Born in Cameroon, Ellie Foumbi grew up in the suburbs of New York City. She attended the French-American School of New York where she studied classical French theatre. She worked very closely with acclaimed, late Malian actor, Sotigui Kouyaté, who became her mentor. Her producing credits include Nocturne in Black, winner of the Gold Student Academy Award and shortlisted for the 2017 Academy Awards in the Live-Action short film category. Ellie is a former IFP Marcie Bloom Fellow and holds an MFA in directing from Columbia University.