Gina Prince-Bythewood

Gina Prince-Bythewood is a film director and screenwriter. She started her career as a writer for multiple television shows, including the anthology series "CBS Schoolbreak Special," for which she was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards.

Upon graduating from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), she was immediately hired as a writer on the television series “A Different World." She continued to write for network television on series such as “Felicity," “South Central," “Courthouse," and “Sweet Justice” before making the transition to cinema.

Prince-Bythewood made her feature film directorial debut with "Love & Basketball," for which she received an Independent Spirit Award. She also directed the feature film, "The Secret Life of Bees," adapted from the bestselling book by Sue Monk Kidd, and the romantic drama "Beyond the Lights." In 2020, she became the first Black woman to direct a major comic-book film, "The Old Guard." She also earned nominations for Best Director at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and the British Academy Film Awards for 2022's "The Woman King."

Prince-Bythewood studied at UCLA Film School, receiving the Gene Reynold's Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. She serves as Co-Chair of the Directors Guild of America African American Steering Committee.