Crack Stevens, AKA Akinola Davies, who was born in Nigeria, began honing his skills as a director while studying at Brighton University and later at the New York Film Academy.

Since then, Stevens (whose pseudonym is derived from the former name of one of his favourite musicians, Cat Stevens) has created films for The Guardian, Kenzo and radio station and media platform, NTS. He’s also built a network of professional contacts and high-profile friends across film, fashion and music, including Donatella Versace who invited him to DJ at her London store opening in 2017. Stevens is also known as an advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality, human rights and education and political reform, and initiated the Nigerian Lives Matter campaign bringing awareness to the Boko Haram massacre in the north-eastern town of Baga in 2015. This year, he’s worked with Nowness to create a film about the Durbar festival in Zaria, Nigeria, and has been featured in Dazed’s Dazed100 campaign, which champions the ‘next generation shaping youth culture’.