Jude Idada

Idada, a descent of Edo, was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria.

Idada was a pure science student in high school without any background in the arts. He initially applied to study medicine in the university but later, he changed his course of study to agricultural economics. After a couple of semesters in agriculture, Idada quit studying agricultural economics and stayed at home for nine months after which, he got admitted ⁰00to the University of Ibadan to study theater arts where he had his first degree. After graduation, Idada worked at Guardian Express Bank, a job he got while he was still a corps member after which he moved to Arthur Andersen. He immigrated to Canada, did a postgraduate and worked in banks, telecommunication firms and along that line. After seeing a short film with friends, he resigned his job to pursue writing and film production.

He was selected as one of the screenwriters for the Toronto International Film Festival's Adapt This! and the Afrinolly/Ford Foundation Cinema4Change projects. Idada was also an inaugural participant in the Relativity Media/AFRIFF Filmmaking project.

He is the Artistic director of the Africa Theatre Ensemble in Toronto, Canada. Idada has stage plays, collection of short stories, poetry to his credit. Stage plays: Flood, Brixton Stories, Lost and Coma, 3some. He has also written and published a collection of short stories: A Box of Chocolates, Exotica Celestica. Written and directed Stage plays: Oduduwa – King of the Edos, By My Own Hands and a children's book Didi Kanu and the Singing Dwarfs of the North.

As an acting coach, Idada teaches a wide variety of thespians, the rudiments and technicalities of acting for stage and for film. He has also guest lectured for the African Theatre Ensemble in Canada, the Mofilm/Unilever Sunlight Foundation Film Project in Nigeria, the AIDS foundation in Guyana and also chaired several panels at International Film Festivals and writing for various magazines.