ABOUT US
"🎬 Stories That Restore Dignity.
De Shell Pictures is a Social Impact Entertainment (SIE) enterprise and narrative-change studio for a new generation of Africans.
We create African stories that restore dignity, strengthen identity, and support psychosocial well-being. Through film and culture, we explore what it means to belong, to be seen, and to live with confidence in a world shaped by inequality, exclusion, and inherited narratives of limitation.
Our work engages themes of appearance, identity, disability, mental and emotional well-being, not as isolated issues, but as human experiences that reflect wider questions of worth, opportunity, and self-belief. We are especially interested in stories that speak to African youth: their struggles, their resilience, and their right to define success on their own terms.
We believe storytelling can create deep societal change. By blending compelling entertainment with social insight, De Shell Pictures uses film to challenge stigma, repair damaged narratives, and help build a future where African dignity is not negotiated, but assumed.
What We Focus On
*Appearance & Identity Well-being
We address appearance-based stigma and discrimination, helping individuals build confidence, self-acceptance, and emotional resilience.
*African Dignity & Psychosocial Change
We challenge narratives of inferiority and hopelessness by telling grounded African stories that affirm worth, possibility, and staying power—here, at home.
*Impact Storytelling
We create films and content that entertain, open difficult conversations, and contribute to real social and emotional change.
How We Work
We balance compelling entertainment with intentional impact.
Our productions are designed to connect deeply with audiences while remaining creatively and commercially viable. From feature films to documentaries, docu-realities, shows to series and cultural initiatives.
De Shell Pictures: Stories that Entertain, Impact that Lasts.
Statement of Purpose
At De Shell Pictures, we spark honest conversations around the often unseen struggles people live with, breaking silence, challenging assumptions, and offering validation through storytelling. By creating high-impact entertainment that balances social purpose with commercial intent, we open space for dialogue that leads to personal agency, shared understanding, and meaningful societal change. Our work is driven by a commitment to create value, both in the market and within the communities we serve, while reshaping how diverse identities are seen, understood, and respected.
International Awards
Dedicater Volunteers
Successful Campaigns
Dedicater Volunteers
How it started
Ogo Maduewesi is a Vitiligo patient, who started a Vitiligo Support Group in 2007 and founded Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation VITSAF www.vitsaf.org in 2009. And in 2019, her activities evolved to a Social enterprise called Outer Shell Africa Communications OUTERSAC which was born out of a quest to include all others with any kind of Appearance Concerns.
And in 2020, Ogo and her brother Nnanyelu, a philanthropist, businessman who is passionately interested in entertainment and mainly filmmaking founded De Shell Pictures, a social impact entertainment SIE production company with a huge dream of using socially conscious storytelling for primarily building body confidence and psychosocial wellbeing.
How it started
Ogo Maduewesi’s journey is a testament to resilience, compassion, and the transformative power of storytelling. In 2005, Ogo faced the challenges of living with vitiligo, a skin condition that affects pigmentation and often leads to visible differences. Rather than allowing this to define her, she chose to turn her experience into a force for change.
Determined to create a supportive community for others facing similar issues, Ogo founded a Vitiligo Support Group. This pivotal step ignited her mission to positively impact the lives of those affected by vitiligo.
In 2009, her vision expanded with establishing the Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF). Through this platform, she worked tirelessly to raise awareness, challenge misconceptions, and foster acceptance for those living with the condition.
Ogo’s commitment to storytelling flourished in 2010 with her groundbreaking documentary, “More to Life” (2010) followed by the powerful short film series, “Tales of Vitiligo 1 – 5,”
Tales of Vitiligo 1, Tales of Vitiligo 2, Tales of Vitiligo 3, Tales of Vitiligo 4, Tales of Vitiligo 5
These works highlighted the diverse experiences of individuals with visible differences, celebrating their resilience and strength against societal challenges.
