funa maduka is a filmmaker and the former head of international original films at netflix, where she worked with the world's top global and emerging filmmakers. she pioneered netflix's move into international film production, building a development slate across europe, the middle east, asia, and africa. during her tenure as head of international film, she earned the company its first feature film oscar and golden globe nominations and shepherded the acquisition, development, and production of dozens of films, including alice rohrwacher's happy as lazzaro, alfonso cuarón's roma, and mati diop's atlantics, demonstrating her ability to identify and nurture complex cross-cultural narratives that resonate universally.
previously, she worked at participant media developing and managing campaigns for film and television projects. she has held leadership and strategic positions at mckinsey & company, the oprah winfrey foundation, and goldman sachs. she holds degrees from cornell and harvard universities and is a member of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences. she is an awarded filmmaker, credited with producing and directing the first nigerian film to world premiere at the sundance film festival.