Neema Barnette

Last updated

Neema Barnette
Born (1949-12-14) December 14, 1949 (age 74)
New York City, United States
Occupation(s)Director, producer
Years active1982–present
SpouseReed R. McCants (1 child)

Neema Barnette is an American film director and producer, [1] [2] and the first African-American woman to direct a primetime sitcom. [3] Barnette was the first African-American woman to get a three-picture deal with Sony Pictures. [4] Since then, she accumulated a number of awards, including a Peabody, an Emmy and an NAACP Image Award. [5]

Contents

Early life

Neema Barnette, born on December 14, 1949, to African parentage. She attended the High School For The Performing Arts, and began her career as a stage actress. Barnette continued her education by attending The City College of New York earning a BA. She also received a MFA from NYU School Of The Arts. [6]

Career

At age 21, Barnette directed the play The Blue Journey by OyamO, at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. In 1982, Barnette co-produced the Emmy Award-winning After-School Special, "To Be a Man" along with Cliff Frazier, who was also the writer and director. The both won Emmys for Outstanding Children's Programming. The movie starred, Robert Earl Jones, Estelle Evans, Stuart Bascombe, Julius Hollingsworth and Curtis Worthy. James Earl Jones (Robert Earl Jones son), was executive director. [7] [6] [8] [9]

Barnette has directed stage, episodic television, made for TV movies and feature films. Sky Captain was her first short film which she directed as part of the American Film Institute's (AFI) Directing Workshop for Women in 1985. [10]

In 1990, she founded Harlem Girl Productions Corporation. Since 1997, Barnette has also worked for the Harlem Lite Productions. She has directed multiple seasons and episodes of a variety of television sitcoms including A Different World , The Cosby Show , Gilmore Girls , and 7th Heaven . [11]

In 1997, Barnette directed the film Spirit Lost, a psychological thriller with a love triangle that includes a ghost. [1] [12] Robin R. Means Coleman wrote in her book Horror Noire that Spirit Lost was a "rare horror film that was nearly an all-female affair" and that the film prominently featured characters that served as moral arbiter and saviors. [13] She would later revisit the film in her 2023 work The Black Guy Dies First, further noting the codependent relationship between John and the ghostly Arabella. [14]

In 2002, she was selected as one of ten artists to judge the American Film Institute's "Best Films Award". [15]

In 2003, Barnette directed her first feature film, an adaptation of Civil Brand, she told the Los Angeles Times it was inspired by the original screenplay by Preston A Whitmore II and by an urban women's prison tale. Even after her mother passed, she encouraged Barnette to continue pursuing the film. Once the movie was completed, it earned many awards and played film festivals like Sundance, the American Film Institute, and the American Black Film Festival in Miami where “Civil Brand” won the $15,000 Blockbuster audience award. [16] [17] [2]

Her most recent feature film is Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day (2012), her 11th movie and third for theatrical release. [18] The film is a thriller and family drama following the story of a marriage on the rocks, [19] which received an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Best Independent Feature in 2012. [20] Barnette directed two episodes of Being Mary Jane: "Hot Seat" and "Don't Call It A Comeback" (2015 - Season 3). [21] [22] Barnette is the Executive Producer of Black History Mini Docs, 90 second videos featuring the stories of African-American heroes and she-roes, as well as daily tributes which are posted on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. [20]

In 2009 Barnette directed a gospel musical film, "Heaven Ain't Hard to Find," starring Kim Whitley, Cliff Powell and Reed McCants, where it previewed on platforms on HBO and BET.

In 2016, she joined the series, Queen Sugas as director and producer. [23]

Barnette won her first NAACP Image® Award for her directing efforts, like "One More Hurdle," an NBC dramatic special. Another documentary of hers titled "The Silent Crime," an NBC about domestic violence, received four local Emmy® nominations. Her successful debut resulted in subsequent directing stints on "Hooperman," "The Royal Family," "China Beach" (Peabody Award), "Frank's Place" (Emmy® Award), "The Sinbad Show," "Diagnosis Murder," "A Different World" and many episodes of "The Cosby Show." [24] [25]

