Black Directors...
...who have directed at least 1 of the following:
Feature Length Movie or Documentary (Hollywood Studio, Independent, Foreign, Art Film, Student Film, Made for TV, Direct-To-Video, Video-On-Demand, Low Budget, No Budget, Blockbuster, or Bomb...or Bootleg).
TV Show or TV Episode (Network, Cable, DIRECTV, DISH, FiOS, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Crackle, Vimeo or Youtube).
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930+ directors listed. More to come...
Feature Length Movie or Documentary (Hollywood Studio, Independent, Foreign, Art Film, Student Film, Made for TV, Direct-To-Video, Video-On-Demand, Low Budget, No Budget, Blockbuster, or Bomb...or Bootleg).
TV Show or TV Episode (Network, Cable, DIRECTV, DISH, FiOS, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Crackle, Vimeo or Youtube).
***This is a list, not a ranking.***
Please do not be angry with me because your favorite Director, Actor/Director, Rapper/Director, Hip-Hop Mogul/Director is not listed as high as you would like them to be.
This list is a Work-In-Progress.
930+ directors listed. More to come...
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- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Melvin Van Peebles was born on 21 August 1932 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Shining (1997), Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) and Don't Play Us Cheap (1972). He was married to Maria Marx. He died on 21 September 2021 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.The godfather of independent film and modern Black cinema. The Melvin Van Peebles Foundation- Actor
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American actor, writer, director, and producer whose early pioneering work in African-American or "race" films was eclipsed in fame by his role as one of the title characters in the equally pioneering1950s sitcom The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951). A native of Vidalia, Louisiana, Williams broke into the theatre as a call boy for theatrical producer Oscar Hammerstein I, and learned comedy at the feet of Bert Williams, the great black vaudevillian. He moved to California following service in World War I, and began to land bit parts in films, particularly in so-called "race films," which were designed solely for black audiences. He wrote gags and later scripts for some of these films, and in 1940 was offered the opportunity to write and direct a film, The Blood of Jesus (1941), a religious drama which proved an enormous success in its limited arena. After more than a half dozen further films, Williams left the industry and co-founded the American Business and Industrial College in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Three years later, in 1950, a local radio station convinced Williams to audition for the television version of the hit radio show "Amos 'n Andy." Williams landed the role of Andy Brown, one of the leads, and the show proved enormously popular in original broadcast and in reruns. However, despite the near-unanimous sense that the comedy was superbly done, numerous racially-sensitive groups petitioned for its removal from the airways due to its presumed stereotypical depiction of black characters. Although the debate continues to this day, with positions pro and con taken on both sides of the color line, the show was removed from the air and despite its initial success and sterling comedy reputation, it has not been broadcast since in any regular form. Not until 2005 were home video presentations of the show publicly available. Williams managed only a few minor film and TV appearances following the cancellation of the show. He died of kidney failure at a Veterans Administration hospital in Los Angeles, on December 13, 1969, survived by his wife Eula. In 1983, fourteen years after his death, a number of his race films were discovered in a warehouse, and a reevaluation of the films and his work as writer and director was undertaken. A number of prominent critics and film scholars have praised Williams's work as primitive but pioneering and innovative examples of the filmmaking available to blacks in the mid-twentieth century.- Director
- Producer
Maria P. Williams was a Kansas City schoolteacher who entered the political arena in the 1890s as a lecturer who traveled through the state of Kansas giving speeches for political candidates and delivering lectures on the "topics of the day." From 1891 to 1894, she was editor-in-chief of a weekly newspaper in Kansas City, Kansas called, the "New Era." From 1896 to 1900 or so, she edited and published a newspaper, the "Women's Voice," sponsored by the "colored women's auxiliary" of the Republican party; the paper was described as having "many pleasant things to say on a choice of timely topics." After permanently settling in Kansas City, Missouri, she involved herself in a number of civic activities. In 1916, she published a short pamphlet describing her life and discussing her political and social views entitled "My Work and Public Sentiment." In 1923, Williams wrote, produced, and acted in the five reel crime drama, "The Flames of Wrath," and to distribute the picture, she formed the Western Film Producing Company and Booking Exchange owned by her and husband, Jesse L. Williams, who owned a number of businesses in and around Kansas City. Mr. Williams died later that year and Maria soon remarried. She appears to have involved herself in other endeavors, which may have led to her untimely end. In January of 1932, she was called away from her home by a stranger who requested help for his sick brother. She was found shot to death on the side of a road several miles from her home. The murder remains unsolved.Produced and directed Flames of Wrath (1923). Owned, along with her husband Jesse, the Western Film Producing Company and Booking Exchange."- Director
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Little is known about Theresa "Tressie" Souders, who in 1922, became the first known African-American female director, when the Afro-American Film Exhibitors Company of Baltimore and Dallas, Texas, contracted with her to distribute her film "A Woman's Error." Billboard Magazine for January 28, 1922 (34:107) published the company's announcement that "'A Woman's Error' was the first of its kind to be produced by a young woman of our race, and has been passed on by the critics as a picture true to Negro life." It appears that Ms. Souders left Kansas City, Missouri for Los Angeles; the 1930 census finds her (as "Tressa" Souders) living at the Sojourner Truth Industrial Home at 1119 East Adams Avenue; her occupation was "Servant, Private Home." She may have gone to Los Angeles as an attempt to get into the motion picture business; however, as far as it is known, she spent most of the rest of her life as a domestic worker. Voting records have her at the East Adams address until 1935, when she married Oscar Carnelus West, a native of Richmond, Va., who ran a pool hall in the Watts section of the city of Los Angeles. There were no children of the marriage, which was short-lived. By 1940, Tressa West was in San Francisco, where she would stay the rest of her life, other than periodic visits south to Los Angeles. She died in San Francisco in her ninety-fifth year, and is buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Marshall County, Kansas.Considered to be the first Black woman filmmaker in the United States for writing, directing and producing her own film, A Woman’s Error (1922). The Tressie Souders Film Society- Director
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- Actor
Michael Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Cooley High (1975), Car Wash (1976) and Krush Groove (1985). He has been married to Lauren Jones since 6 December 1965. They have two children.A TV and film director who, along with Ivan Dixon and Stan Lathan, was one of a small group of Black directors working steadily in the 70s and early 80s.- Writer
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- Editor
Kathleen Collins only managed to direct two films (she also wrote short stories and plays) but left an impact on the cinema as the second African American woman to direct a film, and as a teacher through her students. She had a strict upbringing in Jersey City as the daughter of an undertaker (who later became a school principal).Her college years at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, New York brought her into the time of early 1960s activism when she wrote for the student paper, travelled to Georgia with SNCC where she was briefly arrested, and then abroad after graduation to Africa as part of the Crossroads program.There she met her future husband who she would reconnect with when she went to the Sorbonne in Paris to pursue her master's degree, that was also where she became more interested in film. In the 70s, back in New York, she got the film program going at City College and worked as an editor on Sesame Street and such. She died young, in her early 40s, of cancer, but her two features from the 1980s are being rediscovered by a new generation.The Cruz Brothers and Mrs. Malloy (1980) was the first feature-length movie written, directed and produced by an African American woman.- Producer
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William Foster was born on 16 September 1860 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He was a producer and director, known for A Woman's Worst Enemy (1918), Honest Crooks (1930) and The Grafter and the Maid (1913). He was married to Ella B. Byrd. He died on 9 April 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Founded the Foster Photoplay Company in 1910.- Writer
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- Cinematographer
Zora Neale Hurston was born on 7 January 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, USA. She was a writer and director, known for American Playhouse (1980), She's Gotta Have It (1986) and Hands Upon the Heart (1991). She was married to James Howell Pitts, Albert Price III and Herbert Sheen. She died on 28 January 1960 in Saint Lucie County, Florida, USA.- Writer
