Tosin Coker
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Tosin Coker is a multiple award-winning filmmaker of Nigerian and American heritage, with a corporate background in entertainment marketing and licensing at Viacom and Universal Music Publishing. He has produced, directed, and edited music videos for international talent, as well as documentaries, short films, television series, and feature films, including the award-winning Doorways, starring Emmy Award-winner Diahnna Nicole Baxter (Scandal, True Blood, Bosch) and Elimu Nelson (House of Lies, Things Never Said, Private Practice).
Doorways toured both national and international film festivals in 2011 and 2012, including the Pan African Film Festival, Texas Black Film Festival, Action on Film International Film Festival, and Urban Suburban Film Festival, earning several official selections and awards. It was also featured in the Black Stories Matter Series by Diversity in Cannes, sponsored by the California African American Museum. The film made its world television premiere on Aspire Network in 2015 as part of the American Black Film Festival showcase, sponsored by HBO, and was later dubbed and subtitled for distribution in Francophone Europe and Africa after being acquired by Ivorian production and distribution company H-Studios.
Tosin's other achievements include nominations and awards for films such as Motherless, which was nominated for Best Short at the San Francisco Black Film Festival, and Finding Neptune, nominated for Best Short Film at several festivals including the SoCal Independent Film Festival, Langston Hughes Black Film Festival, and Gary International Black Film Festival. Finding Neptune also won at the Capital City Black Film Festival.
Tosin directed the pilot season of the critically acclaimed web series On The Real, dubbed Nigeria's edgiest television show, for continental cable broadcaster Ebony Life Television. The pilot season, sponsored by Samsung Nigeria and Ciroc Africa, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video Africa and Accelerate TV, an online content platform backed by Access Bank, one of Nigeria's leading financial institutions. He returned to direct the second season of On The Real, which premiered in the summer of 2017 to critical acclaim and is streaming on the Ebony Life ON platform.
In 2018, Tosin co-produced and directed the feature film Lara and the Beat, a collaboration between Nigeria's Biola Alabi Media and Tosin's company, Skylar Pictures LLC. The movie was nominated at the 27th Pan African Film Festival in two categories: Best First Feature Film and Best Feature Narrative, winning the Programmer's Best Feature Narrative prize. It also won Best International Film at the 2019 Charlotte Black Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Oakland International Film Festival. Lara and the Beat received seven nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards and three nominations at the UK BUFF Awards.
Tosin is a Second Rounder for the 2024 Sundance Development Track, a Semifinalist at the 2024 Stowe Story Labs Fellowship, and a Semifinalist for Roadmap Writers' Coletta Preacely-Garcia Diversity Fellowship.
In recognition of his achievements, Tosin was named one of Diversity in Cannes' Top 10 Filmmakers of the Decade, selected for his body of work, approach to filmmaking, and commitment to challenging stereotypes to positively shape the perception of marginalized people globally through his stories.
Tosin holds a bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles, and an MFA in Motion Picture & Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
He is currently developing a slate of content with a focus on underrepresented voices from the African diaspora and indigenous Africans around the world.
Doorways toured both national and international film festivals in 2011 and 2012, including the Pan African Film Festival, Texas Black Film Festival, Action on Film International Film Festival, and Urban Suburban Film Festival, earning several official selections and awards. It was also featured in the Black Stories Matter Series by Diversity in Cannes, sponsored by the California African American Museum. The film made its world television premiere on Aspire Network in 2015 as part of the American Black Film Festival showcase, sponsored by HBO, and was later dubbed and subtitled for distribution in Francophone Europe and Africa after being acquired by Ivorian production and distribution company H-Studios.
Tosin's other achievements include nominations and awards for films such as Motherless, which was nominated for Best Short at the San Francisco Black Film Festival, and Finding Neptune, nominated for Best Short Film at several festivals including the SoCal Independent Film Festival, Langston Hughes Black Film Festival, and Gary International Black Film Festival. Finding Neptune also won at the Capital City Black Film Festival.
Tosin directed the pilot season of the critically acclaimed web series On The Real, dubbed Nigeria's edgiest television show, for continental cable broadcaster Ebony Life Television. The pilot season, sponsored by Samsung Nigeria and Ciroc Africa, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video Africa and Accelerate TV, an online content platform backed by Access Bank, one of Nigeria's leading financial institutions. He returned to direct the second season of On The Real, which premiered in the summer of 2017 to critical acclaim and is streaming on the Ebony Life ON platform.
In 2018, Tosin co-produced and directed the feature film Lara and the Beat, a collaboration between Nigeria's Biola Alabi Media and Tosin's company, Skylar Pictures LLC. The movie was nominated at the 27th Pan African Film Festival in two categories: Best First Feature Film and Best Feature Narrative, winning the Programmer's Best Feature Narrative prize. It also won Best International Film at the 2019 Charlotte Black Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Oakland International Film Festival. Lara and the Beat received seven nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards and three nominations at the UK BUFF Awards.
Tosin is a Second Rounder for the 2024 Sundance Development Track, a Semifinalist at the 2024 Stowe Story Labs Fellowship, and a Semifinalist for Roadmap Writers' Coletta Preacely-Garcia Diversity Fellowship.
In recognition of his achievements, Tosin was named one of Diversity in Cannes' Top 10 Filmmakers of the Decade, selected for his body of work, approach to filmmaking, and commitment to challenging stereotypes to positively shape the perception of marginalized people globally through his stories.
Tosin holds a bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles, and an MFA in Motion Picture & Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
He is currently developing a slate of content with a focus on underrepresented voices from the African diaspora and indigenous Africans around the world.
