06/01/2026
Nasaara Faisal Abubakar: a young voice for identity, creativity and change
Born on 2 September 2008 in Zebilla, Nasaara Faisal Abubakar is emerging as a distinctive young figure on the creative and activist scene. The son of Sakina Bukari — a Kusaasi woman — and Bukari Suleman — who is Mossi — Nasaara grew up in a large family with six siblings. His mixed Ghanaian–Burkinabé heritage, upbringing in Zebilla and early exposure to both Muslim and local traditions have all shaped the perspectives he brings to his work as an activist, model, actor and filmmaker.
Early life and education
Nasaara’s formal learning began in an Islamic institute in his hometown, after which his parents moved him into Ghana’s government school system. He attended Zebilla Primary School before transferring to Shalom International School, where he completed his primary education. He continued at Lamboya Model Junior High School and is currently a year 2 student at Tawheed Senior High School, studying General Science.
Those early moves between different educational environments — religious and secular, local and international-style — helped develop in him a capacity to navigate varied cultural spaces and to speak to audiences from very different backgrounds. That versatility later became a strength in his work in front of and behind the camera.
Artistic and activist journey
From an early age Nasaara showed interest in performance and storytelling. He stepped into modelling and acting as avenues to explore identity and representation, and increasingly used filmmaking as a way to amplify voices and questions that matter to him: gender expression, cultural belonging, and young people’s place in changing societies. He has described himself publicly as a feminine male activist — a young advocate drawing on both his Ghanaian and Burkinabé roots to challenge stereotypes and promote inclusion.
The She in Me (2025)
Nasaara’s first completed and released film project, the short The She in Me, arrived in 2025. Released when he was still a teenager, the short film marked his official debut as a filmmaker and brought his perspective on gender expression and self-discovery to wider attention. The project showcased his abilities to combine performance, visual storytelling and social reflection, and it positioned him as a promising new voice in regional youth cinema.
Living in the Past (2024) — a lost project
Before The She in Me, Nasaara worked on a movie titled Living in the Past in 2024. The project ultimately failed to reach audiences after an accidental deletion wiped the work from the storage where it had been kept. The loss was both practical and emotional: it represented the disappearance of months of creative labour and an early lesson in the vulnerabilities facing young filmmakers who may lack robust production and archival resources. Nasaara has spoken about the experience as formative — a hard lesson that strengthened his determination to protect future work and to build more secure workflows.
Voice and impact
Nasaara’s profile as a model, actor, filmmaker and activist is notable not just because of his age, but because he occupies multiple roles that allow him to influence culture from several angles. As a model and actor he presents images that expand narrow ideas of masculinity; as a filmmaker he shapes narratives; and as an activist he links artistic practice to social causes. His mixed Ghanaian–Burkinabé background also gives him a cross-border perspective that resonates in a region where identity, language and tradition are central to public conversation.
Challenges and ambitions
Like many young creatives, Nasaara faces challenges: limited local filmmaking infrastructure, the fragility of digital archives (as the Living in the Past incident showed), and the social complexities that come with advocating for nonconforming gender expression in conservative contexts. Yet these obstacles have also clarified his ambitions: to make films with stronger production safeguards, to use modelling and acting to normalize diverse presentations of gender, and to organize or join initiatives that support other young creatives across Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Looking ahead
Nasaara Faisal Abubakar’s first public successes and setbacks — a released short film and a tragically lost earlier project — reflect the practical realities of emerging filmmakers in West Africa. At the same time, his trajectory points to continued growth: continuing his education, expanding his craft, and using his multiple platforms to encourage dialogue about identity and inclusion. Given his early start and evident commitment, he is a young creative to watch as he refines his voice and builds a longer body of work
