Ayoka Chenzira

Directing

Ayoka Chenzira

Place of birth

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Known for

Directing

Credits

28 titles

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…

Known for

Toon In with Me poster
8.2

MeTV's cartoon curator Bill and Toony the Tuna host a weekday morning showcase of classic theatrical cartoons, featuring popular characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, Popeye the Sailor, and Woody Woodpecker.

Toon In with Me

2021

Alma's Rainbow poster
6.1

The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt.

Alma's Rainbow

1994

MOTV (My Own TV) poster
4.0

A love story between a Jamaican immigrant and his wife that turns bittersweet when the search for the American dream goes awry.

MOTV (My Own TV)

1993

HERadventure poster
NR

A coming-of-age story that features a reluctant young woman who accidentally falls to Earth and ends up a superhero. Originally conceived as a project which combined live action filmmaking with interaction through video game mechanics.

HERadventure

2013

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People poster
6.4

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of relaxers, gels, and curlers. This short film has become essential for discussions of racism, African American cinema, and empowerment.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People

1984

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit poster
10.0

Openly addressing sensitive issues of slavery and the African diaspora, this animated short traces the origins of funk, soul, and rhythm from the "boogie spirit's" original home in Africa, to its worldwide influence in today's popular culture.

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit

1989

Film credits

Series credits

Behind the camera

Alma's Rainbow poster
6.1

The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt.

Alma's Rainbow

1994

Alma's Rainbow poster
6.1

The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt.

Alma's Rainbow

1994

Alma's Rainbow poster
6.1

The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt.

Alma's Rainbow

1994

MOTV (My Own TV) poster
4.0

A love story between a Jamaican immigrant and his wife that turns bittersweet when the search for the American dream goes awry.

MOTV (My Own TV)

1993

MOTV (My Own TV) poster
4.0

A love story between a Jamaican immigrant and his wife that turns bittersweet when the search for the American dream goes awry.

MOTV (My Own TV)

1993

HERadventure poster
NR

A coming-of-age story that features a reluctant young woman who accidentally falls to Earth and ends up a superhero. Originally conceived as a project which combined live action filmmaking with interaction through video game mechanics.

HERadventure

2013

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People poster
6.4

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of relaxers, gels, and curlers. This short film has become essential for discussions of racism, African American cinema, and empowerment.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People

1984

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People poster
6.4

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of relaxers, gels, and curlers. This short film has become essential for discussions of racism, African American cinema, and empowerment.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People

1984

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People poster
6.4

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of relaxers, gels, and curlers. This short film has become essential for discussions of racism, African American cinema, and empowerment.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People

1984

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit poster
10.0

Openly addressing sensitive issues of slavery and the African diaspora, this animated short traces the origins of funk, soul, and rhythm from the "boogie spirit's" original home in Africa, to its worldwide influence in today's popular culture.

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit

1989

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit poster
10.0

Openly addressing sensitive issues of slavery and the African diaspora, this animated short traces the origins of funk, soul, and rhythm from the "boogie spirit's" original home in Africa, to its worldwide influence in today's popular culture.

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit

1989

Williamswood poster
NR

An experimental short film with themes of machinery, modernization and the human form. Produced as part of a program sponsored by Austrian machinery corporation EMCO.

Williamswood

1992

Snowfire poster
NR

A father struggles to fully embrace the life and death of his gay son.

Snowfire

1994

Snowfire poster
NR

A father struggles to fully embrace the life and death of his gay son.

Snowfire

1994

Snowfire poster
NR

A father struggles to fully embrace the life and death of his gay son.

Snowfire

1994

The Lure and the Lore poster
9.0

A collaboration between filmmaker Ayoka Chenzira and performance artist Thomas Pinnock, who performs his "immigrant folktales" using traditional lore of his native Jamaica to dramatize his migration to New York in the 60's.

The Lure and the Lore

1988

The Lure and the Lore poster
9.0

A collaboration between filmmaker Ayoka Chenzira and performance artist Thomas Pinnock, who performs his "immigrant folktales" using traditional lore of his native Jamaica to dramatize his migration to New York in the 60's.

The Lure and the Lore

1988

Pull Your Head to the Moon: Stories of Creole Women poster
NR

A gay man living through the HIV/AIDS crisis reflects upon his recent history of loss with the help of his grandmother, who tells him a story of her own trauma and loss during the Jim Crow-era South.

Pull Your Head to the Moon: Stories of Creole Women

1992

Syvilla: They Dance To Her Drum poster
7.0

Chenzira's 1979 tribute to dancer-choreographer Syvilla Fort.

Syvilla: They Dance To Her Drum

1979

Syvilla: They Dance To Her Drum poster
7.0

Chenzira's 1979 tribute to dancer-choreographer Syvilla Fort.

Syvilla: They Dance To Her Drum

1979

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst poster
NR

A woman struggles to free herself from the "Keeper of Memory" in this surreal odyssey.

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst

1996

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst poster
NR

A woman struggles to free herself from the "Keeper of Memory" in this surreal odyssey.

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst

1996

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst poster
NR

A woman struggles to free herself from the "Keeper of Memory" in this surreal odyssey.

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst

1996

No artwork available
NR

Through interviews with survivors of sexual abuse, parents, social workers, community activists, and abusers thmselves, this piece explores the feelings and experiences of sexually abused children and their families.

Secret Sounds Screaming: The Sexual Abuse of Children

1986