Biography

"Better to burn my hand than a lifetime of cold fingers." says author Christine Nöstlinger when talking about the courage of experiencing life with all its aspects. I like to live by this quote everyday.

I - unpronounceable name, born in an Austrian village - had one big goal: venturing out into the world! Easier said than done when you are just a little kid. So for the time being the world had to come to me... in the form of stories and fairytales exclusively told by myself to myself. This worked out perfectly for a while, but then, a few years later, I saw Cassavetes' "Woman under the Influence" and it got me so euphoric that I decided to give my life a dramatic twist.

Instead of taking over my family's funeral home and carpentry shop, I studied screenwriting at the Vienna Filmakademie. Concurrently I worked as scriptreader and consultant in various production companies.

It was the same love and curiosity I had as a child that led me to continue my "writing-journey" in Mexico City. I was suddenly diving into new narrative forms, seeing other perspectives and experiencing how to celebrate life on the "Day of the Dead". After all, writing also means discovering.

Upon my return, I threw myself into studying African Studies - I was now determined to explore my father's backstory. Surprise - turns out I'm not a member of any Nigerian royal family after all. No problem, because the people I want to write about are the lonely female coppersmith or the rebellious hair salon owner. We've heard enough about the prince anyways... And as C. Ngozi Adichie wisely says: there is always more to a "single story" (C. Ngozi Adichie).

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Malina Nwabuonwor studied scriptwriting at the "Filmakademie Wien" and scriptwriting with a focus on Series and Television at the "Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica" in Mexico City. Writing on high quality series (Netflix, Disney+, etc) and cinema movies for the German and international market. Coming out soon: "Sam - a Saxon" Hulu, "Para - We are king 2" Warner. Jury member at the Vienna Film Fund.

- IMDb mini biography by: Malina Nwabuonwor