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The first film director from an African country to achieve international recognition, Ousmane Sembene remains the major figure in the rise of an independent post-colonial African cinema. Sembene's roots were not, as might be expected, in the educated élite. After working as a mechanic and bricklayer, he joined the Free French forces in 1942, serving in Africa and France. In 1946, he returned to Dakar, where he participated in the great railway strike of 1947. The next year he returned to France, where he worked in a Citröen factory in Paris, and then, for ten years, on the dock in Marseilles. During this time Sembene became very active in trade union struggles and began an extraordinarily successful writing career. His first novel, "Le Docker Noir", was published in 1956 to critical acclaim. Since then, he has produced a number of works which have placed him in the foreground of the international literary scene. Long an avid filmgoer, Sembene became aware that to reach a mass audience of workers and preliterate Africans outside urban centers, cinema was a more effective vehicle than the written word. In 1961, he traveled to Moscow to study film at VGIK and then to work at the Gorky Studios. Upon his return to Senegal, Sembene turned his attention to filmmaking and, after two short films, he wrote and directed his first feature, Black Girl (1966)(english title: Black Girl). Received with great enthusiasm at a number of international film festivals, it also won the prestigious Jean Vigo Prize for its director. Shot in a simple, quasi-documentary style probably influenced by the French New Wave, BLACK GIRL tells the tragic story of a young Senegalese woman working as a maid for an affluent French family on the Riviera, focusing on her sense of isolation and growing despair. Her country may have been "decolonized," but she is still a colonial -- a non-person in the colonizers' world. Sembene's next film, Mandabi (1968) (english title: The Money Order), marked a sharp departure. Based on his novel of the same name and shot in color in two language versions--French and Wolof, the main dialect of Senegal--THE MONEY ORDER is a trenchant and often delightfully witty satire of the new bourgeoisie, torn between outmoded patriarchal traditions and an uncaring, rapacious and inefficient bureaucracy. Emitai (1971) records the struggle of the Diola people of the Casamance region of Senegal (where Sembene grew up) against the French authorities during WWII. Shot in Diola dialect and French from an original script, EMITAI offers a respectful but unromanticized depiction of an ancient tribal culture, while highlighting the role of women in the struggle against colonialist oppression. In Xala (1975), Sembene again takes on the native bourgeoisie, this time in the person of a rich, partially Westernized Moslem businessman afflicted by "xala" (impotence) on the night of his wedding to a much younger third wife. Outsiders (1977), considered by many to be Sembene's masterpiece, departs from the director's customary realist approach, documenting the struggle over the last centuries of an unspecified African society against the incursions of Islam and European colonialism. Featuring a strong female central character, CEDDO is a powerful evocation of the African experience.The Father of African Cinema- Producer
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William Alexander was born on 21 August 1916 in Shelbina, Missouri, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Love in Syncopation (1946), That Man of Mine (1946) and Rhythm in a Riff (1947). He died on 18 November 1991 in The Bronx, New York, USA.- Writer
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- Producer
Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American to produce a feature-length film (The Homesteader (1919)) and a sound feature-length film (The Exile (1931)), is not only a major figure in American film for these milestones, but because his oeuvre is a window into the American history and psyche regarding race and its deleterious effects on individuals and society. He also is a pioneer of independent cinema. Though the end products of his labors often were technically crude due to budgetary constraints, Micheaux the filmmaker is a symbol of the artist triumphing against great odds to bring his vision to the public while serving in the socially important role of critical spirit. "One of the greatest tasks of my life has been to teach that the colored man can be anything," Micheaux said. He used the new medium of the motion picture to communicate his ideas in order to rebut racism and to raise the consciousness of African-Americans in an age of segregation and overt, legal racism. As a filmmaker, Micheaux was "50 years ahead of his time", according to Kansas Humanities Council Board member Martin Keenan, the chairman of the Oscar Micheaux Film Festivals in Great Bend, Kansas, in 2001 and 2003. Oscar Micheaux was born in 1884, in Metropolis, Illinois, one of 13 children of former slaves. When he was 17 years old he left home for Chicago, where he got a job as a Pullman porter, one of the best jobs an African-American could get in the days of Jim Crow laws that separated the races and were an official bulwark of racism. Inspired by the self-help, assimilationist teachings of Booker T. Washington and the "Go West" pioneer philosophy of Horace Greeley, Micheaux acquired two 160-acre tracts of land in Gregory County, South Dakota, in 1905, despite no previous experience in farming. His experiences as a homesteader were the basis for his first novel, "The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Pioneer", which was published in 1913. He rewrote it into his most famous novel, "The Homesteader" (1917), which he self-published and distributed, selling it door-to-door to small businessmen and homesteaders in small towns, white people with whom he lived and did business with. "The Homesteader" not only elucidated Micheaux's understanding of societal cleavages but proselytized for assimilating black and white communities. He was firmly dedicated to the idea of art as a didactic medium. Micheaux lost his homestead in 1915 due to financial losses caused by a drought. He moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he established the Western Book and Supply Co. He continued to write novels, selling them himself, door-to-door. Meanwhile, brothers George Johnson and Noble Johnson, African-American movie pioneers who ran the Lincoln Motion Picture Co. in Los Angeles, wanted to make "The Homesteader" into a film. They tried to buy the rights to the novel but would not meet Micheaux's demands that he direct it and that it be made with a large budget. After his demands were refused, Micheaux reorganized Western Book and Supply as the Micheaux Film and Book Co. in Chicago. He began to raise money for his own film version of "The Homesteader". Micheaux returned to the white businessmen and farmers around Sioux City, Iowa, where he still maintained an office, and sold them stock in his new company. In this way he was able to raise enough capital to begin filming his novel in Chicago, which was then a major film production center. The film came in at eight reels, making it the first feature-length film made by an African-American. "Race films"--as films made for black audiences were called until the advent of the modern civil rights movement in the 1950s--and even "mainstream" films had been mostly shorts up to that time. Even Charles Chaplin didn't make his first feature-length film until 1921, with The Kid (1921). The Homesteader (1919) premiered in Chicago on February 20, 1919. An ad for the movie placed in the "Chicago Defender", the premier newspaper for African-Americans, heralded the film as the "greatest of all Race productions" and claimed it was "destined to mark a new epoch in the achievements of the Darker Races . . . every Race man and woman should cast aside their skepticism regarding the Negro's ability as a motion picture star, and go and see, not only for the absorbing interest obtaining therein, but as an appreciation of those finer arts which no race can ignore and hope to obtain a higher plan of thought and action." His next film, Within Our Gates (1920), was his response to D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), a film that had glorified the Ku Klux Klan and justified the violent oppression of African-Americans to prevent miscegenation. Though Griffith's flawed masterpiece was the most popular movie until the release of another Civil War potboiler called Gone with the Wind (1939) in 1939, it was loathed by African-Americans due to its crude and hateful racial stereotypes. "Within These Gates" was made to rebut Griffith and show that the reality of racism in the US was that African-Americans were more likely to be lynched and exploited by whites than the reverse. The movie showed African-American and white communities that the racism of the dominant society could be challenged. Micheaux's place in history was assured as he injected an African-American perspective, via the powerful medium of the motion picture, into the American consciousness. Working out of Chicago, he subsequently made more than 30 films over the next three decades, including musicals, comedies, westerns, romances and gangster films. Some of the popular themes in his work were African-Americans passing for white, intermarriage and legal injustice. He used actors from New York's Lafayette Players and always cast his actors on the basis of type, with light-skinned African-American actors typically playing the leads and darker-skinned blacks the heavies. That trait was part of the consciousness of the African-American community (and mirrored the very racism that he inveigled against) that persists to this day, and Micheaux was severely chastised for it by later critics. However, no critic could deny the importance of Micheaux's movies, as they were a radical departure from Hollywood's racist portrayals of blacks as lazy dolts, Uncle Toms, Mammies and dangerous bucks. As the most successful and prolific of black filmmakers, Micheaux was vital to African-American and overall American consciousness by providing a diverse portfolio of non-stereotyped black characters, as well as images and stories of African-American life. He married Alice B. Russell in March 1926, and the two remained married until his death in March 1951. He was buried at Great Bend Cemetery, Great Bend, Kansas.Founded the Micheaux Film and Book Corporation, later known as the Micheaux Film Corporation in 1918.- Editor
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William Greaves was born on 8 October 1926 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an editor and director, known for Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968), Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001) and Nationtime (1972). He was married to Louise Archambault. He died on 25 August 2014 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.Produced and directed documentaries in the period between Oscar Micheaux's last feature (The Betrayal, 1948) and Melvin Van Peebles' first feature (The Story of a Three-Day Pass, 1968), when there were no other Black Directors working during that time.- Director
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- Actor
The pre-eminent American photojournalist of sub-Saharan descent. An acclaimed photographer for Life magazine from the late 40s through late 60s, he turned to directing films, his second of which, the blaxploitation movie Shaft (1971), achieved success at the box office. In 1989 his first film effort, The Learning Tree (1969), was selected among the first 25 films so honored, by the U.S. Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for all time.The first African-American to direct a major Hollywood film, The Learning Tree (1969)- Lita Lawrence is known for Motherhood: Life's Greatest Miracle (1925).Wrote and directed Motherhood: Life's Greatest Miracle (1925)
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Richard D. Maurice was a pioneering filmmaker of African descent. Born in Cuba, he migrated to the United States in 1903, eventually moving to Detroit, where worked as tailor. In July 1920, he founded the Maurice Film Company there. His debut feature, Nobody's Children (1920) premiered in Detroit on September 27th of that year and played throughout the eastern United States. Unfortunately, no prints of the film are known to exist.
Maurice's second and only surviving feature, Eleven P.M. (1928) is generally dated as being released in 1928, but scholars Pearl Bowser and Charles Musser speculate that the film was actually released a year or two later because it "possesses a cinematic style and internal evocations of other race films" of the period. Also, the film's use of unusual camera angles and dream-like visual elements suggest that he was perhaps influenced by Surrealism.
Later, Maurice became involved in the railroad industry and helped found the Dining Car and Railroad Food Workers union, local 370 in New York City.
He died in New York City on May 5, 1955. He was 61 years old.Founded the Maurice Film Company in 1920- J. Luther Pollard is known for A Black Sherlock Holmes (1918), A Reckless Rover (1918) and Spying the Spy (1918)."Owned(?)/Produced movies for the Ebony Film Company of Chicago.
