Angelique Kalani Axelrode (they/she/ʻo ia) is an award winning multimedia artist and filmmaker based in unceded Tongva/Gabrieleno land (Los Angeles) and founder of aka productions, a BIPOC and Gen Z centered production company. They received their B.S. from Vanderbilt University and spent most of their time in undergrad community organizing with Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, fighting for reproductive rights in the Bible Belt. After graduating, they were awarded the Creative Wildfire grant in 2021 for artists resisting the dominant culture and working toward building a new, more just “normal”.
Their films have screened at over 30 film festivals worldwide, and they have presented work at international galleries, venues and conferences; notably the Cannes Cinema Olympia, Asian Film Archives, Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, British Film Institute, Hawaiʻi State Legislature, ISEA and Aupuni Space Gallery.
They are a 2023 LIFT Awardee with Native Arts and Culture Foundation and recently served as a TRADES AiR Resident in Oʻahu where they launched KAI HALIʻA, an expanded media performance, immersive installation and short film.
They are pursuing their MA at NYU Tisch in Interactive Media Arts with anticipated graduation in 2025.
With a background in organizing and a degree in organizational development, Angelique is primarily concerned with how to indigenize and queer art/film creation processes. On a lifelong journey to understand their multifaceted reality and embrace vulnerability, they see filmmaking as an intimate medium to connect to community, transform and heal.