Nikyatu Jusu is a Sierra Leonean-American independent filmmaker and
Assistant Professor in Film & Video at George Mason University. Jusu
focuses her films on the complexities of Black female characters. Her
work deals with displaced, immigrant women in the United States. She
is best known for her short film Suicide By Sunlight, which premiered
at 2019 Sundance Film Festival.Nikyatu Jusu was born in Atlanta,
Georgia to Sierra Leonean parents Hannah Khoury and Ronald Jusu. She
attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina from 2001-2005,
intending to becoming a biomedical engineer. An unexpected meeting
with a screenwriting professor introduced her to the world of
filmmaking and she changed her focus to graduate with a Bachelor of
Arts (B.A.) in Film/Cinema/Video Studies. She later studied narrative
filmmaking at New York University's Tisch Graduate Film school from
2006 - 2011 and received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in
Film/Cinema/Video Studies.Jusu’s second year NYU Graduate Film
Exercise made in 2008, African Booty Scratcher, is a
semi-autobiography that tells the story of Isatu, who is a young
Sierra Leonean American. The story highlights the conflict of
differing cultures while Isatu contemplates which culture to please
when picking a prom dress. With a budget of $7,000, her self-written
and self-directed film was eventually acquired by HBO.Jusu released
Say Grace Before Drowning in 2010 with director and writer credits
again. With a bigger budget of $35,000, Jusu created a film that
explains the relationship between a young girl and her African refugee
mother. This film was also acquired by HBO.
Assistant Professor in Film & Video at George Mason University. Jusu
focuses her films on the complexities of Black female characters. Her
work deals with displaced, immigrant women in the United States. She
is best known for her short film Suicide By Sunlight, which premiered
at 2019 Sundance Film Festival.Nikyatu Jusu was born in Atlanta,
Georgia to Sierra Leonean parents Hannah Khoury and Ronald Jusu. She
attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina from 2001-2005,
intending to becoming a biomedical engineer. An unexpected meeting
with a screenwriting professor introduced her to the world of
filmmaking and she changed her focus to graduate with a Bachelor of
Arts (B.A.) in Film/Cinema/Video Studies. She later studied narrative
filmmaking at New York University's Tisch Graduate Film school from
2006 - 2011 and received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in
Film/Cinema/Video Studies.Jusu’s second year NYU Graduate Film
Exercise made in 2008, African Booty Scratcher, is a
semi-autobiography that tells the story of Isatu, who is a young
Sierra Leonean American. The story highlights the conflict of
differing cultures while Isatu contemplates which culture to please
when picking a prom dress. With a budget of $7,000, her self-written
and self-directed film was eventually acquired by HBO.Jusu released
Say Grace Before Drowning in 2010 with director and writer credits
again. With a bigger budget of $35,000, Jusu created a film that
explains the relationship between a young girl and her African refugee
mother. This film was also acquired by HBO.
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