Luther J. Pollard/ J. L. Pollard (?)" - Writer
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Euzhan Palcy was born in Saint-Joseph, Martinique, France. Euzhan is a writer and director, known for Siméon (1992), Sugar Cane Alley (1983) and A Dry White Season (1989).The first black woman to direct a Hollywood produced movie, A Dry White Season (1989)- Director
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Stan Lathan is an accomplished producer and one of Hollywood's most prolific directors of television and film.
Lathan has directed pilots for many popular sitcoms, including: Real Husbands of Hollywood, The Soul Man, Amen, Martin, Moesha, The Parkers, and The Steve Harvey Show.
In 1991, he launched HBO's groundbreaking Def Comedy Jam with partner Russell Simmons. Lathan produced and directed the Tony Award winning, Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. He also directed the hip-hop classic film Beat Street.
Lathan executive produced and directed Dave Chappelle's comedy specials Killin' Them Softly and For What It's Worth, as well as Cedric the Entertainer's Taking You Higher, for HBO.
For PBS, Lathan directed dance specials with Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and dramas for such distinguished series as Great Performances, American Playhouse, and The American Short Story. He was also an original director for Sesame Street.
From 2013 to 2016, Lathan executive produced and directed The Real Husbands of Hollywood, for BET. He also directed TV Land's The Soul Man.
Stan Lathan received the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors. He has received six NAACP Image Awards, and was recently honored by the Directors Guild of America for his distinguished directing career.
In September 2018, Lathan won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for Dave Chappelle: Equanimity.Producer and director of feature films, TV shows and TV movies, his career has lasted over 40 years.- Director
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Mark Warren worked at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1965. He was a producer in the department called "TV Light Entertainment." His colleagues included Chris Beard and Stan Jacobs. Phyllis Kroeker was unit secretary, typing his scripts for the show "Charlie Had One But He Didn't Like It So He Gave It To Us."...Mr. Warren, who was born in Harrodsburg, Ky., began his television career in Toronto, where he was the producer and director in charge of variety programming for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. When he returned to the United States, one of the shows he directed was ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In,'' for which he won an Emmy Award in 1971, becoming the first black director to win the award...
NY Times 1/25/99- George Johnson was born in February 1887 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. He was a writer, known for By Right of Birth (1921). He died on 3 April 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Co-founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company in 1916.
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Ossie Davis was born on 18 December 1917 in Cogdell, Georgia, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Do the Right Thing (1989), Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) and Grumpy Old Men (1993). He was married to Ruby Dee. He died on 4 February 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA."A hugely successful actor who directed movies in the 70s, including Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) Black Girl (1972) Gordon's War (1973).
He later went on to work in several films directed by Black Directors, such as Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever), Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!), Bill Duke (Deacons For Defense), Charles Burnett (Finding Buck McHenry) and Sidney Poitier (Let's Do It Again)."- Director
- Actress
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Eloyce Gist was born on 21 October 1892 in Hitchcock, Texas, USA. She was a director and actress, known for Hellbound Train (1930), Verdict Not Guilty (1933) and Heaven-Bound Traveler (1935). She was married to John William Slaughter, Arthur C. Wood, James Gist and Roscoe C. Patrick. She died in 1974.Wrote, directed, produced and self-distributed religious-based films with her husband, James Gist.- Director
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James Gist was born on 11 September 1907 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Hellbound Train (1930), Heaven-Bound Traveler (1935) and Verdict Not Guilty (1933). He was married to Eloyce Gist. He died on 23 December 1937 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.Writer, director and producer of religious films which he and his wife, Eloyce, exhibited as traveling evangelists.- Actor
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Powell Lindsay was born on 2 September 1905 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Souls of Sin (1949), That Man of Mine (1946) and Jivin' in Be-Bop (1946). He was married to June and June Campbell McKee. He died on 22 September 1987 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.- Actor
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African-American movie actor and producer Noble Johnson was born on April 18, 1881, in Marshall, Missouri. His family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, when Noble was very young, and it was there that he met Lon Chaney at school. They became friends as children, and later got re-acquainted when both were making movies in Hollywood and became friends all over again (surprisingly, they never made any movies together).
Johnson was built like a bull, standing 6'2" at 215 pounds. His impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a character actor and bit player. In the silent era he essayed a wide variety of characters of different races in a plethora of films, primarily serials, westerns and adventure movies. While Johnson was cast as blacks in many films, he also played Native American and Latino parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell in Dante's Inferno (1924) (the old black and white orthochromatic film stock of the early days was less discriminating about a person's color, as were B+W stocks in general, permitting some African-American actors a break, as their "color" was washed out or less obvious when photographed in B+W. As late as the early 1960s, there were very few African-American members of the Screen Actors Guild, since there was a lack of opportunity for them as black performers were confined mostly to race films until the 1960s). In all his roles, Johnson lived up to his Christian name: his was a noble and dignified presence that exhibited great power and substance.
Johnson also was an entrepreneur. In 1916 he founded his own studio to produce what would be called "race films", movies made for the African-American audience, which was ignored by the "mainstream" film industry. The Lincoln Motion Picture Co., which was in existence until 1921, was an all-black company, the first to produce movies portraying African-Americans as real people instead of as racist caricatures (Johnson was followed into the race film business by Oscar Micheaux and others). Johnson, who served as president of the company and was its primary asset as a star actor, helped support the studio by acting in other companies' productions such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), and using the money he made in those films to invest in Lincoln.
Lincoln's first picture was The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1916). For four years Johnson managed to keep Lincoln a going concern, primarily due to his extraordinary commitment to African-American filmmaking. However, he reluctantly resigned as president in 1920, as he no longer could continue his double business life, maintaining a demanding career in Hollywood films while trying to run a studio.
In the 1920s Johnson was a very busy character actor, appearing in such top-notch films as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) with Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille's original The Ten Commandments (1923) andThe Thief of Bagdad (1924). He made the transition to sound, appearing in the 1930 version of Moby Dick (1930) as Queequeg to John Barrymore's Captain Ahab. He was also the tribal leader on Skull Island in the classic King Kong (1933) (and its sequel, Son of Kong (1933)) and appeared in Frank Capra's classic Lost Horizon (1937) as one of theporters. One of his last films was John Ford's classic She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), in which he played Native American Chief Red Shirt. He retired from the movie industry in 1950.
Johnson died on January 9, 1978, in Yucaipa (San Bernardino), California, at age 96. He is buried in the Garden of Peace at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, California.Co-founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company in 1916.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Wendell Franklin was born on 13 November 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Wendell was an assistant director and director, known for Funny Girl (1968), Big Daddy (1969) and The Bus Is Coming (1971). Wendell died on 22 July 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA."The first black member of the Screen Directors Guild and the second black stage manager to work in network television, he broke down racial barriers in the industry as President of the NAACP's Hollywood chapter.
He landed a 2nd AD position for George Stevens on The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)- Actor
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Ralph Cooper was called "The Dark Gable" after Clark Gable, of course, because of his handsome, rugged good looks and his charm and wit. Too talented and handsome for Hollywood and wouldn't accept stereotype roles Hollywood gave Blacks - so he went and made and starred in films for Blacks. While choreographing a Shirley Temple movie "Poor Little Rich Girl" he studied and watching the movie-making process and made some of the best Black-cast films of the time. On screen he usually played gangsters and bad men in the same acting styles of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. His movies were smashes in the Black community. Cooper was also an emcee and helped create the famous Apollo Theater. He helped the Legends we know now to stardom. He was a very talented man a tap dancer, choreographer, wonderful actor, bandleader, singer and writer.Started the original Harlem Amateur Hour in 1933.
Started the Wednesday Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in 1934.
Formed the Cooper-Randol Production Company in 1936 with George Randol.- Actor
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Ivan Dixon was a handsome, mustachioed African-American actor and director who carried a strong, serious nature about his solid frame. He initially earned attention in groundbreaking stage and film work with pronounced themes of social and racial relevance. He would become better known, however, for his ensemble playing in the nonsensical but popular WWII sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965). His character was a POW radio technician with the last name of Kinchloe, and the role, while heightening his visibility, did little to satisfy his creative needs. Overshadowed by the flashier posturings of stars Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner, Ivan eventually left the series after season five (of six), the only one of the original cast to do so. He was among the few African-American male actors in the 1960s, along with Bill Cosby and Greg Morris, to either star or co-star on a major TV series.
Born Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III on Monday, April 6, 1931, in New York's Harlem area, where his parents originally owned a grocery store, Ivan grew up in the South and as a youngster was headed towards a life of crime before he took a keen interest in acting. This helped him to get back on the straight and narrow, studying dramatics at Lincoln Academy, a black boarding school in Gaston County, North Carolina. He then graduated from North Carolina Central University (in Durham) with a degree in drama in 1954.
Ivan's Broadway debut occurred three years later in William Saroyan's "The Cave Dwellers", and in 1959 his career took a significant jump after earning the role of Joseph Asagai, the well-mannered Nigerian-born college student, in Lorraine Hansberry's landmark drama "A Raisin in the Sun". Starring Sidney Poitier, it was the first play written by a black woman that was produced on Broadway. He and Poitier became lifelong friends, and Ivan's early film career included providing stunt double assistance for Poitier in The Defiant Ones (1958).
