Following her film making venture which explores Inclusiveness, violence, racism and describes the lives of African women in the diaspora, Award winning African American screenwriter and director Diandrea “Dee” Rees best known for her feature films Pariah (2011), Bessie (2015), and Mudbound (2017) has made history as the first black woman to be nominated for any Academy Award in a writing category, the first black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the first black woman to direct a film for which an actor or actress was nominated for an Academy Award.
Dee Rees who started out as a marketing executive in a pharmaceutical industry before venturing into film making has made Inclusivity the core of her work since the inception of her career by laying the bedrock for an inclusive black lesbian community.
In 2011, her movie “Pariah” explored the complexities of religion, politics and socio-economic class within and surrounding a Black family, sparking Conversations that were focused on blackness and sexuality in a new way and providing authentic experiences of young Black lesbian women in a way that gives the characters depth and power.
In 2017 came “Mudbound” which tells a story of racism and race relations comparing and contrasting the experiences of white and Black folks of the period.
In 2018, she was nominated for NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing. Rees doesn’t take her role as a storyteller lightly, she actively uses it to share meaningful stories from voices that have historically been less likely to be heard. In a world where racism, exclusion and discrimination is the order of the day, it’s always a breath of fresh air to find and celebrate women who take it upon themselves to stay authentic and fight for a cause they believe in.
Go Dee Rees!
Culled from popsugar
