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Nikyatu Jusu

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Nikyatu Jusu (/nɪkˈjɑːtuː ˈdʒuːsuː/)[1] is an American independent writer, director, and Assistant Professor in Film & Video at George Mason University. Jusu's works centers the complexities of Black female characters and in particular, displaced, immigrant women in the United States. Her work includes African Booty Scratcher (2008), Flowers (2015), Suicide By Sunlight (2019), and Nanny, which received the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.[2]

Early life and education

Jusu was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Sierra Leonean parents Hannah Khoury and Ronald Jusu.[3] She attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina with the intention to become a biomedical engineer. An unexpected meeting with a screenwriting professor introduced her to the world of film making and she changed her focus. Jusu graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in Film/Cinema/Video Studies in 2005.[4] She later studied narrative filmmaking at New York University's Tisch graduate film school and received a master of fine arts degree in Film/Cinema/Video Studies in 2011.[5]

Career

2008 – 2018: Career beginnings

In 2008, Jusu wrote and directed African Booty Scratcher for her second year graduate film project at NYU Tisch. It is a semi-autobiographical film that tells the story of Isatu, a young Sierra Leonean American.[2] The story highlights the conflict of differing cultures while Isatu contemplates which culture to please when picking a prom dress. She developed the film with a budget of $7,000.[6][better source needed] African Booty Scratcher was eventually acquired by HBO.[7]

Jusu released Say Grace Before Drowning in 2010, again as writer and director.[7] With a bigger budget of $35,000, Jusu created a film that explains the relationship between a young girl and her African refugee mother.[7] This film was also acquired by HBO.[7]

In 2011, she wrote and directed the narrative film, Black Swan Theory, that was labeled as an experimental work.[8] The plot of the film revolves around Sonya, a psychiatric casualty of war, who accepts a murder-for-hire assignment. Jusu's developed the film on a budget of $3,000.[8]

Jusu began developing a feature film, FREE THE TOWN in 2013.[better source needed][9] The film follows three people in Freetown, Sierra Leone and was selected for inclusion in Sundance Institute's inaugural Diverse Writers Workshop.[citation needed]

She co-wrote and co-directed Flowers in 2015 with Yvonne Michelle Shirley, a classmate from film school.[10] The coming of age film tells the story of two Brooklyn teens looking to get revenge on their teacher until their plan backfires. Jusu explained that she wanted to draw attention to the struggles of black girls in school because she feels that only black boys are in the spotlight of struggle in the United States education system.[10] Flowers was shown at film festivals such as BlackStar Film Festival. It was acquired by HBO and received the HBO Short Film Award.[11]

2017 – present: Suicide by Sunlight and Nanny

In 2017, Jusu joined the faculty of George Mason University as an assistant professor in the film and video studies department.[12] That year she was selected as a recipient of Tribeca Film Institute and Chanel's Through Her Lens program to develop the short film Suicide by Sunlight, co-written with R. Shanea Williams.[13] Suicide by Sunlight centers a Black vampire protected from the sun because of her melanin.[14] The film was executive produced by Terence Nance, directed by Jusu, and stars Natalie Paul.[15] It debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019.[16]

On April 13, 2021, it was announced that Jusu's debut feature film, Nanny, is being produced by Stay Gold Features and Topic Studios.[17] The horror movie follows a west African undocumented nanny taking care of a privileged child on the Upper West Side and preparing for the arrival of her son.[17] The script was selected for the 2020 Black List and the film debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2022.[18] Shortly after Nanny won the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, it was announced that Jusu's next project was acquired by Monkeypaw Productions and Universal.[18]

Accolades

  • The Most Promising Filmmaker Award from Duke University.[3]
  • Jusu's short film African Booty Scratcher earned festival acceptances and awards, including a Director's Guild Honorable Mention, HBO Short Film Award and JT3 Artist Award.[3]
  • The short film Say Grace Before Drowning won the Spike Lee Fellowship Award, Director's Guild of America Jury Award, HBO Short Film Award, the Panavision Equipment Grant, Princess Grace Foundation Grant, and Puffin Foundation Grant.[19]
  • Jusu won the Shadow and Act Filmmaker Challenge for her short film Black Swan Theory.[20]
  • Flowers won the HBO short film award and was acquired by HBO.[21]
  • Her screenplay Free The Town was selected for Africa's most prestigious Film Market, the 2013 Durban Film Mart, and one of 5 narrative films selected for Film Independent's Fast Track. It was one of 12 projects invited to participate in Sundance Institute's inaugural Diverse Writers Workshop. Free the Town was never shot because of the Ebola outbreak.[citation needed]
  • Her narrative film Suicide by Sunlight was awarded a Rooftop Films/Adrienne Shelly Foundation Short Film Grant and was funded by the production grant Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program sponsored by the Tribeca Film Institute and Chanel. The film was one of the 5 to be nominated, and won the grand prize.[22]
  • Jusu was nominated for and won a residency at Headlands Artist Residency, which she attended in July 2018 to work on her latest feature script.[citation needed]
  • Jusu and her co-writer R. Shanea Williams were 2017 recipients of a full production grant as well as production support from the Tribeca CHANEL Women's Filmmaker Program, Through Her Lens.[citation needed]

