Cas Olatunji

Dorcas “Cas” Olatunji is a Nigerian-American writer and director who grew up in New Castle, Delaware. Her creative life began with music and poetry before evolving into a passion for filmmaking. As a first-generation daughter of immigrants, Cas is drawn to stories about resilience, sacrifice, and the complicated choices we make for family. Her perspective is deeply informed by her mother’s decision to leave behind everything familiar, including her own career ambitions, to build a new life for a family of seven.

Cas was drawn to storytelling for its ability to evoke powerful emotions and illuminate truths that often go overlooked. In college, she explored film production, editing, and screenwriting, and later completed a six-week screenwriting course at GrubStreet in Boston. There, she began developing the early pages of her feature screenplay, Mother’s Nest, in 2023. Professionally, Cas built a career in supply chain, which brought her to Seattle in 2024. The move became an unexpected creative turning point. While continuing her career, she immersed herself in Seattle’s film community.

Cas is currently a writer-in-residence at the Eulalie and Carlo Scandiuzzi Writers’ Room and a fellow in the Emerging Filmmakers Program. Through the fellowship, she also co-founded The Maroon Archives, a female-led production company. In September 2026, Cas made her directorial debut with a short proof of concept for Mother’s Nest. Bringing the story from page to production gave her the opportunity to lead a crew, collaborate across departments, and begin shaping her voice as a director. Beyond filmmaking, Cas loves collaging and attending live jazz performances.