SHANGO LIGHT FILMS
FOUNDER
I founded Shango Light Films to create ambitious, cinematic stories rooted in culture, identity and the human experience—with a particular interest in the African diaspora and communities whose stories are too often flattened, overlooked or told without a deeper understanding of the people at their center.
The name Shango is deeply personal to me. In Yoruba tradition, Shango is the Orisha of thunder and lightning, a powerful ancestral figure whose spirit is associated with courage, power and truth. My late father's family name, Bamgbose, is rooted in the lineage of priests who carried Shango's staff of worship.
Shango's spirit, together with my father's deep commitment to community and ensuring people's voices were valued, has always guided the intention behind the company: to approach people's lives with curiosity and care, to honor the communities that trust us with their stories, and to make work unafraid of life's complicated truths. Fittingly, Shango also symbolizes courage and reminds us that truth can hurt like fire.
Today, I run Shango Light Films alongside my husband and creative partner, filmmaker and producer Justice A. Whitaker, as we continue to expand the company's work across documentary, television and film.