Jamila Pomeroy is a

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer, director, producer and actor. She is best known for her 2023 documentary film ''

Union Street Union Street may refer to: United Kingdom *Union Street, Aberdeen, Scotland * Union Street, East Sussex, between Ticehurst and Flimwell *Union Street, London * Union Street, Plymouth, Devon * Union Street, Reading, Berkshire United States *Un ...

,'' her 2025

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Absolutely Canadian special ''Muzizi'', and her 2022 series ''A Happier Planet with Jamila Pomeroy'' on

Career

She was the writer, director, host and producer of the series ''A Happier Planet with Jamila Pomeroy'' on

; In 2022 she

optioned In the film industry, an option agreement is a contract that "rents" the rights to a source material to a potential film producer. It grants the film producer the exclusive option to purchase rights to the source material if they live up to the te ...

and began development on a screen adaption of the novel ''Until I Smile At You''; which showcases the life of Canadian musician

Ruth Lowe Ruth Lowe (August 12, 1914 – January 4, 1981) was a Canadian pianist and songwriter. She composed the first ''Billboard'' top 80 song "I'll Never Smile Again". Early life Born in Toronto but raised in Glendale, California, Lowe returned to h ...

, who wrote the song that "dynamited

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

’s singing career into the stratosphere," " I’ll Never Smile Again" ''and'' “ Put Your Dreams Away,” another Sinatra hit, along with nearly 50 other numbers for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. In 2023 she was the writer, director and executive producer of TELUS originals

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''Union Street'', which won the Outstanding Feature Film Director award at the 2023 Toronto

Reelworld Film Festival Reelworld Film Festival, founded in 2001 by Tonya Williams, is held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival screens film and provides professional development for Canadian racially diverse and indigenous filmmakers and media artists. ...

. ''Union Street'' was also an official selection of

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

(VIFF) in 2023, and was named #1 in ''Vancouver Magazine'''s top-10 Must-see films at VIFF, and #2 in The Tyee's "Ten documentary highlights to bookmark," and top-10 must-see film by ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

''. She is the creator of drama-comedy series ''Sunflower Lemonade'' (unreleased) which ''

Daily Hive ''Daily Hive'', formerly known as ''Vancity Buzz'', is a Canadian online newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It began digital publishing in 2008 and became Western Canada's largest online-only publication by 2016. In September 2022 ...

'' coined as the "first African-Canadian dramedy in history"; and has worked as a writer and producer on other film and television projects.

Early career

She began her career as a freelance writer-journalist (writing for outlets like

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, Red Bull Media,

Hypebae Hypebeast is a Hong Kong–listed company that focuses on contemporary culture and lifestyle. It was originally founded in 2005 by Kevin Ma as a sneaker blog. Over the years, Hypebeast has expanded into other industries such as fashion, art, musi ...

more); and model, appearing in print and digital campaigns for brands like

Lululemon Lululemon, commonly styled as lululemon ( ; all lowercase), is a Canadian-American multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and incorporated in Delaware, United States, as Lululemon Athletica Inc. I ...

, Kit and Ace,

Arc'teryx Arc'teryx is a Canadian apparel company specializing in outdoor apparel and equipment headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It focuses on technical apparel for mountaineering and Alpine sports, including related accessories. The com ...

Laneige Laneige (Hangul: 라네즈) is a South Korean cosmetics brand launched by Amore Pacific in 1994. Its name comes from the French language, French "", which translates to "snow". The brand's flagship products include its Water Bank skin care line, ...

Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, offering nearly 340 brands alongside its own private label, the Sephora Collection. Its product range includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty t ...

, Paper Label and many more.

Personal life

Pomeroy was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, grew up in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

, BC, and as a teen moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, BC, where she still currently resides. Her father was born in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, and her mother was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Filmography

* ''A Happier Planet with Jamila Pomeroy'' (2022) – series * ''

'' (2023) – feature documentary * Absolutely Canadian: Muzizi (2025) — CBC documentary special

Awards

*2023: Winner, Outstanding Feature Film Director award for ''Union Street'',

, Toronto *2023: Winner, Best Documentary award for ''Union Street'', Milan Independent Film Festival (MIAFF)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy, Jamila Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian documentary film directors Canadian women film directors Film directors from Toronto Black Canadian filmmakers Black Canadian screenwriters