“Films with predominantly white casts can come in any form, tell any story, big or small. For black films, you have the light, fluffy rom-coms or 'Madea' movies, and then you have the black-torture awards movie.”

American filmmaker, actor, and author

Justin Simien is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. He is known for his work on Dear White People and for being named to Variety's 2013 "10 Directors to Watch" list. His first feature film, Dear White People, won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The film was later adapted into a Netflix series that ran from 2017 to 2021, extending the reach of his work into television.