Following minor film parts in the racially tinged Something of Value (1957) and Porgy and Bess (1959) (both of which starred Poitier), he and Poitier recreated their respective Broadway roles in the film version of A Raisin in the Sun (1961), which drew high marks all round. Ivan's most mesmerizing film role, however, came a few years later when he and renowned jazz singer Abbey Lincoln starred in the contemporary film drama Nothing But a Man (1964). Starring as a young, aimless railroad worker who gives up his job to marry a schoolteacher and minister's daughter (Lincoln), Ivan's character matures as he strives to build a noble, dignified life for the couple, who are living in the deeply prejudiced South. The film was hailed for its extraordinarily powerful portrayals of black characters and its stark, uncompromising script. The film, which was written by two white documentary filmmakers who spent time in the Deep South in the 1960s, was considered far ahead of its time. Dixon himself never found a comparable role in film again. During this time, he was cast in several TV dramas, with fine roles on "Perry Mason," "The Twilight Zone," "Laramie", "The Outer Limits" and several other series.
Following another strong but secondary showing as Poitier's brother in the film A Patch of Blue (1965), Dixon won the role of Kinchloe on Hogan's Heroes (1965). While shooting the series, he managed to squeeze in the title role in "The Final War of Olly Winter," a dramatic special that earned him his sole Emmy nomination in 1967. After he decided to leave Hogan's Heroes (1965) after five seasons, his acting work was limited. Active in the civil rights movement (he served as a president of Negro Actors for Action), he steadfastly refused to play roles that he felt were stereotypical. Instead, he segued into directing and was a noted success, helping hundreds of television productions during the '70s and '80s, including "Nichols," "The Waltons," "The Greatest American Hero," "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I.," "Quincy" and "In the Heat of the Night."
Ivan also managed to direct films, including Trouble Man (1972) and the controversial crime drama The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), the story of the first black officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, who turns revolutionary. This blaxploitation-era movie did not do well upon initial release (the film's title being highly questionable) and was quickly pulled from theaters. It subsequently gained cult status.
Throughout his career, Ivan actively worked for better roles for himself and other black actors. Among the honors he received were four NAACP Image Awards, the National Black Theatre Award, and the Paul Robeson Pioneer Award from the Black American Cinema Society.
In his final years, Ivan battled kidney disease and died of a brain hemorrhage at age 76 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was survived by his wife of 58 years, Berlie Ray, whom he met while both were college theater students. Two of their four children, Ivan Nathaniel IV and N'Gai Christopher, predeceased him. His surviving children are Doris Nomathande Dixon and Alan Kimara; Doris has been a documentary filmmaker and was a one-time production assistant on the film Boyz n the Hood (1991). The complete life span of Ivan Dixon--April 6th, 1931, to Sunday, March 16, 2008--totaled 28,097 days, or 4,013 weeks and 6 days.Actor, director of television and films, his directing career began in the early 70s when there was only a handful of Black directors.- Writer
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- Actor
George Randol was born on 19 November 1895 in Buena Vista, Virginia, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Rhythm Rodeo (1938), Midnight Shadow (1939) and Dark Manhattan (1937). He died on 23 December 1973 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.Formed the Cooper-Randol Production company in 1936 with Ralph Cooper.- Director
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- Sound Department
Hugh A. Robertson was born on 28 May 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a director and editor, known for Midnight Cowboy (1969), Bim (1974) and Shaft (1971). He died on 10 January 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
One of the first black superstars of popular entertainment, Egbert Austin Williams, although born in the Bahamas, was raised largely in California. Nursing show business aspirations early on, he teamed with boyhood friend George Walker to form a highly successful vaudeville act, which continued until the ravages of syphilis brought about Walker's retirement and premature death in 1909. Two years later, Williams joined the Ziegfeld Follies and experienced perhaps his greatest fame as one of its' star comedians until his death. Although he played the (then) typical stereotype of the slow-witted, dialect-spouting black, and had to wear burnt cork to disguise his true ethnicity, he still managed to project an elan and style that was all his own, gently mocking the various stereotypes even as he was playing them. His recordings on American Columbia records were best-sellers in their time. An intelligent, articulate man privately, he was bitterly disappointed in a society that could applaud him onstage, yet still treat him like a second-class citizen off stage. Although he lived at one of the city's top hotels during his years in New York, he always had to ride the service elevator to his suite rather than come in by the main entrance. Ill health in his last years, primarily hypertension and lung trouble, brought about his early death at the age of only 47, while he was still a headliner. Long and happily married, he and his wife had no children but raised a niece and nephew.A Black actor/comedian - who was required to work in Black face - wrote, produced, directed and starred in 2 films (Fish, A Natural Born Gambler) in 1916.- Director
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- Location Management
A. Sayeeda Moreno is known for Brooklyn Love Stories (2019), Futurestates (2010) and Sin salida (2006).- Actor
- Visual Effects
- Camera and Electrical Department
Aaron Burns was born on 28 January 1985 in Austin, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Knock Knock (2015), The Green Inferno (2013) and Blacktino (2011).- Director
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Aaron Courseault is known for Stranger Adventures (2006), May Mercy Lie (2010) and MacArthur Park (2001).- Producer
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- Editor
Aaron Greer is an award-winning independent filmmaker and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches courses in film and media production. He has produced and directed numerous documentary, narrative and experimental films, which have screened at film festivals nationally and internationally. His feature film credits include Gettin' Grown, Service to Man, and The Coming.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Greer earned his BA in history from Washington University and his MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University. Before going to graduate school and beginning a career in film, Aaron worked for the St. Louis Black Repertory Theater, taught high school, and served as a documentary researcher for Eyes on the Prize producer, Henry Hampton.- Director
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Aaron Woolfolk was born and raised in Oakland, California. He received degrees in both Ethnic Studies and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. After teaching English in rural Japan (in Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku), he returned to the United States and moved to New York City, where he received his M.F.A. in Film from Columbia University. For his first film "Rage!" Aaron won a Directors Guild of America award. His films "Eki" and "Kuroi Hitsuji" won several awards, screened in international film festivals, and played on cable television. Based on an early draft of his screenplay "The Harimaya Bridge," Aaron received a Walt Disney Studios/ABC Entertainment Talent Development Grant. He later became a Walt Disney Studios/ABC Entertainment Writing Fellow. With the production of "The Harimaya Bridge" in the summer of 2008, Aaron became the first African-American to shoot a feature film in Japan. The movie opened in theaters nationwide in Japan in the summer of 2009 and received rave reviews. Aaron's first play, "Bronzeville" (co-written with Timothy Toyama), premiered at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in the spring of 2009 to rave reviews.- Director
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- Producer
Abderrahmane Sissako was born on 13 October 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania. He is a director and writer, known for Timbuktu (2014), Life on Earth (1998) and Waiting for Happiness (2002).- Editor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Born in New York and raised in Harlem, Abdul Malik Abbott at an early age decided to follow in the footsteps of his father to become a filmmaker and photographer. Abdul attended the acclaimed High School of Music & Art as a painter and illustrator. After high school he went to the college, (SVA) School of Visual Arts with film being his major and worked during the summers as a P.A. on several feature films as well as studying documentary production at DCTV (Downtown Community Television) and Educational Video Center. Abdul graduated from SVA at the top of his class with a Bachelor degree in fine arts and a completed thesis short film entitled "99%".
During the next few years, Abdul worked as a sound technician on several commercials, TV shows and feature films including, "Def By Temptation", "City Of Hope" and Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" and "Mo' Better Blues". Eventually, he started working on music videos as a sound "playback" technician. Soon after, Abdul commenced on the journey of his second career as a music video editor, cutting clips for new and well-established hip hop and R&B artists.
Abdul's big break came when Jive records gave him a chance to direct a video for "2 Too Many", a rap group formed and produced by Will Smith. Abdul soon landed his next video for a jazz track by late, legendary singer/actress - Abbey Lincoln. The video "People In Me", won Abdul a Gold Award for "Best Jazz video". Soon after he was commissioned to direct a video for a hip-hop trio called Original Flavor -"All that", where he met the group's manager Damon Dash and his partner Jay-Z of the newly formed Roc-a-fella records. Abdul was soon hired to Direct and Produce Jay-Z's first video, "I Can't Get Wit That", followed by both versions of Jay-Z's "In My Lifetime" videos. In the next few years Abdul directed several other videos for Jay-Z including the #1 videos for the songs "Ain't No"(featuring Foxy Brown) & "Dead Presidents" as well videos for other established and up & coming rap, R&B and gospel artists.
