approximately 1 in 6 households are single parent families. This autobiographical documentary-style film is inspired by the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child”, and centres around single parents and their best friends who have built alternative ‘villages’ through which they collectively raise
Amber Akaunu is a Liverpool born Nigerian-German filmmaker working in cinema and art to document and imagine stories from regional Black communities. Her documentary-style works aim to capture the essence of human relationships and their complexities on film, often using real life stories to celebrate intergenerational family bonds. For Liverpool Biennial 2025, Akaunu has created a new film which tells a deeply personal tale of single motherhood in Toxteth, Liverpool – an area in which approximately 1 in 6 households are single parent families. This autobiographical documentary-style film is inspired by the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child”, and centres around single parents and their best friends who have built alternative ‘villages’ through which they collectively raise their children. ‘Dear Othermother’ is a heartfelt yet playful insight into this alternative, matriarchal network where single mothers and their children, despite political, social and financial isolation, find home, friendship and community in each other. Courtesy of the artist. A BFI Doc Society film, commissioned by Liverpool Biennial. Showing at Bluecoat
'Dear Othermother', 2025
Showing at Bluecoat
Tuesday to Sunday 11:00am–5:00pm-
Amber Akaunu, Dear Othermother 2025. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Bluecoat. Photography by Mark McNulty.
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Amber Akaunu, Still from ‘Dear Othermother’, 2024. Courtesy of the Artist.
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Amber Akaunu, Still from ‘Dear Othermother’, 2024. Courtesy of the Artist.
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Amber Akaunu, Still from ‘Dear Othermother’, 2024. Courtesy of the Artist.