Neema Barnette is also part of the  DGA African American Steering Committee and a member of The Black Filmmakers Foundation since its inception. She is also an active AFI alumnus and takes part on the panel of the AFI Independent Film committee. She  has also played a part in being on the executive board of the IFP Gordon Parks Scholarship fund. She has been a judge for the NAACP Feature Film Award and serves as an annual judge for the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Personal

Barnette owns her own production company called Harlem Girl Productions, whilst also owning a production company titled Reel Rebel Productions with her husband Reed McCants. Notably, she is also the executive director of a theatre and performance company for young artists titled Live Theatre Gang. [26] Barnette is also a part-time teacher, where she teaches aspiring students a directing course at UCLA and USC. She spends the other part of her time running a theatre company titled Live Theatre Gang with her husband and actor, Reed R. McCants. [27]

Filmography

Films Directed

Television Directed

Produced

Awards

She has won numerous awards, honors, and nominations, among them an Emmy Award for her afterschool special To Be a Man, [45] two NAACP Image Awards, and a Sundance Film Festival Award. [46]

[47]

YEARAWARDSORGANIZATIONNOMINATED WORKRESULT
1983

(April)

Outstanding Children's Programming AwardEmmy AwardTo Be A ManWinner
1993Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows - DaytimeAmerican Black Film FestivalCBS Schoolbreak Special (1984)

For episode "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love

Nominee

2002

(August)

Special Jury Prize

Audience Award

Urbanworld Film Festival Civil BrandWinner
2002

(June)

Blockbuster Audience AwardThe Black American Film FestivalCivil BrandWinner
2003

(April)

Audience Award

Official Selection Filin

Roxbury Black Film Festival n. [29]

Philadelphia Film Festival

Civil BrandWinner
2003

(February)

Festival Award

Sojourner Truth Award

Pan-African Film FestivalCivil BrandWinner
2006

(March)

Best Director - TelevisionBlack Reel AwardsMiracle's BoysWinner
2017TrailblazerReel Sistas of the Diaspora

NY Women in Film

HerselfNominee

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whoopi Goldberg</span> American actor, comedian, and television personality (born 1955)

Caryn Elaine Johnson, known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg, is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality. A recipient of numerous accolades, she is one of 19 entertainers to receive the complete EGOT series of awards. In 2001, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Dash</span> American filmmaker and author (born 1962)

Julie Ethel Dash is an American filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author, and website producer. Dash received her MFA in 1985 at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the L.A. Rebellion. The L.A. Rebellion refers to the first African and African-American students who studied film at UCLA. Through their collective efforts, they sought to put an end to the prejudices of Hollywood by creating experimental and unconventional films. The main goal of these films was to create original Black stories and bring them to the main screens. After Dash had written and directed several shorts, her 1991 feature Daughters of the Dust became the first full-length film directed by an African-American woman to obtain general theatrical release in the United States. In 2004, Daughters of the Dust was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance". Stemming from the film's success, Dash also released novels of the same title in 1992 and 1999. The film was later a key inspiration for Beyoncé's 2016 album Lemonade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diahann Carroll</span> American actress and singer (1935–2019)

Diahann Carroll was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She was one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Carroll was the recipient of numerous stage and screen nominations and awards, including her Tony Award in 1962, Golden Globe Award in 1968, and five Emmy Award nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phylicia Rashad</span> American actress (born 1948)

Phylicia Rashad is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three year contract ended in May 2024. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm-Jamal Warner</span> American actor

Malcolm-Jamal Warner is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. He is also known for his roles as Malcolm McGee on the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, and Dr. Alex Reed in the sitcom Reed Between the Lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Rowell</span> American actress

Victoria Lynn Rowell is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film Leonard Part 6. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless as Drucilla Winters, her signature and longest role on television, for which she was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. She departed from the show in 2007. Rowell is also well known for her role as Dr. Amanda Bentley in the CBS medical crime drama Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001). From 1993 to 2000, she appeared on both series simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracee Ellis Ross</span> American actress

Tracee Joy Silberstein, known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends (2000–2008) and Black-ish (2014–2022) receiving nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Allen</span> American actress (born 1950)

Deborah Kaye Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards. She has won a Golden Globe Award, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Anderson</span> American actor and comedian (born 1970)

Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in television shows such as Andre "Dre" Johnson on the comedy series Black-ish (2014–2022), Marlin Boulet on the drama series K-Ville (2007), and NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama Law & Order. He has also had major roles in feature films such as Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Kangaroo Jack (2003), Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), Hustle & Flow (2005), The Departed (2006), Transformers (2007), and Scream 4 (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasmine Guy</span> American actress and singer (born 1962)

Jasmine Chanel Guy is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. She portrayed Dina in the 1988 film School Daze and Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, which originally ran from 1987 to 1993. Guy won four consecutive NAACP Image Awards from 1990 through 1993 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the show. She played Roxy Harvey on Dead Like Me and as Sheila "Grams" Bennett on The Vampire Diaries. She also played the role of Gemma on Grey's Anatomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. Epatha Merkerson</span> American actress (born 1952)

S. Epatha Merkerson is an American actress. She has received accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, two Obie Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. She is known for her portrayal of NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series. She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med since the series premiered in November 2015

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby Dee</span> American actress (1922–2014)

Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. Dee was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including two Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, a Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1995, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2000, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.

Suzanna Celeste de Passe is an American businesswoman, television, music and film producer. De Passe serves as the co-chairwoman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regina King</span> American actress and director (born 1971)

Regina Rene King is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberly Elise</span> American actress (born 1967)

Kimberly Elise Trammel is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in Set It Off (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in Beloved (1998).

Melina Matsoukas is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner for her "We Found Love" and "Formation" music videos. She was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the American Film Institute in 2019. Her directorial debut in film was Queen & Slim, starring Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya, and written by Lena Waithe. She then worked as executive producer and director for television series Insecure, being nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020.

Rosanna Rolle Carter was a Bahamian American television, stage and film actress, who was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to two Bahamian parents, and the sister of Esther Rolle and Estelle Evans, one of 18 children. During the Harlem Renaissance, she acted at New Lafayette Theater as one of the Lafayette Players. She acted in The Brother from Another Planet, a well-reviewed 1984 film described by its director as a science fiction allegory of immigration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danielle Brooks</span> American actress (born 1989)

Danielle Brooks is an American actress and singer. Her breakthrough role was as prison inmate Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019).

Hanelle M. Culpepper is an American filmmaker, best known for her work in television directing episodes of 90210, Parenthood, Criminal Minds, Revenge, Grimm, and Star Trek: Discovery along with other series. Prior to working in television, she worked as a production assistant and directed and produced short films. She also directed the thriller feature films Within (2009), Deadly Sibling Rivalry (2011), Murder on the 13th Floor (2012) and Hunt for the Labyrinth Killer (2013).

