Chinonye Chukwu

Chinonye Chukwu ( ; born May 19, 1985 ) is a Nigerian-American film director best known for the drama films Clemency and Till. She is the first black woman to win the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Early life and education Chukwu was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. When she was just over a year old, her family moved to Oklahoma, and moved again to Fairbanks, Alaska when she was six. She then enrolled in film school at Temple University.

Career Chukwu directed The Dance Lesson in 2010, about a young black girl who struggles to become a ballerina in an increasingly gentrified community. Her first feature film, Alaska-Land (2012), told the story of an estranged Nigerian-American brother and sister who eventually reunite in their hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska. The film was rejected from every festival and lab program she applied to. In 2013 she directed A Long Walk (2013), a short film about a child who is publicly ridiculed by his father.

Clemency (2019) was written and directed by Chukwu. The death row drama stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden coming to terms with the demands of her profession and Aldis Hodge as one of her inmates bound for execution. Her inspiration for the film came from the case of Troy Davis, a prisoner executed in 2011. She moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to shoot the film.

In 2019, it was reported that Chukwu was slated to direct A Taste Of Power, a film based on the memoir of the same name by Elaine Brown.

Chukwu wrote and directed the 2022 film Till, a biographical film about Mamie Till-Mobley's pursuit of justice after the 1955 lynching of her 14-year-old son Emmett Louis Till.

In 2023, it was reported that Chukwu was slated to direct Wolf Hustle, a film based on the memoir of the same name by Cin Fabré for Apple Studios.

Filmography Short film + Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2009 Igbo Kwenu! 2010 The Dance Lesson Also editor 2012 Bottom Also editor 2013 Dust Mud Lotus Also first assistant director A Long Walk

Feature film + Year Title Director Writer Producer 2012 alaskaLand 2019 Clemency 2022 Till

Other credits + Year Title Role Notes 2008 Chronic Town Production assistant 2011 5 AfternoonsProduction manager Short film 2013 A Historical Approach to the Positive Music: Jazz in Philadelphia! Documentary

Television + Year Title Note 2019 Sorry for Your Loss Episode "I'm Here"

Awards and nominations Year Title Award/Nomination 2010 The Dance Lesson Honorary Mention, Los Angeles International Film Festival 2019 Clemency Nominee, Black Reel Awards: Outstanding Screenplay, Outstanding Emerging Director, Outstanding First Screenplay, and Outstanding Independent Feature Winner, Sundance Film Festival, U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize