AYOKA CHENZIRA

Ayoka "Ayo" Chenzira (born November 8, 1953) is an independent African-American producer, film and television director, animator, writer, experimental filmmaker, and transmedia storyteller. She is the first African American woman animator and one of a handful of Black experimental filmmakers working since the late 1970s. Chenzira studied film and photography at The College of New Rochelle and accomplished her M.A. degree in education at Columbia University. She received her B.F.A. degree in film production from New York University. In 1984, Chenzira was one of seven writer/directors selected for the Sundance Institute. She was one of the first African-American women to produce a feature-length film, Alma's Rainbow (1993). She has earned international acclaim for her work.