Chinonye Chukwu is the first black woman to win Sundance’s top honor, and it’s about time
For the first time in Sundance’s history, a black woman has taken home the film festival’s Grand Jury Prize. Nigerian-American filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu earned the top spot in the U.S. Dramatic category for her film Clemency, a death row drama about a female prison warden struggling with the emotional rigors of her job.
Chukwu was inspired to write this story after Troy Davis’ tragic and controversial 2011 execution. She spent the next four years doing research, telling Shadow and Act that she met “with many wardens and retired wardens, and various corrections staff and executive staff, and lawyers, and men and women, and people who were incarcerated. They all informed my kind of creation of the characters, my building and my writing of the characters, and my approach to how to portray them.”
Many Sundance attendees took to Twitter to praise the film, including Ava DuVernay, who was the first black woman to win a Sundance directing award for her 2012 film Middle of Nowhere.
Congrats to @ChinonyeC and the cast and crew of her film. And all the casts and crews of every film at Sundance this year. Beautiful fest lineup with many gems. Brava, @KimYutani and the whole Sundance team! https://t.co/ETDfPdl7fR
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 3, 2019
CLEMENCY triumphs because of the years of research, service, and heart @ChinonyeC put in to this film. Chukwu captured reality because she actively sought and witnessed reality. @clemencythefilm
— Lisa Gullickson (@sidewalksiren) February 2, 2019
I didn’t get the chance to talk to you after the film.. but I can’t thank you enough. This is the reason I want to make films that spread the word and show why we should care as a community.
— Lyss (@blonded013) February 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1091781097455706112
You are one incredibly brave, amazing & beautiful person to make this critical film. Thank you @ChinonyeC for all the light & love you’ve brought to this critical subject. 👊🏾✨❤️ Let humanity continue 2 #wakeupwiseupriseup to what it is to be a living life as a whole human being.
— WUWURU (@WUWURUworld) February 1, 2019
An audience member next to me wailed loudly throughout the film this morning. @clemencythefilm grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until Alfre Woodard exhaled. Well done, @ChinonyeC!!!
— Martine (@IAmMartineJean) February 2, 2019
The film is currently seeking U.S. distribution so that the rest of us can see this powerful story. Chukwu is optimistic and wrote on Instagram, “I am thankful for the Sundance platform and can’t wait to share my film with the world!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtaJCTjlXkw
This year is already historic for women at Sundance. According to Indiewire, 56 percent of all directors in the U.S. Dramatic Feature category were women and all four of the Grand Jury Prize winners were women. Deadline reports that Chukwu’s next job is directing the film adaption of former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown’s memoir, A Taste of Power.
