OYA Media Group
About us
Founded in 2018, OYA Media Group is a Toronto-based, woman-led production company established by renowned filmmakers Alison Duke and Ngardy Conteh George. Named after a mighty African goddess, OYA strives to provide authentic perspectives on media platforms by producing transformative, socially significant stories that amplify Black experiences across film, TV, and virtual reality.
OYA's first production, Mr. Jane and Finch (CBC, 2019), followed an 80-year-old activist's political campaign for City Council, addressing gentrification in his community. The film earned two 2020 Canadian Screen Awards, a top Canadian film/TV honor. In 2022, OYA produced Heritage Minute: Chloe Cooley, a collaboration with Historica Canada, which portrays and acknowledges Canadian slavery through Chloe Cooley's story, an enslaved woman in former Upper Canada.
Committed to enacting change, OYA established its non-profit sister organization, OYA Black Art Coalition (OBAC), supporting Black artists, creators, and entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry. OBAC offers various programs, such as the OYA Emerging Filmmakers Program for Black post-secondary film, television, and digital media graduates, and the OYA Scale Up Initiative, aimed at assisting 150 Black-owned businesses over three years.