As needs evolved, Ogo recognized the call to support those with various skin conditions and founded Outer Shell Africa Communications (OUTERSAC) in 2019. This initiative allowed her to broaden her outreach but also presented personal challenges, including a severe mental health crisis that delayed its launch. The journey was difficult, and Ogo found herself struggling to move forward, but it was during this challenging time that the seeds for something bigger were planted.
In 2022, Ogo partnered with her brother Nnanyelu to create De Shell Pictures, a social impact entertainment SIE, an indie film company focused on impactful storytelling. The following year, 2023, she founded The Skin and Appearance Positive Hub (SKAPH), a social enterprise dedicated to championing appearance positivity and nurturing psychosocial well-being through Tech, Art, Storytelling, and Cultural Advocacy.
One of Ogo’s greatest inspirations and driving passions for filmmaking stems from her deep desire to share the powerful true stories entrusted to her over the years. These stories often come from individuals who hesitate to share their experiences publicly due to the fear of stigma and societal barriers. Recognizing the transformative potential of impact filmmaking, she views it as the ultimate medium to achieve multiple objectives: amplifying authentic voices, promoting appearance positivity, nurturing psychosocial well-being, empowering communities socioeconomically, building appearance confidence, fostering personal growth, reaching, supporting, and representing millions cost-effectively, and generating revenue.
Through her endeavors, Ogo aspires to offer absolute care, support, and guidance to millions who have been overlooked. This vision is echoed in her innovative, AI-powered well-being app, Appear+, a virtual companion designed to provide ongoing support to individuals with visible differences and appearance concerns as they awaken them through their impact films.
Ogo’s unwavering commitment to diverse storytelling spans various genres and formats, enabling her to expand creative outputs, engage wider audiences, and sustain impactful projects. By skillfully balancing factual storytelling, dramatized content, and pure entertainment, she strategically crafts productions that not only inspire cultural and social change but also ensure commercial viability—transforming narratives, breaking barriers, and fostering inclusion along the way.
Socio-economically empowering Lives, One Frame at a Time
We are working on building a team of passionate and enterprising impact filmmakers, writers, and creators, especially individuals from underrepresented communities, such as visible differences, appearance challenges, psychosocial and intellectual disability
Our Vision
To be a leading force in creating an Africa where people see themselves with dignity, confidence, and belonging.
Our Team
Ogo Maduewesi
Ogo Maduewesi is the Co-Founder and Impact Producer of De Shell Pictures, a Social Impact Entertainment (SIE) enterprise dedicated to restoring dignity and psychosocial well-being through African storytelling.
Her work is rooted in a lifelong commitment to addressing appearance-based discrimination and invisibility. She began her journey with early film projects on vitiligo in 2010, experiences that clarified her purpose: to use storytelling as a tool for social, emotional, and mental transformation. At De Shell Pictures, Ogo produces narratives that center the underrepresented, including people with visible differences and psychosocial disabilities, with a strong focus on restoring confidence, belonging, and dignity, particularly among African youth.
Beyond filmmaking, Ogo is the founder of The Appearance Positive (TAP), a movement and platform advancing appearance positivity and psychosocial well-being through storytelling, community engagement, and advocacy. Her writing and reflective work, hosted at ogomaduewesi.com, explores identity, appearance, aging, resilience, and living truthfully, especially from the perspective of those often unheard or overlooked.
Ogo believes that authentic representation is not cosmetic but reparative, capable of challenging stigma, repairing internalized shame, and rebuilding self-worth at both individual and societal levels.
She is an Ashoka Fellow and a Commonwealth Professional Fellow.
Nnanyelu Maduewesi
Meet Nnanyelu Maduewesi, the visionary Co-founder and Executive Producer at our creative hub. A philanthropist and passionate fashion enthusiast, Nnanyelu is a dynamic businessman with an unwavering love for impactful storytelling through film. With his unique blend of business acumen and creative flair, he not only oversees the executive aspects of our ventures but also breathes life into captivating stories that leave a lasting impression.
Join us on this exhilarating journey as we bring his vision and passion to life through the power of impactful storytelling and cinema for change.