Jenn Nkiru
Jenn Nkiru is a British Nigerian filmmaker who received her MFA in film directing from Howard University, thus continuing a long lineage of image makers such as Ernest Dickerson, Arthur Jafa, Malik Sayeed, and Bradford Young who studied under the mentorship of Haile Gerima. At Howard, she was exposed to the breath of international art cinema as well as the rich and variegated tradition of cinemas of the black diaspora, their distinct experimentation with the politics of form and the careful crafting of a personal artistic voice.
About the Artist
Jenn Nkiru is a British Nigerian filmmaker who received her MFA in film directing from Howard University, thus continuing a long lineage of image makers such as Ernest Dickerson, Arthur Jafa, Malik Sayeed, and Bradford Young who studied under the mentorship of Haile Gerima. At Howard, she was exposed to the breath of international art cinema as well as the rich and variegated tradition of cinemas of the black diaspora, their distinct experimentation with the politics of form and the careful crafting of a personal artistic voice. Her MFA thesis, the experimental documentary En Vogue, about New York’s voguing and ballroom subculture, was shot by Arthur Jafa and Bradford Young, whom she assisted in the production of Dee Rees’s Pariah. Nkiru wrote a number of music videos ideas for musicians such as Pharrell, Major Laser, J Cole, and Imagine Dragons and collaborated with Kamasi Washington in “Heaven and Earth” for which she directed the video Hub-Tones as well as promotional clips such as Fists of Fury and Space Travelers Lullaby.In 2017, Nkiru wrote, directed, and produced a short film Rebirth Is Necessary, which won best documentary in the 2018 London Independent Film Festival, the Canal + award at the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival, the 2018 Voice of a Woman award at Cannes and was a nominee of the 2018 Best Short Film award at Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival. Additionally, the film was screened internationally at the Museum of Modern Art in Los Angeles (MOCA, LA), at the ICA in London, at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Amsterdam, and introduced the London premiere of Black Pantherat the BFI. Nkiru has also curated AFROFREQUENCY, a series of screenings and talks for 4:3, which includes an interview with Janelle Monáe.
Nkiru is best known in popular culture for her work as the second unit director of visuals for The Caters’s "Apeshit" video (directed by Ricky Saiz), a production choice that is in line with Beyoncé and Jay-Z's history of employing black women directors (such as Melina Matsoukas and Ava Duvernay) in a white and male-dominated industry. She has continued her work with Beyoncé in a particularly visible commitment to community and creative collaboration by co-directing Black is King for the streaming platform Disney+ alongside seven other directors. The visual album was inspired by the new Lion King film that features fellow liquid blackness artist Donald Glover.
Across works, Nkiru is invested in integrating the agenda of the most radical work in Black Studies, particularly Black Feminist Thought, with experimental film and music aesthetics. Steeped in a simultaneously Pan-African and Afrofuturist sensibility, the Black Arts Movement and Black Power, as well as the desire to draw from her Nigerian roots, Nkiru’s work is also in dialog with the North American Avant-Garde (Maya Deren, in particular) and always firmly grounded in the history of black music –from Sun Ra to Pharoah Sanders, from Sarah Vaughan to Queen Latifah, from Alice Coltrane to Nina Simone. The relationship between visual, sound, and music, as well as movement and tone, are central concerns of her work, which, when possible, is shot in 35mm. She is inspired by Kahlil Joseph, for the way “he showcases black people, black experiences and spirituality in such a visceral way,” and finds Moonlight by Barry Jenkins to be indicative of the possibilities of black cinema: “to be black, to be layered, to be indie, to be arthouse, to critique gender and masculinity, particularly black masculinity – and for all this to be universal.”
AS TOLD TO G/D THYSELF, a film Nkiru co-directed as part of Ummah Chroma which includes Bradford Young, Terrence Nance, Marc Thomas, and Kamasi Washington, just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Her latest work, Black to Techno, commissioned by Gucci and Frieze, reclaims the black origins of electronic music genres in Detroit. It premiered on February 14 at Frieze LA.
