Tayarisha Poe

Tayarisha Poe is an American writer and director. Her feature directorial debut Selah and the Spades won the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2019 BlackStar Film Festival and premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Poe's sophomore film, The Young Wife, was released at the 2023 South by Southwest film festival.

Life and career Poe was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She graduated from the Peddie School in New Jersey and received her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in 2012. She initially planned to pursue a career as an attorney, but turned her interest towards filmmaking in college. Poe has named Terence Nance, Anna Rose Holmer, and Kasi Lemmons as three of her mentors. In 2016 she received support to develop the film through the Sundance Institute's Knight Foundation Fellowship. The film was well-received, with critics praising the production design, the acting, and the "naturalistic" script.

Filmography Film