In the '98 Abdul collaborated with Damon Dash and Jay-Z to direct a series of "B-side" videos interwoven with narrative skits for Jay-Z's new album. The project was shot over an eight-day period with an extremely modest budget. The project was entitled "Streets Is Watching". It was a huge hit amongst new and old fans, earning the #1 slot for several weeks in Billboard magazine's "long form music video category" and eventually certified platinum earning over 7 million on home video. "State Property"- (Lions Gate) marked the feature film directorial debut for Abdul Malik Abbott. It was released in theaters in several major U.S cities and has become an underground classic. The hip-hop driven gangster film was shot for under a million and has earned almost 11 million to date. After being released on home video and DVD, "State Property" rose to be the 10th top selling video in the U.S. according to Videoscan and Billboard and continues to air on B.E.T. In 2003 Abdul was invited to join the prestigious Director's Guild of America as a feature film director and is currently Co-Chairman of the African American Steering Committee at the DGA as well as being a member of the WGA(w)'s Committee of Black Writers.
Over the years Abdul has been a guest teacher at several High Schools, instructing students the art and politics of music video/film production and has also appeared on several film/music video related panels at a number of film festivals and conferences as well as starring in a pilot for a VH1 reality show called "Video Playground", which showcases music video directors remaking 80's videos with kids playing the lead roles. Abdul also appeared as on the VH1 series "Driven: Jay-Z" in which the long-form video "Streets Is Watching" was praised in helping transform Jay-Z into "superstar" status and Abdul has appeared as a guest host on several local TV and internet shows.
In 2010, the feature film Abdul co-wrote and produced entitled "My Normal" was released by Wolfe Entertainment.
In 2011, the webseries "Who Da Man?", based on the play "Waitin' 2 End Hell" was released on the internet. Abdul directed four episodes of this dramedy series. Also Abdul started a music project entitled B.O.S.S, a R&B, Electronica, Pop music group in which he produced and played all the music as well as directed, produced, shot and edited the music video for their 1st single entitled "Come Again". Abdul also recently directed & edited a country music video for Bonnie Paul's single, "Childhood Sweethearts" and Directed the 2nd video for B.O.S.S entitled "Me & You". Abdul recently completed an HD project for Oscar nominated actor Burt Young (Rocky), "Artist found in Port Washington Flat". The filmed portion of the project will appear in the stage play of the same name in which Burt will be playing 2 characters, with the filmed character being projected on a translucent screen.
Mr. Abbott resides in L.A and spends time in NYC and ATL where he continues to direct, write, edit and produce. Abdul also works as a freelance videographer for several entertainment channels, filming today's top filmmakers, actors and musicians as well as a freelance photographer.- Director
- Actor
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Abdoulaye Ascofare was born on 20 April 1949 in Gao, Mali. He is a director and actor, known for Mother of the Dunes (1997), Zabou, mannequin des sables (2003) and Wamba (1976).- Writer
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Born in Bamako (Mali). He dreamed of making films ever since he was a boy, but when his country achieved independence in 1960, there was a great need for teachers. So, for ten years, he taught in various village schools. At the same time, he wrote plays including "Pouvoir de Pagne". In 1979, he obtained a place at the National Film Production Center (CNPC) in Mali. He worked as assistant on Nyamanton and Finzan by Cheick Oumar Sissoko. In 1991, he directed his first feature film, Ta dona, was screened, in 1991, at the Festival International du Film de Cannes ("Un certain regard").Taafé Fanga was screened at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in 1997.- Actor
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Adrian Lester CBE was born on August 14, 1968 in Birmingham, England. He is a multi award winning actor and director, known for seven seasons of the hit TV show Hustle (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Primary Colors (1998) and his extensive classical work in the theatre playing Othello, Henry V, Rosalind and Hamlet to name but a few. He is married to actress and writer Lolita Chakrabarti. They have two children.- Actor
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- Actor
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Affion Crockett is a rare multi hyphenate who is known as a rapper, dancer, stand-up comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his work on Wild'n Out, What We Do In The Shadows, and A Haunted House 1 & 2. He also produced and self financed his upcoming film A Hip Hop Story, a parody based comedy about Hip Hop culture.- Actor
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Ahmed Best is an African-American actor, musician and dancer. He gained recognition for portraying Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He would later reprise the role in the rest of the prequel trilogy, video games and cartoons as well as Robot Chicken Star Wars specials. He also voiced Louis Booker from Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A and Cloak from Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.- Director
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Akin Omotoso was born in 1974 in Nigeria. He is a director and actor, known for Man on Ground (2011), Tell Me Sweet Something (2015) and Vaya (2016).- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Akosua Busia was born on 30 December 1966 in Accra, Ghana. She is an actress and director, known for The Color Purple (1985), Tears of the Sun (2003) and Low Blow (1986). She was previously married to John Singleton.- Actor
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Al Freeman, Jr. was an actor and director who was the first African American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for acting. His most famous role was that of Police Captain Ed Hall in the soap opera One Life to Live (1968), which brought him the Emmy in 1979. He was a regular on the soap from 1972 through 1987, and appeared off and on as Captain Hall from 1988 through 2000. He received three additional Emmy nominations playing the role in 1983, '86 and '87. Freeman also was the first African American to direct a TV soap opera, helming "One Life to Live" episodes.
Born on March 21, 1934 in San Antonio, Texas, he was raised primarily by his father, an actor and jazz musician, after his parents divorced. Al Freeman father and son left Texas, moving to Cleveland, Ohio. After studying drama at Los Angeles City College, Freeman fils moved to New York City to act in the theater, making his Broadway debut in Ketti Frings's "The Long Dream" in 1960, a flop that closed after five performances. He had a major success playing the lead in James Baldwin's play "Blues for Mister Charlie" in 1964. In 1970, he appeared in "Look to the Lilies" on Broadway, a musical version of the 1963 movie Lilies of the Field (1963), playing the part of Homer Smith, the role that brought Sidney Poitier an Oscar. Despite a prestigious production team that included director Joshua Logan, composer Jule Styne and lyricist Sammy Cahn, the show was a flop.
Freeman made his reputation primarily in television. He debuted as a television actor in the series Suspicion (1957) in 1958, and his soap opera debut came in 1967 in The Edge of Night (1956). He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for My Sweet Charlie (1970) and for Roots: The Next Generations (1979), in which he played Malcolm X.
In 1958, Freeman made his movie debut in an uncredited role in the Glenn Ford WWII picture _Torpedo Run (1958)_ and first received billing in the 1960 gang war B-movie potboiler This Rebel Breed (1960). His most memorable role was the lead in Amiri Baraka's Dutchman (1966) opposite Shirley Knight, who was named Best Actress at the 1967 Venice Film Festival. Freeman won the N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for playing Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992).
Freeman was a professor in the drama department of Howard University. When he died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78, he had established himself as a legend in the African American arts community.- Actor
- Producer
- Stunts
Al Thompson is known for A Walk to Remember (2002), The Cleveland Show (2009) and The Harder They Fall (2021).- Director
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- Producer
Alain Gomis was born in 1972 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Félicité (2017), As a Man (2001) and Tey (2012).- Director
- Cinematographer
- Editor
The 31-year-old director of photography, Alastair "Gee-Lock" Christopher, is a self-made man. After spending the majority of in downtown Brooklyn, Christopher has proven himself a rising star in film production and photography.
At age 15 Christopher met Jonathan Hock, a filmmaker working for NFL Films. Christopher was selected to attend Hock's Reel People Film Project and, according to Hock, was quickly identified as "a natural talent with an amazing eye."
From there, Christopher began working at Hock Films in a support role and soon thereafter moved into sound production, editing and eventually, photography where he found his true calling. His three feature-length documentary projects with Hock Films, The Lost Son Of Havana; The Streak and Through the Fire (about basketball phenom Sebastian Telfair's last year of high school), all aired on ESPN. No stranger to the network, he has directed photography for a variety of series and specials produced by Hock Films for ESPN including It's the Shoes, The Hook Up and the popular Streetball: The AND 1 Mix Tape Tour series for which he won a 2004 Telly Award for photography (basketball being a particular specialty, having shot game action and behind-the-scenes at over 250 games). Also, his work has appeared on HBO, BET and TV1.- Producer
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Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was broadcast on cable, introducing them to a wider audience. After high school Albert began taking classes at LACC Film School: two shorts established the twins' reputation as innovative filmmakers and allowed them to direct Menace II Society (1993), which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and grossed nearly 10 times as much as its $3 million budget. After following up with Dead Presidents (1995) they directed the feature-length documentary American Pimp (1999) .- Director
- Casting Director
- Producer
Aleta Chappelle began her career in the film industry working at Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studio, where she assisted in the casting of The Outsiders. Rumble Fish, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Cotton Club and more. She soon advanced to the level of Casting Director and some of her credits included: Romeo and Juliet in Harlem Somewhere Godfather Part 3 Trade Drumline Nutty Professor Sister Act 2 New York Stories - Zoë Boomerang Major Payne Ramblings Rose
The Casting Society of America nominated her for a Best Casting Award for two of the HBO films she cast: "Life Support" starring Queen Latifah and "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" starring Halle Berry. She won a Black Reel and Urban World Film Festival Best Ensemble Casting Award for the feature film "Mooz-lum". The Pocono Mountain Film Festival presented her with the Lifetime Career Achievement in Casting Award in 2014.
