
Ayoka Chenzira
Known for
Directing
Birthplace
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Biography
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-leng...
Best known work
Filmography
2023
2022
2022
2021
2021
2017
2016
2013
HERadventureDirector, Executive Producer
1996
In the Rivers of Mercy Angstas Narrator, Writer, Producer, Director, Special Effects
1994
Alma's RainbowDirector, Producer, Writer
1994
SnowfireWriter, Producer, Director of Photography, Director
1993
MOTV (My Own TV)as Anti-Hero, Director, Producer, Additional Photography
1992
Pull Your Head to the Moon: Stories of Creole WomenDirector, Adaptation
1992
WilliamswoodDirector, Camera Operator, Editor
1989
Zajota and the Boogie SpiritDirector, Story, Art Designer, Animation, Camera Operator, Editor, Producer, Executive Producer
1988
The Lure and the LoreDirector, Producer, Camera Operator, Editor
1986
1984
Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed PeopleDirector, Producer, Writer, Animation, Art Designer, Editor
1979
Syvilla: They Dance To Her Drumas Narrator, Director, Camera Operator, Sound, Producer