Filmography

Television and film
Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2007 African Booty Scratcher Yes Yes No
  • Short film
  • Also editor
2010 Say Grace Before Drowning Yes Yes No
  • Short film
  • Also editor
2011 Black Swan Theory Yes Yes No
  • Short film
  • Also editor
2015 Flowers Partial Partial No Short film
2017 Two Sentence Horror Stories Yes No No 1 episode
2019 Suicide by Sunlight Yes Yes No Short film
2022 Nanny Yes Yes No Executive producer; feature film debut

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2016 American Black Film Festival Short Film Award[23] Flowers Won
2020 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Independent Short Film[24] Suicide by Sunlight Nominated
2019 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize[25] Suicide by Sunlight Nominated
2022 U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize[18] Nanny Won

References

  1. ^ "Meet the Artist: Nikyatu Jusu on "Nanny"". Sundance Institute. December 22, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Ellerson, Beti (2011-04-07). "AFRICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA BLOG: A Conversation with Nikyatu Jusu". AFRICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA BLOG. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  3. ^ a b c "Nikyatu Jusu – African Film Festival, Inc". www.africanfilmny.org. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  4. ^ "Duke Event Calendar". calendar.duke.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  5. ^ "Highlights: Fall 2017". Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  6. ^ "Nikyatu Jusu - IMDbPro". pro.imdb.com. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  7. ^ a b c d "Trailer for Short Film 'Flowers' By Rising Sierra Leonean-American Filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu Debuts". OkayAfrica. 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  8. ^ a b "Watch Nikyatu Jusu's Black Swan Theory Online Now!". Afrofusion Lounge. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  9. ^ NIKYATU (2013-09-24), MICHAEL | FREE THE TOWN, a feature film, retrieved 2018-06-13
  10. ^ a b Wilder, Kali (2016-09-16). "How Two Filmmakers Are Taking On The Complexity Of Black Girlhood". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  11. ^ "Short Film. 'Flowers.' A Revenge Plot Spirals Out of Control. | SUPERSELECTED - Black Fashion Magazine Black Models Black Contemporary Artists Art Black Musicians". superselected.com. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  12. ^ Rizov, Vadim (2020-10-19). "Nikyatu Jusu | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "This is the Future of Film: Here are the Recipients of Tribeca and CHANEL's Third Annual THROUGH HER LENS". Tribeca. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  14. ^ "Nikyatu Jusu's 'Suicide by Sunlight' Selected by Tribeca's Through Her Lens Program for Funding". Hollywood's Black Renaissance. 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  15. ^ "Nikyatu Jusu - Headlands Center for the Arts". Headlands Center for the Arts. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  16. ^ "Nikyatu Jusu On Her Evocative Black Vampire Film 'Suicide By Sunlight' [Sundance Interview]". shadowandact.com. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  17. ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (2021-04-13). "Stay Gold Features & Topic Studios Team On Horror Film 'Nanny' From Nikyatu Jusu". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  18. ^ a b c Kroll, Justin (2022-02-01). "Monkeypaw And Universal Land 'Nanny' Director Nikyatu Jusu's Next Movie". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  19. ^ NIKYATU (2010-09-01), SAY GRACE BEFORE DROWNING | short film | NIKYATU JUSU, retrieved 2018-06-12
  20. ^ Martinez, Vanessa (2013-07-09). "Watch Teaser for Nikyatu Jusu's Upcoming Web Series 'Suicide by Sunlight'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  21. ^ "Rachel Weisz and Mira Nair Award "Suicide by Sunlight" at Through Her Lens Program - Women and Hollywood". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  22. ^ "Nikyatu Jusu". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  23. ^ "ABFF 2016 Winners". blackfilm.com. 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  24. ^ "20th Annual Black Reel Awards – Nominees Announced". blackfilm.com. 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  25. ^ "suicide-by-sunlight". www.sundance.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
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