Ms. Chappelle's feature film directed debut was the hit comedy "Goosed" starring Jennifer Tilly, Joan Rivers, Damon Wayans, and the film was executive produced by Francis Coppola. Recently she directed the feature film "Romeo and Juliet in Harlem" and the film was invited to screen at numerous festivals from London to Los Angeles, and has enjoyed a record breaking educational distribution company release.
For the stage some of Ms. Chappelle's stage directing credits include the Off Off Broadway production of "The Concept Of Love" starring Julianna Margulies and Off Broadway of "The Mary Ellen Pleasant Story" starring Carmen De Lavallade and Michael Michelle. She is also the Founder and Director of the Harlem Children's Theatre.
Ms. Chappelle continues to cast independent and studio films and her production company Moon Shadow Films.biz develops films and plays of artistic and social value.- Producer
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Alex Stapleton is known for Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011), The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) and Shut Up and Dribble (2018).- Director
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- Director
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Alfons Adetuyi is an award-winning producer and director creating successful cross-cultural films and television series.
Alfons recently directed the award-winning rom-com LOVE JACKED featuring a formidable ensemble cast of Amber Stevens West (HAPPY TOGETHER), Shamier Anderson (ACROSS THE LINE), Keith David (GREENLEAF), Mike Epps (THE HANGOVER), Lyriq Bent (SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT), Angela Gibbs (BLACK JESUS), Demetrius Grosse (STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON), Nicole Lyn (THE L WORD) and the legendary Marla Gibbs (THE JEFFERSONS). Since its opening night premiere at the 2018 Pan-Africa Film Festival, the film has enjoyed an incredible festival run garnering numerous awards - winner of the Pan African Film Festival's Programmers Narrative Feature Award, Best Feature at the Roxbury Festival, and the Healthy Planet Audience Award.
Alfons' previous feature film was HIGH CHICAGO, starring Colin Salmon (DIE ANOTHER DAY, RESIDENT EVIL). During its festival tour of Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago and Toronto, the film garnered both the Audience Choice Award and Best Canadian Feature at the ReelWorld Film Festival. The film was also nominated for an AMMA award in Nigeria and a FESPACO award in Ouagadougou. Critics have called it "compelling and well crafted." LA Weekly said,"... the story pulls you in..." The film had a successful run on the festival circuit and was released by Netflix in the US in the fall of 2015. Alfons was featured in IndieWire's 'Shadow and Act' Black Filmmakers to Watch and most recently named as one of 2018's Top 30 Black Directors.- Actor
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Alfonso Ribeiro was born in New York on September 21, 1971. Alfonso's family is from Trinidad & Tobago. Although rumor has been that he is of Dominican descent, he has stated in an interview that this is false. Neither he nor his family are from the Dominican Republic; they originate from Trinidad & Tobago.
Ribeiro began his career when he debuted on the PBS show "Oye Ollie." After getting the starring role in the Broadway musical "The Tap Dance Kid" Ribeiro was spotted by Michael Jackson who cast him in one of the singer's many Pepsi commercials of that decade. At the age of 10 Ribeiro dabbled as a musician, releasing singles such as "Dance Baby," "Not Too Young (To Fall In Love)", "Sneak Away With Me" and "Time Bomb". It was about this time that he was cast as Ricky Schroder's best friend on the long-running series Silver Spoons (1982).
He attended California State University at Los Angeles after the end of the series, and was later cast as Carlton Banks on the popular series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990). An avid race car driver, Ribeiro resides in Los Angeles where he participates in celebrity car races.- Director
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- Actor
Alfred Robbins was born in Queens N.Y. He was raised on Long Island and graduated from the State University of New York - Old Westbury. Robbins enjoyed a career in the insurance industry prior to becoming a filmmaker. In 2008 his debut feature film "Grapes on a Vine" was nominated for Best Director - First Feature film at the 2008 Pan African Film Festival. The film was acquired by Urban Home Entertainment in 2009 and released at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Redbox and Blockbuster Video. In 2012 Robbins directed the feature film "The Next Day" which screened at seven film festivals and was acquired domestically by Maverick Entertainment. The film was released nationally at Redbox and Walmart.
Next up for Robbins was "Mistaken". The film was shot on location in North Africa (Morocco) and the Washington D.C. / Baltimore metro area. "Mistaken" (AKA "Raltat") was recognized by the Women Film Critics Circle as one of the best films about a woman not theatrically released.
In 2018, Robbins directed the feature film All That Matters" . The film premiered at the 2019 Peachtree Village International Film Festival in Atlanta, GA. The domestic rights to the film have been acquired by Indie Rights. The film will be available Fall 2021.
During the summer of 2021, Robbins directed the feature film "American Girl" on location in Atlanta Georgia. The film (August 2021) is in post production.- Writer
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Ali LeRoi was born on 12 February 1962 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Everybody Hates Chris (2005), The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2019) and Head of State (2003).- Director
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Alile Sharon Larkin was born on 13 May 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a director and writer, known for A Different Image (1982), A Different Image: Coda and The Kitchen (1975).- Director
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alison Swan was born in Bermuda. She is known for Mixing Nia (1998), Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) and Mrittupuri: Kill Zone.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was broadcast on cable, introducing them to a wider audience. After high school Albert began taking classes at LACC Film School: two shorts established the twins' reputation as innovative filmmakers and allowed them to direct Menace II Society (1993), which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and grossed nearly 10 times as much as its $3 million budget. After following up with Dead Presidents (1995) they directed the feature-length documentary American Pimp (1999).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Allen L. Sowelle is known for New Amsterdam (2018), Front Seat Chronicles (2012) and Emma Rae (2017).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Alphonse Beni was born in 1946 in Nkongsamba, Cameroon. He was an actor and director. He was married to Suzanne Beni. He died on 12 March 2023.- Director
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Recognized as one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces to Watch, Alrick Brown is an award winning writer, director and producer. His collective works have screened in over 65 festivals worldwide, earning numerous awards and honors. Among them is the HBO Life Through Your Lens Emerging Filmmaker Award for the critically acclaimed documentary Death of Two Sons, which he produced. In 2004 he was one of four NYU students featured in the IFC Documentary series Film School; produced by Academy award nominee Nannette Burstein.
His first feature, Kinyarwanda, made its world premiere as recipient of the prestigious World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, Kinyarwanda has screened internationally in over 20 festivals, adding more than a half dozen honors to the writer/director's credits.
Alrick is also an educator, but found his medium after visiting the slave castle of Elmina, in Ghana, during a two-year tour with the Peace Corps in Cote d'Ivoire. The interactions with the people of his village, and his overall experiences in West Africa, informed his creative expression. An expression first fostered by his birth in Kingston, Jamaica and migration to, and upbringing in Plainfield, New Jersey.
Since then Alrick's work has been described as cinematic archeology because of his vision to unearth stories that otherwise would not be told. His commitment to revealing the heart of and world around a story is what draws audiences, peers and clients to his work.
In 2013 Alrick became a Mid-Atlantic Artist Fellow. Beyond film, he has ventured onto the small screen directing ABC's "Final Witness", ESPN's short doc series "Spike Lee's Lil' Joints -- And of the Son: The Legend of David & Jackie Robinson" and writing and producing for Investigative Discoveries Emmy-Award winning series "A Crime Two Remember".
Alrick graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English and a Masters of Education, where he taught an undergraduate course on the African American image in cinema. He received his MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he later taught various courses to both undergraduate and graduate film students.- Director
- Script and Continuity Department
- Actor
Alrick Riley was born in London and is a graduate of the National Film & Television School. His two film school shorts, Money Talks and Concrete Garden achieved international film festival success. Both were screened on UK television. He has directed high profile television projects and continues to develop original drama ideas.- Director
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Alvin Moore Jr. is known for The Perfect Gift (2011), A Mother's Prayer (2009) and In God's Hands (2014).- Actor
- Producer
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Aml Ameen can currently be seen playing iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. opposite Jeffrey Wright, Colman Domingo, and Chris Rock in George C. Wolfe's RUSTIN, produced by Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Bruce Cohen for Netflix. Ameen recently starred in Sky Cinema's independent film DEADSHOT opposite Felicity Jones. He received a 2023 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Lead Performance for his work on the Paramount+/BET drama series THE PORTER.
In 2021, Ameen made his writing and directing debut with BOXING DAY. Financed by Warner Brothers, Film Four, and the BFI - BOXING DAY was released be Amazon in the U.S. Ameen's previous credits include the HBO/BBC critically-acclaimed series I MAY DESTROY YOU opposite star and creator Michaela Coel, Idris Elba's directorial debut YARDIE for Amazon which earned him a UK National Film Award nomination for Best Actor in 2019, Lee Daniel's THE BUTLER, THE MAZE RUNNER franchise on Fox, the Wachowski's Netflix series SENSE 8, and George Lucas' RED TAILS. Ameen portrayed series regular Lewis Hardy on the hit BAFTA series THE BILL, earning him a Screen Nation's Best Actor Award in 2007. His breakout performance as Trife in the cult classic KIDULTHOOD secured him a Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow Award in 2007 and a Screen Nation's Best Newcomer Award nomination in 2006.
