Black Directors
by inthepalemoonlight | created - 8 months ago | updated - 5 months ago | PublicA list of working black film directors from all over the globe
1. Spike Lee
Director | Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended ...
2. Steve McQueen
Director | 12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen was born on October 9, 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008). He is married to Bianca Stigter. They have two children.
3. George C. Wolfe
Director | Rustin
George Wolfe was raised in the state capital of Kentucky, Frankfort. As a member of the Frankfort High School Senior class of 1972, he was one of the leading lights of the drama club and a writer for the literary magazine. George left Frankfort in 1972, but returned many years later as a favored ...
4. Andrew Dosunmu
Director | Mother of George
Andrew Dosunmu is known for Mother of George (2013), Hot Irons (1999) and Restless City (2011).
5. Dee Rees
Director | Mudbound
Writer/Director Dee Rees is an alumna of New York University's graduate film program and a Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab Fellow.
In 2018, Dee became the first Black woman nominated for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for her highly-acclaimed film Mudbound (2017). The film, ...
6. Barry Jenkins
Producer | If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins was born on November 19, 1979 in Miami, Florida, USA. He is a producer and director, known for If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Moonlight (2016) and Aftersun (2022).
7. Jordan Peele
Writer | Nope
Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the ...
8. Julie Dash
Director | Reasonable Doubt
Thirty-one years ago, filmmaker Julie Dash broke racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) Daughters of the Dust. She became the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film. The Library of Congress placed Daughters...
9. Kasi Lemmons
Director | Harriet
Kasi Lemmons was born on February 24, 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Harriet (2019), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Candyman (1992). She has been married to Vondie Curtis-Hall since August 19, 1995. They have two children.
10. Ava DuVernay
Writer | Queen Sugar
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 ...
11. Malcolm D. Lee
Director | Girls Trip
Malcolm D. Lee was born on January 11, 1970 in the USA. He is a writer and director, known for Girls Trip (2017), The Best Man (1999) and The Best Man: The Final Chapters (2022). He has been married to Camilla Banks since 2000. They have three children.
12. RaMell Ross
Cinematographer | Hale County This Morning, This Evening
RaMell Ross is known for Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018), Easter Snap (2019) and Nickel Boys (2024).
13. Abderrahmane Sissako
Director | Timbuktu
Abderrahmane Sissako was born on October 13, 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania. He is a director and writer, known for Timbuktu (2014), Life on Earth (1998) and Waiting for Happiness (2002).
14. Ryan Coogler
Director | Black Panther
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American filmmaker and producer who is from Oakland, California. He is known for directing the Black Panther film series, Creed, a Rocky spin-off and Fruitvale Station. He frequently casts Michael B. Jordan in his works. He produced the Creed sequels, Judas and the ...
15. Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer | Love & Basketball
Gina Prince-Bythewood (Writer/Producer/Director) studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynolds Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. She was a member of UCLA's track and field team, qualifying for the Pac-10 Championships...
16. Lee Daniels
Producer | Precious
Lee Daniels gave his parents an early Christmas present when he entered the world on December 24, 1959; unfortunately, the Philadelphia native was to have a difficult relationship with his police officer father who later reacted violently to his son's sexuality. Despite the brutality of his ...
17. Julius Onah
Director | Luce
Julius Onah is a Nigerian-American filmmaker and occasional actor. Onah was born in Makurdi, Benue State in Nigeria. He was raised in the Philippines, Nigeria, Togo and the United Kingdom before moving to Arlington County, Virginia with his diplomat father, Adoga Onah. Onah graduated from ...
18. Reinaldo Marcus Green
Director | King Richard
Reinaldo Marcus Green was born on December 16, 1981 in Bronx, New York, USA. He is a director and producer, known for King Richard (2021), We Own This City (2022) and Monsters and Men (2018).
19. Stephen Williams
Producer | Watchmen
Stephen Williams is known for Watchmen (2019), Lost (2004) and Undercovers (2010). He is married to Jocelyn Snowdon. They have one child.
20. Stella Meghie
Director | Jean of the Joneses
Stella Meghie is known for Jean of the Joneses (2016), The Weekend (2018) and The Photograph (2020).
21. Boots Riley
Soundtrack | Sorry to Bother You
Boots Riley was born on April 1, 1971 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Sorry to Bother You (2018), I'm a Virgo (2023) and The Losers (2010).
22. Rick Famuyiwa
Producer | Dope
Rick Famuyiwa was born on June 18, 1973 in the USA. He is a producer and director, known for Dope (2015), The Mandalorian (2019) and The Chi (2018). He has been married to Gienita Mosley since 1999.
23. F. Gary Gray
Director | Set It Off
Felix Gary Gray is an African-American music video director, film producer and film director from New York City known for directing films such as Friday, Men in Black: International, Be Cool, The Fate of the Furious, Set It Off, The Negotiator, Straight Outta Compton and The Italian Job. He ...
24. Shaka King
Director | Judas and the Black Messiah
Shaka King was born on March 7, 1980 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), Newlyweeds (2013) and Mulignans (2015).
25. Jeymes Samuel
Soundtrack | The Harder They Fall
Jeymes Samuel, also known as The Bullitts, is an English writer, director, singer-songwriter and music producer from London.
In 2013 Jeymes worked alongside Baz Luhrmann and Jay Z on the music for the blockbuster The Great Gatsby. Jeymes served as the film's Executive Music Consultant.
2013 also saw ...
