Da’anong Gyang is one of the nominees in the Best Cinematography category at the 12th Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards, earning his nod for Finding Nina.
While he's in the film industry today, Gyang didn’t start with movies. He majored in TV journalism, but life drew him towards filmmaking and he fell in love with it.
It started with an internship from school. While in the journalism department, he chose to intern with a movie production outfit owned and managed by Dimbo Atiya, and this gave him his first proper time on a movie set, three weeks as a camera assistant.
On returning to school after the internship, the dream became different. He started moving more with the production department, joining them on projects and assignments.
While he’s being celebrated for Finding Nina today, Gyang worked as a camera operator on titles like Sons of the Caliphate and 4th Republic. On the 240-episode Halita, he was second unit camera operator for the first season, and by the second season, he was promoted to second unit DOP.
While resident in Abuja at the start, he began frequently visiting Lagos to learn and grow, taking advantage of webinars, courses, platforms like the MultiChoice Talent Factory, and Anthill Studios courses by Niyi Akinmolayan, amongst others.
On getting into Finding Nina, he shared that friends from Unfriendly Space were awarded the contract by Nemsia Studios to film it. The crew was largely made up of people he had known from university days, so it felt like a reunion but now with more experience and growth.
Taking on Finding Nina came easy for him. Being around Northern Nigeria, he wanted to be involved in a story that felt close to home, and this project gave him that opportunity.
However, while filming Finding Nina, they encountered a major setback, a protest that stalled production. At that point, there was no work, just staying back at the hotel, bills piling up, and uncertainty all around. But that setback became a turning point.
During the protest, he kept sending pictures from production to Nemsia Studios. Those images caught their attention and earned him the opportunity to shoot his next film, Thicker than Water, also produced by Nemsia Studios and streaming on Prime Video.
While Finding Nina came with its challenges, Thicker than Water posed fewer issues, aside from the extended shoot period, long nights, working with fire, and dealing with insects. It was also his first time working with a visual effects director on set, which came with a new learning curve.
He is also the cinematographer behind Onobiren: A Woman’s Story, the highest-grossing Nollywood film for March 2026, earning ₦138.1M within seven weeks. Speaking on the Onobiren set, Gyang described it as one of the most beautiful and natural shoots he has ever had, especially the scenes filmed in Koko, Delta State. In his words, Koko was the magic of Onobiren.
He described the community as one where you could pan your camera 360 degrees and get cinema-worthy shots. There were no area boys to harass them, and everything felt natural from the ropes hanging, kids swimming in the river, canoes at the riverbank. None of these were props or constructed sets; it was all real.
Prior to Finding Nina, Thicker than Water, and Onobiren, Gyang had been telling stories through documentaries, including a project for Al Jazeera, a South African dating show, and also served as part of the crew on The Real Housewives of Abuja.
Looking at the AMVCA nominations, being listed alongside names like Jermaine Edwards (My Father’s Shadow), Kabelo Thathe (To Kill A Monkey), Emmanuel Igbekele (The Herd, The Serpent’s Gift, Gingerrr), and KC Obiajulu (Stitches), Gyang stands out as one of the newer faces, especially with a relatively lean filmography compared to others with multiple nominations and larger film catalog.
While it may feel early, given his filmography and the fact that this is his first major title as a cinematographer, the nomination is a moment he holds with both humility and gratitude.
Looking ahead, Gyang remains committed to creating visually compelling projects, stories that last and stay with audiences long after they’ve been seen. He hopes more of these stories come his way.
Contrasting Nollywood with Hollywood, he noted that while cinematographers in Hollywood often have agents securing jobs for them, in Nollywood, opportunities are largely built on relationships with directors and industry peers. For now, he remains hopeful and focused on the work.
With the awards set for May 9, this marks his debut on the AMVCA stage, a full-circle moment for someone who started out as a camera assistant and kept showing up for the work.