Justin Simien is a writer, director, and producer of both television and film based in Los Angeles, California. In 2014 he wrote and directed his first feature film, the critically acclaimed Indie Dear White People, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. After being called “timely and important” by critics and audiences alike, the project won him the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent and was picked up by Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions.
After the theatrical release of Dear White People in the Fall of 2014, Simien was awarded Best First Screenplay and nominated for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film also earned him a nomination for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award at that year’s Gotham Awards, along with a nomination for the Audience Award. Actress Tessa Thompson also garnered a Breakthrough Actor win at the Gotham Awards for her leading performance as the fearless and controversial Sam White. Simien was included in Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch” roundup for that year.
Simien adapted Dear White People into a series for streaming giant Netflix, which debut in 2017, with many of the original cast returning to continue the story. The show, which recently debuted its second season, remains at a coveted and rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for both the first & second seasons. Simien’s next project will be writing and directing his second feature length film entitled Bad Hair. Paralleling the rise of New Jack Swing in 1989, Bad Hair is a horror satire that follows an ambitious young woman who gets a weave in order to survive the image obsessed world of music television. Her professional success comes at a higher cost than anticipated, however, when she discovers her new hair may have a mind of its own…
Contact: Website
Justin Simien on KCRW
More from KCRW
Afrofuturist utopias and ceramics made from Martian soil
ArtsThis art week’s picks include an artist’s Afrofuturist vision of utopia; textural paintings that highlight the pandemic-induced emotions; and ceramic forms made from simulated Martian…
Fox News falls to third place in cable rankings after years of dominance
HollywoodFox News ratings soared during a Trump presidency, but viewership numbers went down when Trump attacked the network.
LA looks to expand Project Roomkey
HomelessnessA few weeks ago, Los Angeles city and county officials were in the process of ending Project Roomkey, a program that places older and medically vulnerable people experiencing…
‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ creator Austin Winsberg and choreographer Mandy Moore
HollywoodAustin Winsberg, creator of the NBC series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” and producer-choreographer Mandy Moore check in from Canada, where they had just finished shooting the…
A deep dig into the distant past
HollywoodSutton Hoo, in the English countryside in Suffolk, was the site of one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of the 20th century.
UCSB students flood to ‘positive psychology’ series during pandemic
EducationCollege students have a lot on their plates these days: an upended academic career because of the pandemic, the specter of the virus itself, and the general stress of exams and…
Chillingly relevant American history from half a century ago
HollywoodIn Shaka King's remarkable "Judas and the Black Messiah," Fred Hampton and the Chicago Black Panthers struggle against racism in the late 1960's, unaware that the FBI has planted an…
Art Insider: These Pseudo-Cubist works stitch together ‘failed’ paintings
ArtsThis week’s art picks include Kate Barbee’s stitched-up pseudo-Cubist forms; a new gallery in Chinatown focused on elevating design objects; and Xylor Jane’s palindromic paintings.
David Duchovny: “Truly Like Lightning”
BooksDavid Duchovny speaks about his new novel, “Truly Like Lightning,” and its plot that matters.