Nelly dos Reis was born and raised in Rotterdam and is very proud of her Cape Verdean roots. 
She gets her inspiration for her projects from heer roots and all the different people she meets everyday. She combines them with stories that she really wants to tell and that could really make an impact. This is why she wants to touch people by telling stories that really need to be told because she really believes in the power of storytelling. 
This was also the reason why she decided to take her first steps as a documentary filmmaker and she did that successfully. Not because Rather Nappy was nominated for the Dutch Film Festival debut competition 2022. But especially because of all the beautiful messages she received from the people that she touched through the film.