Ameen can now be seen in David E. Kelly's limited series A MAN IN FULL executive produced and co-directed by Regina King for Netflix.- Actress
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Amma Asante is a British BAFTA award winning screenwriter and director, known for Belle (2013), and A Way of Life (2004). She is a former child actress, who began her writing career at the age of 23 with a script deals from both Channel 4 in the UK and BBC. Her first movie, A Way of Life, which she wrote and directed won her numerous awards, both in the UK and internationally, including FIPRESCI prizes and the Carl Foreman BAFTA Film Award. In 2017 Amma was awarded an MBE on the Queen's New Year's Honours List, for her services to film as a writer and director.- Actress
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Anais Granofsky was born on 14 May 1973 in Springfield, Ohio. She is an actress and director, known for Degrassi High (1987), Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001) and On Their Knees (2001).- Director
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- Camera and Electrical Department
Andre Allen is known for Chappelle's Show (2003), The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021) and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (2016).- Actor
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Many actors have attempted to crack both genres of drama and comedy. Few have succeeded, among them the genial Andre Braugher (pronounced 'Ahn-drey Braw-ger'). A two-time Emmy Award winner, he is especially remembered for two seminal roles: as the intense, often explosive Detective Frank Pembleton (signature character in the first six seasons of NBC's gritty drama Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)), and, in stark contrast, as droll, deadpan father figure Captain Ray Holt in eight seasons of the hilarious spoof Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013). The latter got him nominated for another four Primetime Emmys as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. What made the Holt character special was Braugher's unerringly perfect comic timing, great punchlines and moments of endearing pathos.
A Chicago native, Braugher was an alumnus of Stanford University and a 1988 Juillard graduate with a Master of Fine Arts degree. Originally a Shakespearean actor (noted for his portrayal of Henry V on the New York stage), he debuted on screen in the Civil War drama Glory (1989), as an erudite corporal, the first volunteer to enlist in one of the Union Army's African-American regiments. His inaugural portrayal of a police officer was as Kojak's sidekick, Detective Winston Blake, in a slew of made-for-TV movies. From there, Braugher became a popular casting choice for determined, no-nonsense authority types. To name but a few: Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis, commanding officer of The Tuskegee Airmen (1995); Detective Satch de Leon in Frequency (2000); General Hager, who falls victim to arch villain Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007); Army General George Mancheck in The Andromeda Strain (2008), the miniseries; the Secretary of State in Salt (2010). Then there was, of course, his defining role in Homicide, as the compelling, intense interrogation expert Frank Pembleton.
Braugher had a leading non-military role as an angel named Cassiel (no, not Castiel!) in the romantic fantasy City of Angels (1998), starring Nicolas Cage. He then headlined as the title character in the medical drama Gideon's Crossing (2000), loosely based on the career of a real-life professor of medicine, Jerome Groopman. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Braugher next co-starred in Hack (2002), another crime drama, in which he played a Philadelphia cop who aids his former partner (David Morse), who, after having left the force under a cloud, has turned into a hero vigilante.
For once on the wrong side of the law, he starred as a master criminal in the acclaimed miniseries Thief (2006) for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor. His first major foray into comedy was with Men of a Certain Age (2009), the story of three friends, each experiencing their own mid-life crisis. Braugher's character (Owen) was an angst-ridden diabetic father who hated his job as a car dealer. This was yet another strong performance which resulted in two further Emmy nominations, perhaps because Braugher abandoned his stock-in-trade authoritarian persona by playing someone insecure and vulnerable. He explained in another interview on Today, that he needed new challenges in order to grow as an artist.
It also set the scene for his famous role as Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Curiously, the actor remained oddly reticent and self-deprecating about his comedic prowess. He confessed to an interviewer that he considered himself merely "a voyeur at the funny person's table". Yet, some of the show's funniest moments arise from Holt's relationships: those with his team (an excellent ensemble cast led by Andy Samberg (the Halloween specials rock!), with his partner Kevin (played by the very funny Marc Evan Jackson, who also featured memorably in Michael Schur's other off-beat comedy hit, The Good Place (2016)) and with his corgi named Cheddar.
Andre Braugher's unexpected death on December 11, 2023, at the age of 61, was a great loss to the entertainment industry.- Director
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Andre Robert Lee is known for Virtually Free (2020), Dirty Laundry (2006) and The Prep School Negro (2012).- Director
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- Writer
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Andy Amadi Okoroafor is known for Relentless (2010).- Producer
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- Camera and Electrical Department
Mundy-Castle has a degree in Media and Film from the University of East London. He also completed a Masters in Documentary at the prestigious Goldsmiths College, University of London. He was chosen as a mentor for Newcomers day at the Sheffield International Doc Fest in 2011. Producing his first feature film, now the multi award 'David is Dying' in 2010.- Actress
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Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in theaters and on stages and television screens throughout the world. Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16, 1958 in New York City, to Betty Jane (Gilbert), a social worker, and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, a preacher's son. Bassett and her sister D'nette grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with their mother. As a single mother, Betty stressed the importance of education for her children. With the assistance of an academic scholarship, Bassett matriculated into Yale University. In 1980, she received her B.A. in African-American studies from Yale University. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. It was at Yale that Bassett met her husband, Courtney B. Vance, a 1986 graduate of the Drama School.
Bassett first appeared in small roles on The Cosby Show (1984) and Spenser: For Hire (1985), but it was not until 1990 that a spate of television roles brought her notice. Her breakthrough role, though, was playing Tina Turner, whom she had never seen perform before taking the role, in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). Bassett's performance earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golded Globe Award for Best Actress.- Actress
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Angela Gibbs: Writer/ Director/Acting Coach
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Angela has a diverse background in the entertainment industry that spans 5 decades. As an actor, her credits include recurring roles on "Hacks," "On My Block," and "SWAT." As a regular on Aaron McGruder's "Black Jesus," her character, Ms. Tudi, broke out as one of the leads. Her films include "Love Jacked," in which she starred with her mother, Marla Gibbs; "Stone Cold Christmas"; and "Straight Outta Compton," in which she portrayed Ice Cube's mother. As an acting coach, Gibbs has worked with Alejandro G. Inarritu, coaching on both his Oscar-winning films, "Birdman" and "The Revenant." Gibbs coached newcomer Demetrius Shipp for the role of Tupac in the upcoming "All Eyes On Me," and Richie Merritt on "White Boy Rick" for critically-acclaimed director Yaan Demange.
While attending the American Film Institute, Gibbs cast the short film, "Last Breeze of Summer," that won an Academy-Award nomination, and she received AFI's Mary Pickford Award for directing. Her short film "Ties That Bind" won the HBO Shorts Award, was featured during BET's Best Short series, and won Best Short at the prestigious Pan African Film Festival.
When Angela produced the play "227," the success buzz caught the attention of Norman Lear, who helped develop it into the NBC hit series. Angela is the recipient of two NAACP Image Awards for producing "227" and for the Broadway play "Checkmates," starring Denzel Washington and Ruby Dee. Gibbs wrote the Trumpet Awards for its first 10 years and taught at Spelman College's Drama Department. Angela is developing two features that she will direct.- Producer
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Angela Robinson was born on 14 February 1971 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for D.E.B.S. (2004), Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017) and D.E.B.S. (2003). She is married to Alexandra Kondracke. They have one child.- Producer
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Angela Tucker is known for Belly of the Beast (2020), All Skinfolk Ain't Kinfolk (2018) and All Styles (2018).- Producer
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Angi Bones was born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is known for The Negotiator (1998), Blade (1998) and Training Day (2001).- Actress
- Producer
- Stunts
Lead Actress in a film screened at the esteemed Cannes Film Festival and Supporting Actress in the Jury Award Winning film of the renowned Sundance Film Festival. She has also received honors during the Hong Kong Intl Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, Las Vegas International Film Festival, Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, The Indie Horror Film Festival, Chicago among others. An Award-winning Producer and Actress, Anika continues to hone her skills and finds comfort as a proficient Stand up Comedian and trained Improv and Sketch Comedy performer.
Home grown in Gary, Indiana, Anika is undeniably a part of the new breed of highly motivated and exceptionally talented entertainers. Charismatic and fiercely determined, Anika's success is fueled by her endless energy and undying will to express her creativity in an unlimited capacity. "I never understood why this need to entertain would never go away, now I hope it never does!"
