I look at every aspect in the film industry and see no one like me, and I want to make that change. At the start of my career, I didn’t want to stick out and quickly found that it was literally impossible to not do that. Being a singularity has a lot of cons, I felt like I was systematically being pushed out before I really started. I came into this profession wanting to have a career, but I realized that I have a responsibility to be more than just someone behind a camera but a role model for people like me. To that note lately I’ve been speaking with high schoolers all over the city and offering some guidance. By workshopping with these kids it not only gives them a positive figure to relate to but it also helps me get back to basics and come up with fresh ideas.

 

My father was really my biggest inspiration to date though that might sound cliché. I never had the amount of continuous support from anyone the way I’ve gotten from my father. Since I was first starting out, he’s always talked to me about being a strong and proud woman and make a name for myself. He’s the one that convinces me to dream bigger than I could ever imagine and pushes me to keep trying no matter how badly I want to give up. I keep striving and driving because it’s his stories, his life that I want to display on the big screen. Strong black men with flaws, being a part of a community, people unashamedly asking for help, those are the type of individuals I want to make movies about. His voice is in every bit of dialogue I write and has become synonymous with my own.

 

Recently I’ve been focusing on drama and comedy, really appreciating the contrast between the two. I feel by doing so it can allow me to find some levity in the hard stuff and be able to laugh and get closure at real issues. I’ve been jotting down ideas left and right of everything that comes to mind and breaking them down into more details. Reaching out to peers and asking directly how they want to be represented in media helps gain a better understanding of how to make characters.

 

My art is about people, just real people. I don’t want expensive CGI or over the top displays, I want the audience to be able to recognize their grandmother or cousin in my work. People they can relate to on all levels. I’m trying to recognize all manners of relationships in my work whether it be interracial, or queer, or unorthodox because I know how it feels growing and having no one look like you.