Shaka King
Shaka King | |
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Born | New York City, U.S. | March 7, 1980
Alma mater | |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2009–present |
Shaka King (born March 7, 1980) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for directing and co-writing the 2021 biopic Judas and the Black Messiah.
Biography[]
An only child, King was born on March 7, 1980[citation needed] in Crown Heights and grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, both in Brooklyn, New York City.[1][2] His mother's family was from Barbados and Panama, while his father's family was from Panama.[3] Both parents worked as public school teachers.[1] King's early education occurred in the neighborhoods of Spanish Harlem and Fort Greene.[3] He attended a predominately white preparatory school in Bay Ridge during his middle and high school years.[4] It was in high school that he discovered his passion for creative writing.[1]
King studied political science and took his first film production course at Vassar College. After graduating, he practiced screenwriting while working as a youth counselor and tutor.[1] In 2007, he entered a graduate film program at New York University Tisch School of the Arts where he was a student of Spike Lee.[5] King's thesis for his masters of fine arts resulted in the feature film Newlyweeds.[2]
King currently lives in the borough of Brooklyn.[6]
Career[]
King's debut feature film Newlyweeds is about a free-spirited young couple who live in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who prefer to indulge in marijuana and hashish.[7] The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He presented his next film, Mulignans, in the USA Narrative Short Films program at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[8] His 2017 short film LaZercism, starring Lakeith Stanfield, tells of a world in which white people suffer from “racist glaucoma,” a disease that prevents them from being aware of their black fellow citizens.[9] Stanfield also appears in King's second feature film Judas and the Black Messiah, in which Daniel Kaluuya plays the role of Fred Hampton.[1]
Filmography[]
Films[]
Year | Title | Credited as | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | ||
2013 | Newlyweeds | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2021 | Judas and the Black Messiah | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Short films[]
Year | Title | Credited as | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | ||
2009 | Mariachi | No | No | Yes |
2009 | Cocoa Loco | Yes | No | No |
2010 | Herkimer DuFrayne 7th Grade Guidance Counselor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2015 | Mulignans | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2017 | LaZercism | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Television[]
Year | Title | Credited as | Number of
Episodes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | |||
2016 | High Maintenance | Yes | Yes | 2 |
2016-17 | People of Earth | Yes | No | 5 |
2018 | Random Acts of Flyness | No | Yes | 1 |
2019-20 | Shrill | Yes | No | 4 |
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award | Title | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | NAACP Image Awards | Shrill | Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series | Nominated | [10] |
2021 | Academy Awards | Judas and the Black Messiah | Best Picture | Nominated | |
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
2021 | Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
2021 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Nominated |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Ugwu, Reggie (February 12, 2021). "Shaka King Goes to Hollywood". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Farley, Christopher John (July 9, 2013). "A Singular Effort On a Joint Project". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b IndieWire Staff (January 22, 2013). "Meet the 2013 Sundance Filmmakers #40: Shaka King Tells the Story of an Unusual Threesome in 'Newlyweeds'". IndieWire. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Juzwiak, Rich. ""Is There Such a Thing as Black Pop Culture?": Director Shaka King". Gawker. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ "How 'Judas and the Black Messiah,' 'Da 5 Bloods' and 'One Night in Miami' Capture the Radical Spirit of the 1960s and Beyond". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ "Shaka King". Film Independent. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (September 18, 2013). "Love and Paranoia in Brooklyn: Yes, They Inhale. Repeatedly. (Published 2013)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Salovaara, Sarah. "Shaka King on Releasing His Sundance Short Mulignans Online". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Macaulay, Scott (May 31, 2017). "Watch: Shaka King Erases "Racial Glaucoma" in Short Film LaZercism". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
External links[]
- 1980 births
- African-American film directors
- African-American film producers
- African-American screenwriters
- African-American television directors
- American male screenwriters
- American people of Barbadian descent
- American people of Panamanian descent
- American television directors
- Artists from Brooklyn
- Film directors from New York (state)
- Film directors from New York City
- Film producers from New York (state)
- Living people
- People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
- Screenwriters from New York (state)
- Tisch School of the Arts alumni
- Vassar College alumni
- Writers from Brooklyn