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Shaka King

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Shaka King
King at the2013 Sundance Film Festival
Born(1980-03-07)March 7, 1980(age 44)
New York City,U.S.
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • writer
  • director
Years active2009–present

Shaka King(born March 7, 1980) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for directing and co-writing the 2021 biopicJudas and the Black Messiah.

Biography[edit]

An only child, King was born on March 7, 1980[citation needed]inCrown Heightsand grew up inBedford-Stuyvesant,both inBrooklyn, New York.[1][2]His mother's family was fromBarbadosandPanama,while his father's family was from Panama.[3]Both parents worked as public school teachers[1]and were "very Afrocentric."[1]King's early education occurred in the neighborhoods ofEast HarlemandFort Greene.[3]He attended a predominantly white preparatory school inBay Ridgeduring his middle and high school years.[4]It was in high school that he discovered his passion for creative writing.[1]

King studied political science and took his first film production course atVassar College.After graduating, he practiced screenwriting while working as a youth counselor and tutor.[1]In 2007, he entered a graduate film program atNew York University Tisch School of the Artswhere he was a student ofSpike Lee.[5]King's thesis for his Masters of Fine Arts resulted in the feature filmNewlyweeds.[2]

King currently lives in the borough of Brooklyn.[6]

Career[edit]

King's debut feature filmNewlyweedsis about a free-spirited young couple who live in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who prefer to indulge in marijuana and hashish.[7]The film premiered at the2013 Sundance Film Festival.He presented his next film, Mulignans, in theUSA Narrative Short Filmsprogram at the2015 Sundance Film Festival.[8]His 2017 short filmLaZercism,starringLakeith Stanfield,tells of a world in which white people suffer from “racial glaucoma.”[9]Stanfield also appears in King's second feature film,Judas and the Black Messiah,in whichDaniel Kaluuyaplays the role ofFred Hampton.[1]The feature was nominated for six Academy Awards, including specific nods for King for Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture. More recently, he got a first-look deal withFX Productionsto develop television.[10][11]

Angelique Jackson ofVarietyhas noted that King is one of those "Black filmmakers [who] are offering an unvarnished look at the legacy of the 1960s civil rights era, examining America’s tortured history of racism..."[5]

Filmography[edit]

Short film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
2009 Mariachi No No Yes
Cocoa Loco Yes No No
2010 Herkimer DuFrayne 7th Grade Guidance Counselor Yes Yes Yes
2015 Mulignans Yes Yes Yes
2017 LaZercism Yes Yes Yes

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
2013 Newlyweeds Yes Yes Yes
2021 Judas and the Black Messiah Yes Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2016 High Maintenance Yes Yes 2 episodes
2016-17 People of Earth Yes No 5 episodes
2018 Random Acts of Flyness Yes Yes Directed 1 episode, wrote 2 episodes
2019-20 Shrill Yes No 4 episodes

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Title Category Result Ref
2020 NAACP Image Awards Shrill Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series Nominated [12]
2021 Academy Awards Judas and the Black Messiah Best Picture Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2021 Producers Guild of America Awards Best Theatrical Motion Picture Nominated
2021 Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefUgwu, Reggie (February 12, 2021)."Shaka King Goes to Hollywood".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  2. ^abFarley, Christopher John (July 9, 2013)."A Singular Effort On a Joint Project".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  3. ^ab"Meet the 2013 Sundance Filmmakers #40: Shaka King Tells the Story of an Unusual Threesome in 'Newlyweeds'".IndieWire.January 22, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  4. ^Juzwiak, Rich (September 18, 2013).""Is There Such a Thing as Black Pop Culture? ": Director Shaka King".Gawker.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  5. ^abJackson, Angelique (February 19, 2021)."How 'Judas and the Black Messiah,' 'Da 5 Bloods' and 'One Night in Miami' Capture the Radical Spirit of the 1960s and Beyond".Variety.RetrievedMay 18,2023.
  6. ^"Shaka King".Film Independent.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  7. ^Holden, Stephen (September 18, 2013)."Love and Paranoia in Brooklyn: Yes, They Inhale. Repeatedly. (Published 2013)".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  8. ^Salovaara, Sarah (February 25, 2015)."Shaka King on Releasing His Sundance Short Mulignans Online".Filmmaker Magazine.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  9. ^Macaulay, Scott (May 31, 2017)."Watch: Shaka King Erases" Racial Glaucoma "in Short Film LaZercism".Filmmaker Magazine.RetrievedFebruary 14,2021.
  10. ^Petski, Denise (October 1, 2021)."'Judas And The Black Messiah' Writer-Director Shaka King Inks First-Look Deal With FX Productions ".Deadline.RetrievedOctober 2,2021.
  11. ^Lindahl, Chris (October 1, 2021)."Shaka King Will Develop Series for FX After Signing First Look Deal".IndieWire.RetrievedOctober 5,2021.
  12. ^"NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedJuly 14,2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shaka_King&oldid=1223408829"