For decades, Hollywood’s excuse was that they just couldn’t find Black female directors. As a project worked its way through big and small screen studios, the same names—belonging to white men—would be written on a sheet of paper, continually shutting its tinseled doors in the faces of Black women who were uniquely qualified to tell stories.
But the day of reckoning is here.
With Black women helming projects on TV, film and streaming platforms, the excuse has expired. From lighter fare such as Claws, a show about the dark side of manicurists, to a biopic about one of America’s heroes, Harriet Tubman, Black women are not only comfortable in front of the lens, but behind it as well.
ESSENCE wants to salute 22 women who are not only changing Hollywood by showing up, but by bringing diverse and inclusive projects to our screens.
Numa Perrier
The actress and filmmaker cut her teeth directing the 2005 short, Judi: A Series of Memories, later stepping behind the camera for episodes of Yellow and Chef Julian. Now, Perrier is set to direct an episode of Queen Sugar after recently wrapping her second feature film Jezebel.
Nzingha Stewart
Stewart has directed episodes of some of TV’s best shows like Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and How To Get Away With Murder. Now the filmmaker is preparing for the release of two feature projects, Tall Girl and The Perfect Find.
Sanaa Hamri
Hamri’s directorial credits are long and this year she’s adding two new projects to her storied résumé, No Apologies and Lovestruck.
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Prince-Bythewood has long given us quality film and TV projects, from Love & Basketball and Girlfriends to Beyond the Lights and Shots Fired. Up next for the director-producer-writer is The Old Guard, an action-fantasy starring KiKi Layne and Charlize Theron.
Stella Meghie
Meghie has already made waves stepping behind the camera for films like Everything, Everything and The Weekend. Up next for her is The Photograph, a film that features a series of intertwined love stories, starring LaKeith Stanfield, Issa Rae, Teyonah Parris, Courtney B. Vance, and Lil Rel Howery.
Kasi Lemmons
Who better than Lemmons to helm two new projects about strong Black women? The director will tackle the story of Madam C.J. Walker, by directing an episode of Octavia Spencer’s eponymous project, and the forthcoming Harriet Tubman biopic, which stars Cynthia Erivo.
Ava DuVernay
DuVernay’s highly-anticipated When They See Us is right around the corner and the series is truly the director at her best. The series features incredible performances from Niecy Nash, Jharrel Jerome, Michael K. Williams and more.
Melina Matsoukas
Matsoukas has been wowing us for quite a while. She helmed Master of None‘s Emmy-winning episode “Thanksgiving,” and has been behind numerous episodes of Insecure. She’s also set to direct Lena Waithe’s upcoming Queen & Slim.
Victoria Mahoney
The actress-turned-filmmaker may have started out with small roles in shows like Brewster Place, Seinfeld, and Legally Blonde, but she’s since turned her attention to directing, leading episodes of Queen Sugar, Power, and Claws. She’ll soon be seen helming Under the Bridge, a TV movie about a surgeon who must pull her life together after a scandal rocks the medical practice she runs with her husband.
Cheryl Dunye
Dunye made a name for herself early on with Untitled Portrait and the critically-acclaimed Watermelon Woman. She’s recently stepped into directing episodes of Queen Sugar and Dear White People, and will soon direct a feature adaptation of her short, Black Is Blue.
Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Richardson-Whitfield is one of television’s go-to directors and this year she’s sitting in the director’s chair for episodes of American Gods, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and The Chi.
Tina Mabry
Mabry already has an enviable résumé that includes work on show’s like The Mayor, Power, and Pose. Next, the director will be stepping in for new episodes of Black Jesus and the TV movie Beast Mode.
Julie Dash
You can’t talk about Black women directors without mentioning Dash. Many have listed the filmmaker’s critically-lauded Daughters of the Dust as influential to their work, and Dash is sure to inspire more with her upcoming Angela Davis biopic.
Tchaiko Omawale
Omawale wowed many with her feature debut Solace, adapted from her 2013 short of the same name. So it comes as no surprise that she’s been tapped to helm an episode of Queen Sugar during the show’s fourth season.
Bola Ogun
Ogun is still new to the industry, but has already caught the attention of many with shorts, The Water Phoenix and Are We Good Parents, along with TV movie On the Run. Look for her name in the credits when you check out season four of Queen Sugar.
Liesl Tommy
The South African native will direct the film adaptation of Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born a Crime, which is set to star US actress Lupita Nyong’o as Noah’s mother. The project currently has no release date, but fans should look out for Tommy’s other project, Respect, which will star Jennifer Hudson and tell the life story of legendary singer Aretha Franklin.
Halle Berry
After wowing us onscreen for decades and earning an Academy Award for her turn in Monster’s Ball, Berry is set to make her directorial debut with Bruised. Berry will star as a disgraced MMA fighter, who has to face her demons when the son she abandoned shows up on her doorstep.
Dee Rees
We’re already big fans of Rees’ work, which includes films like Mudbound and Pariah, so we’re thrilled for her next project, The Last Thing He Wanted. It stars Anne Hathaway in an adaptation of Joan Didion’s novel of the same name.
Nia DaCosta
DaCosta’s Little Woods, starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James, has received tons of praise, rightfully so. Next she’ll tackle the “spiritual sequel” to 1992’s Candyman.
Chinonye Chukwu
Chukwu’s Clemency was a hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and fans will soon get to see the film in their nearest theater. Clemency stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden who must confront years of trauma her job has caused after countless executions.
Tina Gordon
By now you’ve likely seen Gordon’s name attached to projects like Peeples, Drumline, and ATL. And this year, she’s already helmed Marsai Martin’s Little and penned Taraji P. Henson’s What Men Want.
Niecy Nash
After you catch Nash in Ava DuVernay’s upcoming When They See Us and in her show Claws, the actress will make her directorial debut as she steps behind the camera to direct an episode of the hit TNT series.