References

  1. 1 2 Thomas, Kevin (August 29, 2003). "Civil Brand". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Scott, A. O. (October 10, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; Tough Women in the Pen Decide to Get Tougher". The New York Times . Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  3. ↑ Randle, Nancy (January 12, 1993). "Tackling issues Steinem's behind-the-scenes efforts give life to 'Better Off Dead'". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved November 15, 2009. Barnette-the first black woman to direct a primetime sitcom[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ Lundberg, Bengt (August 4, 2016). "Museologi som vetenskapligt fält". Nordisk Museologi (2): 39. doi: 10.5617/nm.3563 . ISSN   2002-0503.
  5. ↑ O'Falt, Chris (September 14, 2016). "'Queen Sugar': Director Neema Barnette is Ava Duvernay's Secret Weapon In Shattering the Glass Ceiling". IndieWire. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Alex, G. Keith (January 7, 2022). "What's Hot! HarlemAmerica with G. Keith Alexander S2E01 – Neema Barnette". HarlemAmerica. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  8. ↑ "89 FOR 1989 : Meet Southern California's Rising Stars". Los Angeles Times. January 1, 1989.
  9. ↑ Boyd, Herb; FRAZIER, with ALIYA; Diaz, Minerva (February 10, 2022). "Cliff Frazier, a man for all seasons and a life of purpose". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  10. ↑ Gregory, Mollie (August 24, 2002). Women Who Run the Show: How a Brilliant and Creative New Generation of Women Stormed Hollywood. Macmillan. ISBN   9780312301828.
  11. ↑ "A Different World : How Great Thou Art (1991) - Neema Barnette | Cast and Crew | AllMovie" . Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  12. ↑ McClain, Shonda (June 10, 1995). "'Spirit Lost' a low-down psychological thriller". Indianapolis Recorder . Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 'Spirit Lost' is the story of a 'brother' who is caught between two women, one of whom happens to be a ghost. Directed by Neema Barnette, [...]
  13. ↑ Coleman, Robin R. Means (March 1, 2013). Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present. Routledge. pp. 182–183. ISBN   978-1-136-94293-8.
  14. ↑ Coleman, Robin R. Means; Harris, Mark H. (February 7, 2023). The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar. Simon and Schuster. p. 172. ISBN   978-1-9821-8655-5.
  15. ↑ Women in the Arts & Media Coalition
  16. ↑ "A story that couldn't stay locked up". Los Angeles Times. August 25, 2003. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  17. ↑ "A story that couldn't stay locked up". Los Angeles Times. August 25, 2003. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. April 14, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  19. ↑ Jason Buchanan (2015). "Woman-Thou-Art-Loosed-On-the-7th-Day - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  20. 1 2 "About BHMD". www.blackhistoryminidocs.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  21. ↑ Neema. "Barnette". IMDb .
  22. ↑ "Being Mary Jane Season 3". Season Episode.me. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  23. ↑ Petski, Denise (February 15, 2016). "Neema Barnette Joins OWN Drama Series 'Queen Sugar' As Director & Producer". Deadline. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  24. ↑ Knight, Jenny (January 5, 2000). "For the record". Nursing Standard. 14 (16): 20–22. doi:10.7748/ns.14.16.20.s39. ISSN   0029-6570. PMID   11209431.
  25. ↑ "Neema Barnette Returns to Episodic Television". blackhistoryminidocs.com. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Biography - Neema Barnette". Friday Moviez. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Director Neema Barnette Talks Filming at the Schomburg Center and Her Trailblazing Career". The New York Public Library. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  28. ↑ Gregory, Mollie (2002). Women Who Run the Show: How a Brilliant and Creative New Generation of Women Stormed. MacMillan. p. 423. ISBN   9780312316341 . Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  29. 1 2 "School of Theater, Film and Television". TFT UCLA EDU. UCLA. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  30. ↑ Barnette, Neema (March 21, 2021). "Aretha: Until the Real Thing Comes Along". EUE / Sokolow, Fox 21 Television Studios, Imagine Television. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Watch Genius: Aretha Season 3 Episode 2 Until the Real Thing Comes Along Online". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  32. ↑ Barnette, Neema (March 22, 2021). "Aretha: Do Right Woman". EUE / Sokolow, Fox 21 Television Studios, Imagine Television. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  33. ↑ Rose (Going Home), August 7, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019
  34. ↑ If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right, June 22, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019
  35. 1 2 Clamorous Night, April 20, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019
  36. ↑ Gregory, Mollie (2002). Women Who Run the Show: How a Brilliant and Creative New Generation of Women Stormed. MacMillan. p. 423. ISBN   9780312316341 . Retrieved December 13, 2015.[ verification needed ]
  37. ↑ "School of Theater, Film and Television". TFT UCLA EDU. UCLA. Retrieved December 13, 2015.[ verification needed ]
  38. ↑ The Fundamental Things Apply, October 21, 2003, retrieved March 13, 2019
  39. ↑ Haiti and the Tramp, June 13, 2000, retrieved March 13, 2019
  40. ↑ Rush to Judgment, January 19, 1998, retrieved March 13, 2019
  41. ↑ The Trash Man, January 2, 1996, retrieved March 13, 2019
  42. ↑ Together Again, April 12, 1989, retrieved March 13, 2019
  43. ↑ "It's a Living (TV Series 1980–1989)", IMDb, retrieved March 13, 2019
  44. ↑ "Neema Barnette". IMDb. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  45. ↑ Chideya, Farai (October 19, 2007). "Honoring Black Female Filmmakers". NPR. National Public Radio . Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  46. ↑ "Sundance Institute". sundance.org. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  47. ↑ "SERIES OF VIDEOS BY AND ABOUT BLACKS". The New York Times. July 26, 1985. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.