Gloria Zewelanji Raen

Born and raised in Zambia to a Zambian/ British mother and Swiss German father, Gloria studied acting at Oxford School of Drama and continued her training in acting and writing at Brown University. Gloria later graduated with a distinction from Cambridge University's Masters in Creative Writing. Gloria worked as theatre artist in New York and won a Bessie: New York Dance and Performance Award for her work in the off Broadway productions Pent Up: A Revenge Dance. She has since worked in various theatre productions in Los Angeles at the Electric Lodge Theatre, and later in Oslo at Nordic Black Theatre. Gloria´s work in film includes several independent productions, most notably appearing in Rungano Nyoni´s 'I am not a Witch' which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The product of a multiracial family, Gloria's writing work focuses on identity. Seeing the dearth of roles and voices that reflect the complexity and diversity of people of African descent Gloria work reflects on the reality of their experience. Angst, the first short film she wrote and performed in went on to win various awards including Best Short film at Milan Film festival, and the Freak award at Aguilar de Campoo film festival in Spain. Her debut feature screenplay, 'Victoria Falls' was selected for several prestigious incubation programs including Cannes L'Atelier 2019. As a television writer she was selected as part of the writer´s room on Netflix's first African Animated Show for children 'Supa Team Four.'