Going to South Africa and seeing my work receive international attention. I saw so much, met so many dynamic people, and received more inspiration than I have in the past. 

Time. Money will come and go, but I want my energy, time, and focus to be used for the right things. But this pandemic has taught me to lean into my spirituality, and that gives me peace with anything concerning my future. 

Realizing my purpose as a writer and actress. I started traveling a lot more in 2016 which affected my creativity and the work I wanted to make. I visited and shot something in Ghana and really enjoyed that process. Shortly after I lived in South Africa for three months. I had the pleasure of collaborating with… Read More @imcrystaljoy @_inthebluroom: What’s a defining moment in your life?

I’m attracted to certain narratives and I wasn’t seeing those types of stories being told in Hollywood so I transitioned from acting to creating my own work, which morphed into founding my own production company, Bu Room Productions. If I was going to do this, I wanted to be in control of my career and not… Read More @imcrystaljoy @_inthebluroom: Why did you decide to get into this industry?

I don’t collect anything, per se, but I love, love, love making playlists. We can call that a collection of songs. I love curating musical experiences in really intentional ways. If I weren’t making films, I’d be a DJ or a Spotify curator. 

It’s okay to know what you want and go for it. If you have a vision, own it. I’ve had moments in my directing career where I’ve tried to be too sweet or accommodating and it had negative impacts on a project. I’m learning how to be bold. Your vision, your boldness, your power–that’s the… Read More @micah_ariel11: What advice do you have for other women in the industry?

n the course of three months I received two playwriting awards from the Kennedy Center, got into my first festival (BlackStar Film Festival), and wrote the first draft of my web series Black Enough (@blackenough__). I’m grateful to have had other successful moments since then, but that gave me the momentum to keep writing and… Read More @micah_ariel11: What is a successful moment in your career so far? I

I’m often afraid of not following my dreams. I get scared that I’ll be 70 years old wondering what happened to my life. I don’t want to give up because this industry is daunting. I want to give it everything I’ve got. The reality is, I’m following my dreams right now. With God on my… Read More @micah_ariel11: What is your biggest concern with the future?

I took a class called “The Films of Spike Lee” in undergrad with professor Maurice Wallace. It was in that class that I started to develop language for my own work and decided that I wanted to go to NYU Tisch for grad school. And I did! I just graduated with my MFA in Dramatic… Read More @micah_ariel11: What’s a defining moment in your life?

I wanted to see more nuanced images of people who look like me. I began my career as a playwright (and still do write plays). I discovered that my style of storytelling translated to the screen in a way that made me excited about my scripts. Being a filmmaker seemed like a dream that was… Read More @micah_ariel11: Why did you decide to get into this industry?