Regina King Hopes Her Directorial Debut Opens Doors For Black Female Filmmakers

Academy Award-winning artist Regina King is set to enthrall moviegoers with her directorial debut, entitled “One Night In Miami.” The actress recently opened up about the project and said she hopes that it will open more doors for Black female filmmakers.

Talking about the movie and how things currently are for the Black female directors in the industry, the 49-year-old Hollywood celebrity said it is unfortunate that if one woman fails to succeed in what she wants to do, it takes years for people to give a chance to another woman, Variety quoted the actress, as saying.

However, King also shared that she is immensely grateful that she got a chance to showcase her film at the Venice Film Festival and believes that if her film does well globally, it can open new doors for Black female directors because there’s so much talent out there.

“Unfortunately, across the world, that’s how things seem to work. One woman gets a shot and if she does not succeed, it shuts thing down for years until someone else gets a shot . I am so grateful for our film to be a part of the festival but I really, really want it to perform well. There’s so much talent out there — so many talented directors — so if ‘One Night in Miami’ gets it done here, you’ll get to see a lot more of us,” King said.

“One Night In Miami” tells a fictional story about one real meeting that took place in 1964 where iconic people like Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered and discussed their respective roles in the civil rights movement of the ‘60s.

The movie recently had its premiere in Venice and garnered universal acclaim. The Guardian, wrote in its review that the movie is “one pivotal moment for Black America” and gave it four stars. Meanwhile, IndieWire gave the film four and a half stars, calling it a “vibrant slice of history.”

The film stars Kingsley Ben-Adir (Malcolm X), Aldis Hodge (Jim Brown), Leslie Odom Jr. (Sam Cooke), and Eli Goree (Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali) in pivotal roles.

“One Night In Miami” will also be showcased at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which is scheduled to take place later this month.