Anika C. McFall received her Master's Degree in Business and is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. She makes a living as a working Actor/Comedian, Producer, Writer and Dancer. A quadruple threat, she has had numerous roles in Film, Television and Theater productions as well as National Commercial and Print Campaigns. As a trained Actress, she has landed Recurring, Guest, and Co Star roles and is striving for a series regular role. Other training and skills include Fight Skills, Stunts, Weapons, Sports, Flute and Dialects. In addition to performing and living her dreams out loud, Anika loves playing Sports, watching movies and philanthropy.- Director
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Anika Poitier was born on 29 February 1972 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and actress, known for The Devil Cats (2004), Swordfish (2001) and Yard Sale (2010).- Producer
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Anike Bay - 'also known as' Iris Montgomery-Ilori - is the author of "Little Iris' First Day of School," "Little Iris' First-Grade Field Trip to Jet Magazine," "Girls Like Us! Season 1, 2,3 and 4." In addition, She's also a film festival 54x's nominated and Invited award-winning director, writer, and producer of two hit movies and two music videos entitled "Girls Like Us" (2013);Girls Like Us 2.0! The Hustle! The Game!" (2014);Woman To Woman!" by Complete Love"(2013) and ,"All They Know Is Shoot," song by Tripp Sticc Featuring Ricky Moncler (2016). Any who,Anike grew up on the South Side of Chicago, in the Englewood community, which is better known as ,"Little Beirut,The Point Of No Return and as Spike Lee put it in his movie "Chirac!" As a young girl Anike attended Charles W. Earle School, from Head Start through eighth grade then she went on to attend Mather High School on the North Side for 1½ years before transferring to, and graduating from William Rainey Harper High School. She also attended Eastern Illinois University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and now she's currently pursuing her MPA of Independent Filming and Digital Imaging at Governors State University South of Chicago when time permits. Anike's a previous board member of the Illinois Safe School Alliance Board, and a prior Gospel Talk Show Host on WGBX AM1570,but, she's taken a leave of absent from both to work on completing two books, entitled "Girls Like Us! and Season 5 and She Had Me At Hello, Too!" Also Anike is working on two screenplays entitled, "Tell It To Jesus, and She Had Me At Hello." Now, although she has a strong desire to continue writing both children's books and other kinds of novellas and screenplays for people to read, she admits she's more interested in becoming the number-one filmmaker in the world as well as winning an Academy Award and NAACP Award for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Music Video and for Best Picture! Last but not least, Anike Bay's grandfather has Irish ancestry (Engram/Ingram) and Black Foot Indians ancestry and her grandma Suki, grandma Suki Johnson, and grandma Susie Engram all have Cherokee Indian ancestry.- Actress
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Anna Maria Horsford was born and raised in Harlem, New York. Her parents immigrated to the United States from the island nation Antigua & Barbuda, in the West Indies (then a British colony), during the 1940s. Anna grew up not really feeling American but not West Indian either, just somewhere in between. However, she vacationed in the Caribbean, and this stoked her desire to see the world. After high school she went to Stockholm, Sweden, to attend college.
Her mother always knew Anna would be something big because she was very talkative, and kept Anna enrolled in community centers, after-school programs, church events, etc. She auditioned for the New York High School of Performing Arts and was accepted. As she recollects, "My first big break came when I auditioned at the New York Shakespeare Festival."
Working in many different aspects of show business has allowed her to venture into areas other than acting, such as directing. She also has an Art Institute in upstate New York. Her father was a Garveyite (following the "back-to-Africa" teachings of Marcus Garvey), journeyed to Africa and lived in Liberia for five years. As Anna said, "He clearly taught us to love being black and not be ashamed of being black. We are all warriors and have to work to do."- Actor
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Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian and game show host who is known for playing Louis Booker from Kangaroo Jack, Glen Whitmann from Transformers, Ray Ray from The Proud Family and Antwon Mitchell from The Shield. He also acted in Blackish, Hoodwinked, The Departed, Agent Cody Banks 2 and Scream 4.- Producer
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Anthony Hemingway is known for Red Tails (2012), Underground (2016) and American Crime Story (2016).- Director
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Anthony Rudolph is known for The Sea of Dreams (2011), Crazy Love (2011) and What Profits a Man (2010).- Producer
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Antoine Fuqua is an American film director, known for his work in the film Training Day as well as The Replacement Killers, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter, Brooklyn's Finest, Olympus Has Fallen and The Equalizer.
He has directed music videos for such artists as Arrested Development, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton, Pras Michel and Usher. He was nominated for MTV's Best Rap Video for Heavy D & the Boyz. He also won two Music Video Production Awards: The Young Generators Award, for his work on Coolio's rap video "Gansta Paradise" and the Sinclair Tenebaum Olesiuk and Emanual Award for the trailer to the hit feature film Dangerous Minds (1995). Among his many commercial credits are Wings for Men, Big Star Jeans, Miller Genuine Draft, Reebok, Toyota, Armani and Stanley Tools.- Actor
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Antwon Tanner was born on 14 April 1975 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Coach Carter (2005), Never Die Alone (2004) and Chase (2010).- Writer
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Antwone Fisher was born on August 3, 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in Cleveland's foster care system and was emancipated from care at age 17 in the world alone and living on the tough streets of Cleveland, at age 18 Antwone joined the United States Navy where he traveled the world and was awarded many medals and ribbons including two good conduct medals. Antwone served honorably for 11 years and was discharged from service in 1989 at the rank of E5. A veteran United States Navy Sailor, Antwone was appointed to the honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy on October 5, 2009. He served three years as a Federal Correctional Officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons before taking a position as a security officer at Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1992. The following year Antwone wrote and sold his autobiographical script titled "Antwone Fisher" to 20th Century Fox and it was made into a film by Fox Searchlight films in 2003. Antwone has been a working screenwriter in Hollywood for 23 years. Antwone Fisher is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Finding Fish: a memoir, (Harper Collins) The National Bestselling book of Poetry, Who Will Cry For The Little Boy?, (William Morrow) and the award winning self-improvement instructional book, A Boy Should Know How To Tie A Tie and Other Lessons for succeeding in life, (Touchstone Fireside).- Producer
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Atlanta native, April Lundy is a writer, producer, director, and Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies at Clark Atlanta University. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Digital Filmmaking & Art and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from Georgia State University. She is also the Interim Chair of Clark Atlanta University's Department of Mass Media Arts.
Lundy has produced, directed, and served as Story Producer for commercials, independent films, music videos, reality television, and documentaries for Bravo, TV One, BET, Warner Brothers Records, Motown Records, and LaFace Records. Additionally, she co-founded two of Southeast's most notable women-owned film production companies, Film Noire Group and Strange Fruit Films. Her work on the independent feature biopic about Muhammed Ali, The Last Punch (2016), earned a premier at the 2016 Pan African Film Festival. Within her career as a filmmaker, she has worked with artists such as Whitney Houston, Keith David, André 3000, Big Boi, CeeLo Green, TLC, Brian McKnight, David Banner, India Arie and Usher. Notable film students of hers are GeffriMaya, Terayle Hill, and Taylor Polidore Williams.
Lundy's publications and scholarly research are focused on the areas of intersectionality - depictions of Black women in film and television content visual literacy and spectatorship. She has published, conducted, and presented her research internationally in Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Jamaica, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. She teaches Storytelling, Screenwriting, Film Theory, and Film Producing and Directing.- Actor
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Ariyon Bakare is a British actor, writer and director who has been working across film, television and theatre since graduating from Drama Centre London.
Ariyon Bakare grew up in the East End of London and brought up by his Nigerian father. He moved to NYC at a very young age to study dance but abandoned his dreams at the age of twenty-one after realizing how short lived a dancer's life can be. He then went on to study at the HB studios and took classes with the late great Uta Hagen before attending the prestigious Drama Centre of London where he studied - under the guidance of Yat Malgren and Christopher Fettes, two of the great theatre and actor pedagogues of the UK.
After attending Drama Centre he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was nominated for an Ian Charlestown award for his performance In ION.
Ariyon's past film credits include Daniel Espinosa's sci-fi film Life (2017), starring as scientist 'Hugh Derry' the role of 'Blue Four' in Rogue One, 'Greeghan' in the Wachowski's 'Jupiter Ascending', Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight', 'Happy Ever Afters', 'Full Firearms', 'Soul of a Spy', 'The Secret Laughter of Women' and 'After The Rain'.
Ariyon is best known for his extensive and varied television work. His earliest leading credit was 'Mehuru' in BAFTA nominated BBC mini-series 'A Respectable Trade'. Also for the BBC, Ariyon starred as 'Stephen Black' in 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' and as jazz band manager 'Wesley' in Stephen Poliakoff's Golden Globe nominated 'Dancing on the Edge'. Ariyon also played the lead role of 'Olaudah Equiano' in BBC television movie 'The Extraordinary Equiano'. Ariyon has recently wrapped on the second series of BBC/HBO's 'His Dark Materials a and Amazon's Carnival Row.- Additional Crew
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Arlando Smith is known for Legends of the Superheroes (1979), It's Your Move (1984) and The Jeffersons (1975).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Arthur Jafa was born on 30 November 1960 in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Daughters of the Dust (1991), Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Just Married (2003).- Actress
- Producer
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Ashley-Nicole Sherman is known for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Just Add Water (2008) and Nancy Drew (2007).- Producer
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Audrey King Lewis is known for The Gifted (1993) and A Moment of Romance III (1996).- Writer
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A director, producer, writer, marketer and film distributor, Ava DuVernay made her feature film debut with the documentary This is the Life (2008), a history on hip hop movement that flourished in Los Angeles in the 1990's. This was followed by series of television music documentaries which included My Mic Sounds Nice (2010) which aired on BET.
DuVernay's first narrative feature film, I Will Follow (2010), secured her the African-American Film Critics Association award for best screenplay. Her follow-up, Middle of Nowhere (2012) won the Best Director Prize at the 2012 Sundance film festival, making her the first African-American woman to receive the award.