“We should be able to make different kinds of movies, so I'm really happy I got to make 'The Marvels' because it's like, I genuinely can just make a movie that doesn't have to traffic in Black pain. And I feel like a lot of black film-makers are asked to or expected to do that.”

American filmmaker

Nia DaCosta is an American filmmaker who emerged as a notable new voice with her feature debut, Little Woods, released in 2018. Her work first drew wider attention through that film and the recognition it received on the festival circuit. Little Woods earned a nomination for the American Independent Award for Best Feature Film at the Denver Film Festival and won the Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her public profile is closely tied to that debut and to her work in film.