Chanelle Aponte Pearson is an American writer, producer, and director. She is a member of the New Negress Film Society. She is best known as the director of 195 Lewis, a scripted web series about Black queer women living in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. The series won the 2017 US Narrative Audience Award at the BlackStar Film Festival and received a Special Mention at 2017 Outfest.[1][2]
Chanelle Aponte Pearson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bronx, New York, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, producer director |
| Notable work | 195 Lewis |
Career
editPearson began producing short films independently in the early aughts.[3] Her first job on a feature film was as co-producer for Terence Nance's 2012 film An Oversimplification of Her Beauty.[4] Pearson is currently the COO of Nance's production company, MVMT.[2][5]
In 2015, Pearson won a grant from the Gotham Awards for her directorial debut, a web series called 195 Lewis.[1][6] 195 Lewis is a scripted series that centers four Black queer women who live in Bed Stuy, and stars co-creator Rae Leone Allen, Trae Harris, D. Ajane Carlton, Sirita Wright, Roxie Johnson, and Taja Lindley.[7] It debuted online on November 16, 2017.[8] Latonya Pennington of Wear Your Voice magazine wrote in a review, "Whether in themselves or others, Black queer viewers will recognize the characters and love them. Through the efforts of the creators, director, and the cast, 195 Lewis tells a wonderful coming-of-age story of love, lust, and life in one of America’s blackest and queerest cities."[9] It received a Special Mention at 2017 Outfest for "highlighting the contemporary life of queer black woman with flair, vibrancy and substance.”[10]
Pearson is an executive producer for the 2018 HBO series Random Acts of Flyness.[11] She is a member of the New Negress Film Society, a collective of Black women filmmakers founded in 2013 to "create community and spaces for support, exhibition, and consciousness-raising".[12][13]
Personal life
editPearson identifies as queer.[2] She was born and raised in the Bronx.[5]
Accolades
editFilmography
edit| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | |||
| 2012 | An Oversimplification of Her Beauty | No | No | Yes | |
| 2017 | 195 Lewis | Yes | Yes | Executive | Web series |
| 2018 | Random Acts of Flyness | No | No | Executive | |
References
edit- ^ a b c "The Director Of '195 Lewis' Tells Us Why It's 'Paramount We Tell Our Own Stories'". www.intomore.com. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ a b c "Award-winning Series Premiere: 195 Lewis". www.curvemag.com. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Mullins, Carrie V. (2017-02-16). "Chanelle Aponte Pearson on Filming Cinematic Web Series & Exploring Messiness on Screen". Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "Chanelle Aponte Pearson". Tribeca Film Institute. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ a b Macaulay, Scott (26 April 2016). "Five Questions for 195 Lewis Director Chanelle Aponte Pearson". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "Tangerine, Jonas Carpignano, Chanelle Aponte Pearson Are 25th Gotham Awards Winners". shadowandact.com. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "10 Black Directors to Watch in 2016". pastemagazine.com. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Rao, Sameer (2017-11-17). "A Black Queer Couple Candidly Explores Polyamory in '195 Lewis'". Colorlines. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "'195 Lewis' Is Black Lesbian Perfection". Wear Your Voice. 2017-11-14. Archived from the original on 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Dry, Jude (2017-07-20). "Chanelle Aponte Pearson's Dazzling Ode to Black Lesbian Love Is the Next Great Queer Project of 2017". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (2018-08-20). "'Random Acts of Flyness' Renewed for Season 2 at HBO". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ Lapin, Andrew (2017-03-24). "Why Sundance, SXSW, and Funders Are Falling in Love With This Tiny Collective of Black Women Filmmakers". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "The New Negress Film Society's Inaugural Black Women's Film Conference at MOMA PS1 a SOLD OUT success!". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ "The Winners of the 2018 Gotham Awards". www.vulture.com. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
External links
edit- Chanelle Aponte Pearson at IMDb
- New Negress Film Society—Official website