Shaka King (born March 7, 1980) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for directing and co-writing the 2021 biopic ''

Judas and the Black Messiah ''Judas and the Black Messiah'' is a 2021 biographical crime drama film about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal (pla ...

''.

Biography

An only child, King was born on March 7, 1980 in Crown Heights and grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, both in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

. His mother's family was from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, while his father's family was from Panama. Both parents worked as public school teachers. King's early education occurred in the neighborhoods of

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

and

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...

. He attended a predominantly white preparatory school in

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base ...

during his middle and high school years. It was in high school that he discovered his passion for creative writing. King studied political science and took his first film production course at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

. After graduating, he practiced screenwriting while working as a youth counselor and tutor. In 2007, he entered a graduate film program at

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

where he was a student of

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

. King's thesis for his masters of fine arts resulted in the feature film ''Newlyweeds''. King currently lives in the borough of Brooklyn.

Career

King's debut feature film ''Newlyweeds'' is about a free-spirited young couple who live in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who prefer to indulge in marijuana and hashish. The film premiered at the

2013 Sundance Film Festival The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival had 1,830 volunteers. Films A re ...

. He presented his next film, Mulignans, in the USA Narrative Short Films program at the

2015 Sundance Film Festival The 2015 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 22 to February 1, 2015. ''What Happened, Miss Simone?'', a biographical documentary film about American singer Nina Simone, opened the festival. Comedy-drama film '' Grandma'', directed by P ...

. His 2017 short film ''LaZercism,'' starring Lakeith Stanfield, tells of a world in which white people suffer from “racial glaucoma.” Stanfield also appears in King's second feature film, ''

'', in which

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is a British actor. Prominent both on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nomin ...

plays the role of

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African Ameri ...

. The feature was nominated for six Academy Awards, including specific nods for King for Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture. More recently, he got a first-look deal with

FX Productions FX Productions (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks (and jointed with Disney Television Studios), a division of the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company. The studio currently prod ...

to develop television.

Filmography

Films

Short films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Shaka 1980 births African-American film directors African-American film producers African-American screenwriters African-American television directors American male screenwriters American people of Barbadian descent American people of Panamanian descent American television directors Artists from Brooklyn Film directors from New York (state) Film directors from New York City Film producers from New York (state) Living people People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Screenwriters from New York (state) Tisch School of the Arts alumni Vassar College alumni Writers from Brooklyn