liquid blackness in Conversation with Jenn Nkiru
Selected Works
Producer
Rebirth is Necessary (2017)
En Vogue (2014)
Seed (2012), dir. David B. Godin
Director
Black is King (2020) co-directed with Beyoncé
Black to Techno (2019)
As Told To G/D Thyself (2019)
Fists of Fury (2018)
Space Travelers Lullaby (2018)
Hub-Tones (2018)
Kong (2018)
Apeshit, Second Unit Director (2018)
Rebirth is Necessary (2017)
Women are Present (2017)
En Vogue (2014)
Writer
Black to Techno (2019)
Rebirth is Necessary(2017)
Production Assistant, Photography
Pariah (2011), dir. Dee Rees, cinematography by Bradford Young
Curator
AFROFREQUENCY with 4:3 (2018)
SELECTED REVIEWS
Zonneveld, Rolien. “Jenn Nkiru’s art is an introduction to cosmic archeology.” i-D, Vice[KB1] , January 31, 2020. https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/epgvk7/jenn-nkiru-interview-artist-ummah-chroma
Benor, Dalya. “Meet the Director Behind Gucci’s Detroit Techno Documentary.” AnOther. March 13, 2019. https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/11590/jenn-nkiru-black-to-techno-gucci-documentary-detroit-music
“Rebirth is Necessary – Jenn Nkiru | 19/02/019.” Metrópolis, February 20, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kwcuur8cqs&feature=youtu.be
Okiti, Tega. “Inner Visions.” Sight & Sound 27, no. 6, (2017): 45–48.
Reed, Ryan. “Kamasi Washington Creates Rhythmic Trance in ‘Hub-Tones’ Video.” Rolling Stone. October 17, 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kamasi-washington-hub-tones-video-739211/
Whaley, Natelegé “Meet Jenn Nkiru, Who Helped Direct Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Grandiose Visual for ‘Apeshit.’” Mic. June 18, 2018. https://www.mic.com/articles/189858/meet-jenn-nkiru-who-helped-direct-beyonce-and-jay-zs-grandiose-visual-for-apeshit#.Zm1n8QzIx
Gotrich, Lars. “With Help From Four Tet And 3D, Neneh Cherry Wraps ‘Kong’ In A Cool And Weary Wisdom.” NPR. August 1, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634301768/with-help-from-four-tet-and-3d-neneh-cherry-wraps-kong-in-a-cool-and-weary-wisdo
SELECTED INTERVIEWS
“Jenn Nkiru Interview – Film London Jarm Award 2020 shortlisted artist.” Film London, September 22, 2020. https://vimeo.com/460755053
Maitland, Hayley. “’Black Is King’ Director Jenn Nkiru On The Symbolism Of The “Brown Skin Girl” Video.” Vogue, August 4, 2020. https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/jenn-nkiru-black-is-king
“Jenn Nkiru.” British Council, 2018. http://film-directory.britishcouncil.org/comment/spotlight/2018/jenn-nkiru
Clark-Brown, Tamar. “In Her Visions: Jenn Nkiru.” Protein Journal, December 7, 2017. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjwgrDDhJnqAhWPTt8KHUpfBhgQFjAAegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.prote.in%2Fprotein%2Fapi%2Fv4%2Fentries%2Fin-her-visions-jenn-nkiru%2Fpdf.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2uL7l-Bjju5CUGq7PgWHt2
Hanan, Ali. “Director Jenn Nkiru on greenlighting projects, life without a mentor and her love of 35mm.” The Drum, April 23, 2018. https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/04/23/director-jenn-nkiru-greenlighting-projects-life-without-mentor-and-her-love-35mm
Little, Harriet Fitch. “Film-Maker Jenn Nkiru’s Brain-Bending Vision.” Financial Times, February 7, 2019. https://www.ft.com/content/05d2648a-292f-11e9-9222-7024d72222bc#comments
McLean, Matthew. “Jenn Nkiru on ‘Black to Techno,’ the Fourth Film in Collaboration with Frieze.” Gucci Podcast. February 15, 2019. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/gucci-podcast/id1378974511?i=1000429938230&mt=2
“Hub-Tones: Jenn Nkiru and Kamasi Washington in Conversation.” Kamasi Washington, October 23, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn851K1UgG8
Okojie, Irenosen. “Litro #162: Literary Highlife | Interview: Jenn Nkiru.” Litro. May 8, 2017. https://www.litromagazine.com/interviews/litro-162-literary-highlife-interview-jenn-nkiru/[JB1]
AWARDS
Jarman Award 2020 – Black is Techno, split with the other shortlisted nominees
2019 Aesthetica Art Prize – Rebirth is Necessary