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Chinonye Chukwu

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Chinonye Chukwu
BornMay 19, 1985
NationalityNigerian-American
Occupationfilm director
Notable workClemency

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]

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.[2] Throughout her childhood she dealt with depression, which was exacerbated by limited wintertime daylight in Alaska. To cope with her depression she read Maya Angelou and joined the weight-lifting club. Chukwu always wanted to make movies.[2] 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. After completing her undergraduate degree she 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.[4] 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.[5][2][6] The film was rejected from every festival and lab program she applied to.[7][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, starring 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 Sundance 2019, 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Okeowo, Alexis. "With Clemency, Chinonye Chukwu Has Made the Most Devastating Movie of the Year". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  3. ^ a b Appler, Michael; Appler, Michael (2019-12-12). "Chinonye Chukwu on Golden Globes Shutout of Female Directors". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  4. ^ The Dance Lesson, retrieved 2020-04-14
  5. ^ alaskaLand, retrieved 2020-04-14
  6. ^ Sperling, Nicole. "Clemency Director Chinonye Chukwu on Her Sundance Film About Death Row". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  7. ^ alaskaLand, retrieved 2020-04-14
  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; 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; 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. ^ Jr, Mike Fleming; Jr, Mike Fleming (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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