Channing Godfrey Peoples

Last updated
Channing Godfrey Peoples
NationalityAmerican
Education Baylor University (BA)
University of Southern California (MFA)
OccupationWriter, director, producer
Years active2013 ― present
Notable work
Miss Juneteenth
Spouse(s)Neil Creque Williams
Children1

Channing Godfrey Peoples is an American writer, director, and producer. Her feature film directorial debut Miss Juneteenth received critical acclaim. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Peoples was raised on the south side of Fort Worth in what she referred to as "Black Texas". [3] [4] [5] Her family regularly attended Black theatre performances, which influenced Peoples to read classic Black literature by writers such as Toni Morrison and Gloria Naylor. [6]

She received her bachelor's degree in theater from Baylor University and her master of fine arts degree from University of Southern California. [4] [6]

Career

Miss Juneteenth

Peoples began writing Miss Juneteenth in 2013, shortly after completing film school. [7] She was inspired to write the film because she grew up attending Juneteenth celebrations and Miss Juneteenth pageants and the holiday holds great significance for her. [3] She attended the Sundance Creative Producing Summit and other writing workshops to continue to develop the screenplay. [1] When the film was in pre-production, Peoples was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film 2018. [2] Miss Juneteenth, also Peoples' directorial debut, premiered at Sundance 2020 and was released VOD on Juneteenth of that year. [3] [8] The film received critical acclaim and holds a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [9]

She cites Julie Dash, Jonathan Demme, and her mentor Charles Burnett as influences. [7]

Other work

Peoples wrote two episodes of the third season of Queen Sugar . [6] [10]

In January 2021 it was announced that Peoples signed a first look deal with Universal Content Productions. [11] Her first scheduled project is to create a television adaptation of Miss Juneteenth . [11]

Peoples' wrote and directed the short film Doretha's Blues, which debuted at SXSW in 2021. [12] The movie stars Tonea Stewart and follows "a former musician whose son was killed by police and who can no longer find it in her to sing." [13] She was inspired to write Doretha's Blues in the aftermath of Michael Brown's death, as she was interested in the lives of the family left behind. [12] Like Miss Juneteenth, the film is set in Fort Worth, Texas. [14]

Personal life

Peoples is married to producer Neil Creque Williams, whom she met in her graduate program at USC. [3] They have one daughter (b. 2018). [3]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleWriterDirectorProducer
2020 Miss Juneteenth [12] YesYesYes
2021 Doretha's Blues [12] YesYesNo

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2020 Gotham Independent Film Awards Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award Miss Juneteenth Nominated [15]
2020 SXSW Louis Black Lone Star AwardWon [16]
2020 BlackStar Film Festival Best Narrative FeatureWon [17]
2020 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Woman DirectorNominated [18]
2020 National Board of Review Best Directorial DebutWon [19]
2020 Satellite Awards Best First FeatureWon [20]
2020 Independent Spirit Awards Best First FeatureNominated [21]
Best First ScreenplayNominated
2021 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Independent FeatureNominated [22]
Outstanding DirectorNominated
Outstanding Emerging DirectorNominated
Outstanding First ScreenplayNominated
Austin Film Festival New Voice AwardWon [23]

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References

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  2. 1 2 Christian, Daniel. "Channing Godfrey Peoples". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Jackson, Angelique. "How Channing Godfrey Peoples' Directorial Debut 'Miss Juneteenth' Explores the Meaning of Freedom". Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 Searles, Jourdain (2020-09-23). ""This is a story about people trying to get their freedom": Channing Godfrey Peoples on her debut feature Miss Juneteenth". BFI. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  5. Murray, Cori (2020-06-19). "'Miss Juneteenth' Director Channing Godfrey Peoples' Celebrates The Beauty Of Black Texas". Essence. Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
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  19. Davis, Clayton (2021-01-26). "National Board of Review Names 'Da 5 Bloods' Best Picture, Spike Lee Becomes Second Black Director Winner". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  20. "2020 Nominees". Press Academy. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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