26. Blitz Bazawule
Director | The Color Purple
Blitz Bazawule is a Filmmaker and Musician born in Ghana and based in New York. Blitz's feature directorial debut 'The Burial Of Kojo' premiered on Netflix in 2019 via array. He co-directed Beyoncé's Black Is King which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2020. Blitz is directing 'The Color Purple ...
27. Kemp Powers
Writer | One Night in Miami...
Kemp Powers is known for One Night in Miami... (2020), Soul (2020) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
28. Antoine Fuqua
Producer | The Magnificent Seven
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, ...
29. Regina King
Actress | Ray
Regina King was born in Los Angeles, California, to Gloria, a special education teacher, and Thomas King, an electrician. She began her career in the television show 227 (1985), followed by a role in Boyz n the Hood (1991). She began to be recognized by a mainstream audience after her role as Cuba ...
30. Raven Jackson
Writer | All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Raven Jackson is known for All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023), Nettles (2018) and Surface (2022).
31. Elijah Bynum
Writer | Magazine Dreams
Elijah Bynum is known for Magazine Dreams (2023), Hot Summer Nights (2017) and Red White and Beautiful.
32. Denzel Washington
Actor | Fences
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...
33. Ladj Ly
Writer | Les misérables
Ladj Ly was born on January 3, 1978 in Mali. He is a writer and director, known for Les Misérables (2019), The Pitiful (2017) and Athena (2022).
34. Tyler Perry
Writer | Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Perry was born and raised in New Orleans, to Willie Maxine (Campbell) and Emmitt Perry, Sr. His mother was a church-goer and took Perry along with her once a week. His father was a carpenter and they had a very strained and abusive relationship, which led Perry to suffer from depression as a ...
35. Eugene Ashe
Writer | Sylvie's Love
Eugene Ashe is a Writer-director and former Sony Music recording artist from Harlem, New York. Sylvie's Love, his second feature, will premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival where it is in US Dramatic Competition. The love story, set in the early 1960's marries his love of music and film. As a...
37. J.D. Dillard
Director | Devotion
J.D. Dillard is known for Devotion (2022), Sweetheart (2019) and Sleight (2016).
38. Krystin Ver Linden
Writer | Alice
Krystin Ver Linden is known for Alice (2022), American Roulette and Hawk. She was previously married to Josh Trank.
39. Carey Williams
Director | Emergency
Hailed by Filmmaker Magazine as one of 2018's New Faces of Independent Film, Carey Williams is a director bringing a unique and visually striking cinematic eye to the exploration of the human condition. His films have garnered awards from Sundance, SXSW, Seattle International and NBC to name a few....
40. Adamma Ebo
Writer | Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Adamma Ebo is known for Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (2022), Atlanta (2016) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024).
41. Gabriel Martins
Editor | Marte Um
Gabriel Martins is known for Mars One (2022), In the Heart of the World (2019) and The Devil's Knot (2018).
42. Nikyatu Jusu
Director | Nanny
Sierra Leonean-American Filmmaker Nikyatu's films have screened at festivals nationally and internationally. With a BA from Duke University and an MFA from NYU's Tisch Graduate Film school, she's earned various awards including NYU's Spike Lee Fellowship Award, the Princess Grace Narrative film ...
43. Chinonye Chukwu
Producer | Till
Chinonye Chukwu was born on May 19, 1985 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She is a director and writer, known for Till (2022), Clemency (2019) and A Long Walk (2013).
44. Phillip Youmans
Director | Burning Cane
Born February 18, 2000, Phillip Youmans is a filmmaker from New Orleans. At 19, Phillip became the youngest and first African-American director to win the Founder's Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival for his feature-length debut, Burning Cane, which he wrote, directed, ...
45. Remi Weekes
Director | His House
Remi Weekes is known for His House (2020), Exhale (2009) and Fright Bites (2016).
46. Tanya Hamilton
Director | Night Catches Us
Tanya Hamilton is known for Night Catches Us (2010), The Chi (2018) and Queen Sugar (2016).
47. Tim Story
Director | Fantastic Four
Timothy Kevin Story was born on March 13, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. Attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California with jazz pianist Eric Reed and actresses Regina King and Nia Long. Graduated from USC film school.
48. Cord Jefferson
Writer | American Fiction
Cord Jefferson was born on January 26, 1982 in Tucson, Arizona, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for American Fiction (2023), The Good Place (2016) and Watchmen (2019).
49. Steven Caple Jr.
Director | The Land
Steven Caple Jr. is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best know for The Land (2016) and Creed II (2018).
Caple also direct the short film A Different Tree (2014).
The Land was his feature film debut.
His directorial debut was in the short film Process of Elimination (2011).
50. Elijah Bynum
Writer | Magazine Dreams
Elijah Bynum is known for Magazine Dreams (2023), Hot Summer Nights (2017) and Red White and Beautiful.
51. Maggie Betts
Director | The Burial
Maggie Betts is an American screenwriter and film director. Born and raised in New York City, she attended Princeton University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She is the daughter of Roland Betts (a real estate developer) and Lois Betts. In 2017, Maggie won the ...
52. Juel Taylor
Writer | They Cloned Tyrone
Juel Taylor was born on May 1, 1987 in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA. He is a writer and director, known for They Cloned Tyrone (2023), Creed II (2018) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).
53. Hubert Davis
Director | Aruba
Hubert Davis is known for Aruba (2006), Black Ice (2022) and Stronger Than Love (2007).
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