Daniel Okonkwo is a BAFTA-qualifying documentary director and senior lecturer at the National Film and Television School, specialising in cinematography, VFX integration, and documentary storytelling for broadcast. He holds an MA in Directing Documentary from the NFTS and technical certifications in DaVinci Resolve colour grading. With 14 years directing films for BBC, Channel 4, and international festivals, he teaches emerging filmmakers professional-standard craft.
Daniel Okonkwo brings both artistic vision and technical mastery to contemporary filmmaking, with credits spanning festival-winning documentaries and broadcast commissions for major UK networks. After completing his undergraduate degree in Film Studies at the University of Warwick, he pursued the prestigious MA in Directing Documentary at the National Film and Television School, where he developed expertise in both observational and constructed documentary approaches. His directing career includes films broadcast on BBC Storyville and Channel 4, giving him intimate knowledge of why festival-winning documentaries often fail to find broadcast homes and how to structure compelling narratives without lecturing audiences. Daniel has mastered the technical elements that distinguish professional cinematography from amateur footage: understanding why 16mm film still looks more cinematic than 8K digital, creating signature colour looks in DaVinci Resolve, and avoiding the Instagram-filter aesthetic that immediately flags student work to industry viewers. His VFX expertise extends to practical integration challenges—why perfect 3D models look pasted onto backgrounds and how to study real-world light behaviour for accurate CG lighting. He currently teaches at the NFTS while continuing to direct, giving him current perspective on BFI Doc Society funding applications, consent issues with key contributors, and the emerging role of AI tools in filmmaking workflow. Daniel writes to help emerging directors avoid costly technical mistakes while developing distinctive visual voices that serve their stories.