Neema Barnette | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, United States | December 14, 1949
Occupation(s) | Director, producer |
Years active | 1982–present |
Spouse | Reed 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. [4] Since then, she accumulated a number of awards, including a Peabody, an Emmy and NAACP Image Award. [5]
Neema Barnette, born on December 14, 1949, is a native New Yorker. 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]
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(February 2022) |
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.
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]
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(February 2022) |
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]
YEAR | AWARDS | ORGANIZATION | NOMINATED WORK | RESULT |
---|---|---|---|---|
1983 (April) | Outstanding Children's Programming Award | Emmy Award | To Be A Man | Winner |
1993 | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows - Daytime | American Black Film Festival | CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984) For episode "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love | Nominee |
2002 (August) | Special Jury Prize Audience Award | Urbanworld Film Festival | Civil Brand | Winner |
2002 (June) | Blockbuster Audience Award | The Black American Film Festival | Civil Brand | Winner |
2003 (April) | Audience Award Official Selection Filin | Roxbury Black Film Festival n. [29] Philadelphia Film Festival | Civil Brand | Winner |
2003 (February) | Festival Award Sojourner Truth Award | Pan-African Film Festival | Civil Brand | Winner |
2006 (March) | Best Director - Television | Black Reel Awards | Miracle's Boys | Winner |
2017 | Trailblazer | Reel Sistas of the Diaspora NY Women in Film | Herself | Nominee |
Diahann Carroll was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. 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. Carroll was a major figure during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk, for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021.
Phylicia Rashad is an American actress. She is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University and best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000). She was dubbed "The Mother of the Black Community" at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards.
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.
Victoria Lynn Rowell is an American actress. 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.
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).
Deborah Kaye Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, 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, two Tony Awards, and has also won a Golden Globe Award and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.
Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in comedy series such as Andre "Dre" Johnson on Black-ish, drama series such as Marlin Boulet on K-Ville, and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama Law & Order and comedy sitcom television series Guys with Kids. He had major roles in feature films such as Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Kangaroo Jack (2003), Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), The Departed (2006), Transformers (2007), and Scream 4 (2011).
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
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun (1961). Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) and Do the Right Thing (1989).
Suzanna Celeste de Passe(sources differ) is an American businesswoman, television, music and film producer. De Passe serves as the co-chairwoman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group.
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.
Kimberly Elise Trammel is an American film and television actress. She made her feature film debut in Set It Off (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in Beloved (1998).
Kerry Marisa Washington is an American actress. She gained wide public recognition for starring as crisis management expert Olivia Pope in the ABC drama series Scandal (2012–2018). For her role, she was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and once for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. Her portrayal of Anita Hill in the HBO television political thriller film Confirmation (2016), and her role as Mia Warren in the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere (2020), both earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Glynn Russell Turman is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. First coming to attention as a child actor in the original 1959 Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun, Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 coming-of-age film Cooley High, math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford Taylor on the NBC sitcom A Different World (1988–1993), and Baltimore mayor Clarence Royce on the HBO drama series The Wire. He received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role on the HBO drama series In Treatment.
Paris K. C. Barclay is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television to date, for series such as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House, Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment and Glee; and more recently Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Watcher, and American Horror Story: NYC. He also serves as an Executive Producer on many of the shows he directs, and occasionally as a writer or co-creator as well. From 2013 to 2017, Barclay served two terms as the President of the Directors Guild of America.
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.
Winifred Celeste Hervey is an American television producer and screenwriter. She is sometimes credited as Winifred Hervey Stallworth.
Jo-Issa Rae Diop, credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl. Since 2011, Rae has continued to develop her YouTube channel, which features various short films, web series, and other content created by black people.
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).
Barnette-the first black woman to direct a primetime sitcom
'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, [...]