Post by Laurence Aikens

Rick Famuyiwa (June 18, 1973) is a filmmaker and television director. He is known for the films The Wood (1999), Brown Sugar (2002), and Dope (2015), as well as for his work on the television series The Mandalorian, for which he directed five episodes and served as an executive producer for the third season. His films have been nominated for or won multiple awards, including in 2008, when he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture for the film Talk To Me (2007). He grew up in Inglewood. The son of Nigerian immigrants, he is a second-generation American. After high school, he attended USC and double-majored in Cinematic Arts Film & Television Production and Cinematic Arts Critical Studies. He worked intimately with film professor Todd Boyd, who would help write and produce his first feature film. Before graduation, he created a 12-minute short film titled Blacktop Lingo that garnered positive critical feedback and led to an invitation to the Sundance Filmmaker’s Institute. In 1997, during his time at the Sundance Directors’ Lab, he put the finishing touches on The Wood, his first feature film. He married Glenita Mosley (1999). #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence