‘I tend to do the opposite of what people like’: unstoppable film-maker Ayo Akingbade

As a young black woman in a white-dominated industry, the film-maker has faced huge obstacles. But her enigmatic, uplifting works about housing estates and gentrification are now winning awards worldwide

I was ready to shake up the world," says Ayo Akingbade, remembering the day she graduated from film school. But she soon encountered obstacles. People think you don't have a voice," she says, because you don't have the money, the name, or whatever."

Akingbade is sitting in her London studio surrounded by pictures of her idols: Sade, Naomi Campbell and Tina Turner - women famed for doing things their own way. And, despite the obstacles, or perhaps because of them, Akingbade has forged her own path as well. The 26-year-old artist and film-maker has written, produced and directed 12 short films that have won international awards, and travelled to prestigious festivals worldwide. She recently scooped the 10,000 Brewers award - and her solo exhibition A Glittering City has just opened at the Whitechapel Gallery in London.