Nia DaCosta

Last updated

Nia DaCosta
Born (1989-11-08) November 8, 1989 (age 34)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Education
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
Years active2009–present

Nia DaCosta (born November 8, 1989) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She made her feature film debut as a writer and director for her crime thriller film Little Woods (2018). Nia garnered wide acclaim for winning the Nora Ephron Prize for Female Filmmakers at the Tribeca Film Festival. [1] DaCosta became the youngest black female director to hit No. 1 at the box office for the weekend opening of her horror mystery film Candyman (2021). She is the first black woman to direct a superhero film, The Marvels (2023). [2] She is currently in production on an adaptation of Hedda Gabler . [3]

Contents

Early life

Nia DaCosta was born on November 8, 1989, in Brooklyn and raised in Harlem. Her mother, Charmaine DaCosta, emigrated from Jamaica and was a founding vocalist of the American musical group Worl-A-Girl. [4] DaCosta's original aspiration was to become a poet. When she was 16 years old, DaCosta took an A.P. English class, where she was exposed to the work of Joseph Conrad upon reading his book Heart of Darkness . DaCosta became obsessed with films after watching Apocalypse Now , which led her to study cinema from the New Hollywood era, finding inspiration in directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. [1] Citing Scorsese in particular as her primary influence, DaCosta enrolled at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts before graduating in 2011. [5] There, she met Scorsese while working as a television production assistant. [1] She received her graduate degree in London from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. [6]

Career

After finishing school, DaCosta began working as a television production assistant, where she worked with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Steve McQueen, and Steven Soderbergh. [1] DaCosta worked as a crew member on productions like Shark Loves the Amazon (2011), I Love the 1880s (2012) and Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life (2013). [7] After working as a crew member on sets, she began writing short films like Livelihood (2014) and Celeste (2014). [8] [9] Soon DaCosta wrote the script for Little Woods. It was one of the 12 projects chosen for the 2015 Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs. [10] There she became friends with Tessa Thompson, who was later cast in the role of Ollie. [11] She funded a short film version of what would eventually become her first feature film released through Neon and Kickstarter with the help of 72 backers, who eventually raised $5,100. [12] [ better source needed ] After finishing Little Woods, DaCosta directed two episodes of the third season of the crime-drama Top Boy . [8] DaCosta became a co-creator, alongside Aron Eli Coleite, when she worked on an 8-episode web series called Ghost Tape (2020). [13] Afterwards DaCosta fulfilled a dream of hers when she began working with Jordan Peele, who later became her mentor, while working on the Candyman (2021) film. [2]

Little Woods

The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018, and was awarded the Nora Ephron award for "excellence in storytelling by a female writer or director". [14] The film's distribution rights were bought by Neon and was released in theaters in the United States on April 19, 2019. [15] Little Woods (2018) production took place in the winter of 2017 and 2018. They shot the film in North Dakota and Austin, Texas. Filming occurred over January and February when the weather was 'extreme.' DaCosta further remarked on the production aspect of the film, "It's very difficult for a woman to just pop up in the studio system. But I think the same systemic issues that affect how much work women get to make is also inside the indie space. While there are more women working, we definitely get less money". [16] DaCosta cites Debra Granik's Winter's Bone and Courtney Hunt's Frozen River were sources of inspiration for DaCosta's script. [17] In a 2018 interview, DaCosta stated the importance to her of telling stories of "women who are active" rather than passive figures in movies led by men. [18] In an interview with Inverse, she explained her inspiration for the film, "I need to explore this, and I want to tell a story about this because it's important." [19]

Candyman

DaCosta was chosen to helm what was described as a spiritual sequel to the original Candyman (1992) in 2018. The film returned to the Chicago neighborhood of the first film. [20] The film was produced by Jordan Peele through Monkeypaw Productions, with Peele citing the original as "a landmark film for Black representation in the horror genre". [20] DaCosta explains that for Candyman, it was much easier to tell the story because the people to experience these issues are the ones sharing the story. [21] Yahya Abdul-Mateen II starred in the film, with Tony Todd returning as the film's titular villain, and Teyonah Parris, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett co-starring. [22] [23] Production began in the spring of 2019, and wrapped the following September. [20] [24] The original teaser trailer was released on June 17, 2021. Universal Pictures released the film theatrically on August 27, 2021 and received positive reviews. [25] [26] Dacosta was intent on not depicting the everyday horrors committed against black people. Her priority was to inflict psychological terror and steer clear of current event depictions. Candyman (2021) was set to be released during the Black Lives Matter movement. [27] While working on the Top Boy series in London she learned that she was on Peele's shortlist to direct the film, and she became the first African-American female director to have a film debut at the top of the box office. [28]

The Marvels

In August 2020, DaCosta was hired to direct the upcoming Marvel Studios film The Marvels , the sequel to Captain Marvel (2019), [2] [29] after having initially approached them with a Fantastic Four / X-Men crossover movie. [30] It was released on November 10, 2023. [31] She is the fourth woman to direct a Marvel film behind Anna Boden, Cate Shortland, and Chloé Zhao. She is the youngest director and first African American woman to have directed a Marvel film. [32] The film debuted to $46.1 million, topping the box office and marking the best opening figure ever for a black female director, but also marked the lowest opening weekend total ever for an MCU film. The film received mixed to positive reviews, but DaCostas direction received praise. [33] [34] [35]

Awards and nominations

DaCosta was the first African American woman to have a number one film at the American box office. Her first film, Little Woods, received the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival for "excellence in storytelling by a female writer or director." [1] The film also won Best Narrative Feature and Best Director at the Fargo Film Festival 2019. [36] She also received nominations for her film Candyman for "Most Anticipated Film for the Rest of 2021" at the 2021 Hollywood Critics Association, [37] and won the awards for "Directors to Watch", and "Best Horror Film" respectively. [38] [39] With her directorial work in Candyman, DaCosta received her first nomination at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture, [40] and at the Black Reel and Awards for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original. [41]

Filmography

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotesRef.
2009The Black Girl Dies LastYesYesNoAlso actor [42] [43]
2013Night and DayYesNoYesAlso editor
2014CelesteNoYesNo
LivelihoodNoYesNo

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2018 Little Woods YesYesNo
2021 Candyman YesYesNo
2023 The Marvels YesYesNo
TBA Hedda YesYesYes

Television

YearTitleNotes
2019 Top Boy Episodes "Bonfire Night" and "Smoke Gets in Your Hands"
2022 Ms. Marvel Episode: "No Normal"; mid-credits scene [44]

Theme park attractions

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References

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  8. 1 2 "2020-21 Lecture Series : Nia DaCosta". Pratt Institute. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
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  41. ↑ Fraley, Jason (December 16, 2021). "'The Harder They Fall' leads Black Reel Awards with record 20 nominations". WTOP News. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
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