Will Niava makes films that live in the space between worlds. Flowing between West Africa, the United States, and Canada, his work carries the restless energy of constant motion and the clarity of someone who has turned that into vision.

His short film Zoo consumed the festival circuit, collecting over a dozen awards across 100+ selections before landing in the Criterion Collection. His latest short film Jazz Infernal premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as a fever dream of grief and rhythm, a film that feels less watched than experienced. His feature debut, Paradise, co-written with Oscar-nominated director of the film, Jeremy Comte, has wrapped post-production and is generating serious heat on the festival circuit.

Will directs commercials and music videos for the NBA, Amazon, Apple Music, and Orange, collaborating with artists like Billie Eilish and H.E.R. Even in thirty-second spots, that same intensity burns through. He brings the full weight of his vision to everything he touches.

 

Will makes films that stay with you, that burrow under your skin and shift the way you see. He's building a body of work that moves between genres and continents while rewriting what's possible when a filmmaker commits completely.