Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Sierra Leonean-American Filmmaker Nikyatu's films have screened at festivals nationally and internationally. With a BA from Duke University and an MFA from NYU's Tisch Grad Film school, she's earned various awards including NYU’s Spike Lee Fellowship Award, the Princess Grace Narrative film grant and Director’s Guild of America Honorable Mentions. Three of her shorts were acquired by and aired on HBO, her most recent being Flowers, which she co-wrote and co-directed.  

Nikyatu's feature screenplay Free The Town was one of 12 projects invited to participate in Sundance Institute’s inaugural Diverse Writers Workshop. Additionally FTT was hand selected for Africa’s most prestigious Film Market, the 2013 Durban Film Mart and one of 5 narrative films selected for Film Independent's Fast Track.

Her latest film Suicide By Sunlight: a project funded by THROUGH HER LENS sponsored by the Tribeca Film Institute and Chanel, made its debut at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and is currently touring the festival circuit. She is in development on the original series based on Suicide By Sunlight. 

Nikyatu is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University where she teaches Screenwriting and Directing.