Bello Galadanchi

Bello was born in State College, Pennsylvania on December 12, 1987 to Habeeb and Halisa Galadanchi. After birth, he spent his childhood and early adolescence with his family in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, where he attended school with his siblings. Throughout his time in Africa, Bello worked a variety of jobs, including street food vending, construction, and helping run his father's medical practice. One of his first jobs was the fabrication and sale of handmade footwear such as rope sandals and a special type of sabot heel native to Nigeria called a "kumazie." Upon matriculation in 2006, his parents offered him education back in the United States, where Bello attended The Pennsylvania State University as a Bioengineering and Classical History double major and Film Studies and African Studies minors. Considered a gifted young man, he matriculated from university in 2009 with two degrees and two minor certificates and immediately entered the film industry, producing such short films as Charles in Arms, Unknowing Separation, Water for Baby, and Taken by Storm. His first film projects were prompted by various contests and promotional programs and soon became well-known to his former university circles. In late 2011, Bello received a grant from the Nigerian Film Festival and Nollywood, to produce various political films for the Nigerian government. It was this opportunity that lend itself to Bello's fame in that the new funding allowed him to make films in Pennsylvania and become more noticed. When not filmmaking, Bello spends his time volunteering in his community, making new friends in the city, and writing narrative novellas.