Sahndra Fon Dufe

Sahndra Fon Dufe is a Cameroonian-American cultural architect, writer, and founder building African film and media institutions for the global stage. Her work spans storytelling, strategy, and infrastructure—focused not only on what stories are told, but on who owns them, how they are preserved, and how creative power is sustained across generations.

​

Born in Bamenda, Cameroon, Sahndra’s journey into storytelling began early. While studying Law at the University of Buea, she stepped onto a film set at just 17, an experience that quietly set the course for her life’s work. Even then, she operated across disciplines: a writer, student journalist, professional dancer, and student leader, drawn as much to authorship and structure as to performance.

​

In 2010, she relocated to Los Angeles to formally pursue film, training at the New York Film Academy and under the Meisner technique. She went on to build an international acting career across Nollywood and cross-continental productions, including One Night in Vegas, Black November, The Successor of Katunga, and Standing the Rain, sharing the screen with acclaimed African and diaspora actors. Over time, however, her focus expanded beyond performance toward authorship, ownership, and long-term cultural impact.

​

As a writer, Sahndra is best known for the Yefon trilogy, a historical fiction saga set in 1940s West Africa that interrogates gender, literacy, power, and colonial legacy. The first book, Yefon: The Red Necklace, became an Amazon bestseller and is currently in screen development, with Sahndra attached to star. Centered on an illiterate village girl who sparks a literary revolution, Yefon has become a defining work in her career—reflecting her belief that storytelling is resistance, healing, and inheritance.

​

At just 22, Sahndra founded African Pictures International (API), a production, publishing, and creative-strategy company dedicated to developing African stories with global reach while preserving cultural authorship. API operates across film development, editorial strategy, public relations, and consulting, supporting creators, institutions, and narratives navigating African and international markets.

​

In 2024, she launched Black Film Wire, a digital media platform documenting Black-led cinema across Africa and the diaspora with depth, clarity, and critical context. Under her leadership as Editor-in-Chief, the platform has published over 350 original features in just over a year, becoming a trusted voice for filmmakers, festivals, and industry leaders seeking analysis beyond headlines.

​

Sahndra’s leadership extends into the global film ecosystem. She serves as Director of Outreach & Strategic Engagement for the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, where she has helped strengthen global partnerships, moderated key panels including African Women in Cinema and supported the festival’s milestone 15th anniversary. She is a sought-after speaker and cultural commentator, appearing at forums such as AFRICANXT, where she delivered a widely noted reading from Yefon under the theme Youth Is a Weapon.

​

Beyond media, Sahndra is deeply committed to mentorship, service, and faith-rooted leadership. She co-founded the Know Your Craft International Workshop with the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, provides annual scholarships to young women entertainers in Cameroon, and supports youth-led entrepreneurship initiatives in her home region. In 2025, she was shortlisted as a “Shining Star” presenter for the Caribbean Music Awards, reinforcing her role as a cultural bridge between Africa, the Caribbean, and the global diaspora.

​

Trained in Law, film, and communications, Sahndra Fon Dufe operates comfortably across creative, institutional, and strategic worlds. She believes representation on screen must begin with ownership and intention behind the scenes and her work reflects a steady commitment to building systems where African and diasporic stories can thrive without compromise.