Chinonye Chukwu

Chinonye Chukwu (/ˈtʃiːnoʊjə ˈtʃuːkuː/;[1] born 1985[2]) is a Nigerian-American film director best known for the drama film Clemency. She is the first black woman to win the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.[2][3]

Chinonye Chukwu
BornMay 19, 1985
Nigeria
NationalityNigerian-American
Occupationfilm director
Years active2010-present
Notable work
Clemency

Early life

Chukwu was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. When she was just over a year old, her family moved to Oklahoma, and moved again to Fairbanks, Alaska when she was six.[2] They visited Nigeria often.[2]

Growing up in Alaska, Chukwu was often the only person of color in her classes, and she struggled to fit in. Throughout her childhood she dealt with depression, which was exacerbated by limited wintertime daylight in Alaska. To cope, she read Maya Angelou and joined the weight-lifting club. Chukwu always wanted to make movies. In her teen years she carried around a journal that she would write down ideas for films and music videos. She often wrote stories about Nigerian-American girls reconnecting with loves or lost siblings.[2]

She received her bachelor's degree in English from DePauw University, where she joined Zeta Phi Beta.[4] She then enrolled in film school at Temple University.[2]

Career

Chukwu directed The Dance Lesson in 2010, about a young black girl who struggles to become a ballerina in an increasingly gentrified community.[5] Her first feature film, Alaska-Land (2012), told the story of two estranged Nigerian-American brother and sister who eventually reunite in their hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska.[6][2][7] The film was rejected from every festival and lab program she applied to.[6][8] In 2013 she directed A Long Walk (2013), a short film about a child who is publicly ridiculed by his father.[9]

Clemency (2019) was written and directed by Chukwu. The death row drama stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden coming to terms with the demands of her profession and Aldis Hodge as one of her inmates bound for execution.[10] Her inspiration for the film came from the case of Troy Davis, a prisoner executed in 2011. She moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to shoot the film.[2] She received the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at 2019 Sundance, the first black woman to do so.[11][12]

Chukwu is slated to direct A Taste Of Power, a film based on the memoir of Elaine Brown.[13]

Awards and nominations

The Dance Lesson (2010)

Clemency (2019)
  • Black Reel Awards, Nominations: Outstanding Screenplay, Outstanding Emerging Director, Outstanding First Screenplay, and Outstanding Independent Feature[15]
  • Sundance 2019, U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize [2][3]

References
  1. "Chinonye Chukwu - Finding One's Self and Alaskaland". Reelblack. April 27, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  2. Okeowo, Alexis. "With Clemency, Chinonye Chukwu Has Made the Most Devastating Movie of the Year". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  3. Appler, Michael (2019-12-12). "Chinonye Chukwu on Golden Globes Shutout of Female Directors". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  4. "Zeta Phi Beta Filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu Just Became The First Black Woman to Win Sundance Film Festival's Biggest Prize". Watch The Yard. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  5. The Dance Lesson, retrieved 2020-04-14
  6. alaskaLand, retrieved 2020-04-14
  7. Sperling, Nicole. "Clemency Director Chinonye Chukwu on Her Sundance Film About Death Row". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  8. Okeowo, Alexis. "With Clemency, Chinonye Chukwu Has Made the Most Devastating Movie of the Year". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  9. A Long Walk, retrieved 2020-04-14
  10. Erbland, Kate (2020-01-02). "How 'Clemency' Filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu Turned Her Pain Into the Year's Most Empathetic Film". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  11. Erbland, Kate (2019-02-03). "Sundance: 'Clemency' Filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu Is First Black Woman to Win Biggest Prize". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  12. "Filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu On The Making Of 'Clemency'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  13. Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-01-28). "'Clemency' Director Chinonye Chukwu To Helm Female Black Panther Drama 'A Taste Of Power:' Sundance". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  14. "Chinonye Chukwu". African Film Festival, Inc. 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  15. "20th Annual Black Reel Awards – Nominees Announced". Blackfilm - Black Movies, Television, and Theatre News. 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
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