Owning The Narrative: Cultural Storytelling & Creative Power w/ Filmmaker Dr. Nadia Marie Sasso

"Perfectionism almost killed me." - Nadia Marie Sasso

"I wasn't interested in performing scholarship for institutions. It was about making my community feel seen and heard [through filmmaking] and looking for resonance, not approval" - Nadia Marie Sasso

Summary:

In this episode of BLKGirl Ambition, Niya Baxter sits down with creative visionary and cultural storyteller Dr. Nadia Sasso for a rich conversation on identity, innovation, and the evolving power of digital storytelling. Nadia shares how her upbringing as a first-generation Sierra Leonean-American shaped her lens as a filmmaker, unconventional scholar, and community builder. From her critically acclaimed documentary Am I Too African to Be American, Too American To Be African? featuring Issa Rae to her latest initiative, The See Yah Project, a cutting edge edu-tech platform focused on community advocacy and AI, Nadia’s work explores what it means to honor your roots while building something radically future-facing. Together, Niya and Nadia unpack the tension between visibility and vulnerability, the myth of perfectionism, and the responsibility of using your voice—and your platform—to tell stories that free and affirm. This episode invites listeners to reimagine personal branding not as performance, but as cultural preservation and intentional legacy-building.

Keywords

Black Girl Ambition, Nadia Sasso, filmmaker, cultural storytelling, digital innovation, unconventional career paths, identity, scholar, community empowerment, personal branding, perfectionism

Takeaways:

Nadia Sasso blends storytelling with cultural impact.

Childhood experiences shape creative identities.

Unconventional scholarship prioritizes community engagement.

Film can capture complex identities and experiences.

Recreating iconic album covers celebrates black womanhood.

Digital storytelling is essential for personal branding.

Perfectionism can hinder creative expression.

Cultural homecomings like Dirty December foster identity.

Advocacy through technology can level the playing field.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Black Girl Ambition

02:44 Nadia Sasso: A Creative Force

03:40 Childhood Influences on Creativity

07:32 The Unconventional Scholar

10:12 Exploring Cultural Identity Through Film

15:08 Digital Storytelling for Personal Branding

18:46 Perfectionism and Creative Expression

21:37 Detty December: A Cultural Homecoming

26:53 The See Yah Project: Community Advocacy Through AI

31:24 Building Legacy and Community

Get in Touch with Nadia!

W: www.seeyahproject.com and www.nadiamariesasso.com

E: [email protected]

IG: @nadiamariesasso

Thanks for all your love and support. Tag me while listening @blkgirlambition & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

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