Jenn Nkiru
Jenn NKIRU is Grammy-winning visionary artist and director from Peckham, London. She got her MFA in Film at Howard University. Her first film, En Vogue (2014), screened internationally to critical success. Her works have screened internationally at institutions ranging from The Metropolitan Museum of Art to The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art in LA, the Tate Modern, the ICA London, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane. Her work is also held in the MoMA archives. Nkiru was also one of 75 artists selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2019 Whitney Biennial. She is the 2021 Grammy Award Winner for Best Music Video for her direction on Brown Skin Girl by Beyoncé. She is additionally the winner of a CICLOPE, Soul Train, Cannes Lion and NAACP award for the same video. Her film OUT / SIDE OF TIME (2021), currently sits in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, as a part of their exhibition ‘Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room’. December 2022 saw Nkiru’s TV directorial debut with the release of the second season of Random Acts of Flyness, of which she directed two episodes, premiering on HBO. In January 2023, Variety named Nkiru as one of 10 Brits to Watch in 2023.
Filmography
(all short) En Vogue (2014), Celebrating Women in Art (2017), Rebirth Is Necessary (2017), BLACK TO TECHNO (2019), OUT/SIDE OF TIME (2021), The Great North (2024)
More info: Jenn Nkiru
Jenn Nkiru at IFFR
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The Great North
The industrial revolution, modern architecture and Black histories are woven together in this surrealist short.
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AS TOLD TO G/D THYSELF
The cosmic journey of sacred youth, during which pain, pleasure and sublimation are non-negotiable.
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G/D THYSELF: Spirit Strategy On Raising Free Black Children
This ritual space invites you to explore metaphysical transcendence, spirituality and self-expression and use the space for their own rituals and t
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Black to Techno
Techno, a futuristic sound falling into the legacy of Black music, but not often celebrated as such. Featuring cameos from Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul, Det
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Hub Tones
Through Hub Tones, Kamasi Washington hopes to connect with his ancestors, merging Freddie Hubbard with African rhythms. Jenn Nkiru visually communi
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Rebirth Is Necessary
An audio-visual explosion of dream-like and documentary excerpts, from Sun Ra to the Black Panthers, depicting black experiences and the concept of