Kiara C. Jones

Kiara C. Jones
OccupationsDirector, Writer, Producer
Notable workChristmas Wedding Baby, A Woman on the Outside, Premature
AwardsDirectors Guild of America Grand Jury Award, Independent Spirit Award Nominee

Kiara C. Jones is an American film and television director, writer, and producer.[1] She is the founder of Cultivated Films LLC.[2]

Early life and education

Kiara Jones is the daughter of parents from The Bronx and Brooklyn. When she was five-years-old her family moved to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1992, she graduated from Wolfson High School.[1]

After her father’s death in a car accident, Jones enlisted in the United States Air Force,[1] where she served as a computer security specialist and later retrained as a broadcaster at the Defense Information School. During her military career, Jones worked in radio and television broadcasting.[1]

After leaving the Air Force, Jones pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)[1] and a Master of Fine Arts in Film from New York University Tisch School of the Arts under artistic director Spike Lee.[3]

Career

Film and television

Jones is a writer, producer, and director with the company she runs, Cultivated Films, LLC.[4] She debuted as a feature filmmaker with Christmas Wedding Baby,[5] which won the Directors Guild of America Grand Jury Award[6] and aired on BET and Netflix.[7] She then directed 21 and Done, a documentary on children aging out of foster care[8] which won Best Documentary at Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival[9] and was a "Films With a Purpose (FWAP)" selection in 2018.[10] From 2018-2022, she worked as a producer on the film A Woman on the Outside, which profiles the founder of a transportation service and nonprofit dedicated to helping families maintain connections with incarcerated loved ones.[4]

Jones has worked as a producer on several notable films, including:

Title Year Role(s) Festival/Network Highlights References
A Woman on the Outside 2022 Writer Premiered at SXSW; Best Documentary at American Black Film Festival and Mammoth Lakes Film Festival; Audience Award winner at Philadelphia Film Festival; PBS broadcast in 2024

[11] [12] [13] [14][15]

Premature 2019 Producer Premiered at Sundance; Won Someone to Watch Award at Independent Spirit Awards

[16]

She’s Lost Control 2014 Producer Premiered at Berlinale; CICAE Award; Spirit Award nomination

[17] [18] [19] [20]

The Other Side of the Game 2014 Writer Premiered at Tribeca Film Festival; Winner at Bombay Sapphire's Imagination Series film competition [1][21][22]
The First 48 / After the First 48 Various Consulting Producer True crime TV series on A&E

[23]

Awards and recognition

Award Work Year Notes References
Directors Guild of America Grand Jury Award Christmas Wedding Baby 2015 BlackStar Film Festival [24]
Independent Spirit Award Nominee She’s Lost Control 2014 [25]
Best Documentary A Woman on the Outside 2022 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival and American Black Film Festival [4]
NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship – 2021 New York Foundation for the Arts [26]
Writers Guild of America FilmNation NY Fellowship – 2020 Screenwriters Fellowship [27]
ScreenCraft Film Fund – 2021 [28]
Sony Diverse Directors Program – – [29]
NYC Women's Fund – 2020 Media, Music, and Theatre [30]
Best Documentary A Woman on the Outside – Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival [9]
NYU Purple List – 2016 Screenwriting Honors [31]
IFP Filmmaker Lab – 2020 Documentary, Narrative, and Episodic Labs [32]
Trans Atlantic Partners Producing Fellow – 2017 [33]
BRIO Award for Screenwriting – – Bronx Council on the Arts [34]
Best Director Christmas Wedding Baby 2015 Pan African Film Festival [35]
Best Narrative Feature Christmas Wedding Baby 2015 BlackStar Film Festival [24]
Audience Award – Best Short Barbasol 2012 Urbanworld Film Festival [36]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Crumpler, David (2013-11-07). "Budding filmmaker with Jacksonville roots a finalist in international competition". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  2. ^ "Seven Diverse Scribes Selected For WGA East, FilmNation's Inaugural New York Screenwriters Workshop". Deadline. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  3. ^ "Grad Film Achievements 2018-19". NYU Tisch School of the Arts. 2019. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  4. ^ a b c McIlwaine, Kharisma (24 November 2022). "A Woman on the Outside Explores a Different Side of Incarceration". Philadelphia Sun. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  5. ^ "*Christmas Wedding Baby* at BAM Cinematik in New York City". Artists in New York City. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  6. ^ "DGA Announces Winners of 20th Annual DGA Student Film Awards - East Region -". www.dga.org. Directors Guild of America. 2014-12-02.
  7. ^ "Kiara Jones' Warm and Loving Rom-Com *Christmas Wedding Baby* Now Available on Netflix". Blavity. 2025-01-15. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  8. ^ "Harrowing Documentary Premieres on Aging Out of the Foster Care System". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  9. ^ a b "*21 and Done* Movie Poster". Rachel Van Der Nacht. Archived from the original on 2025-01-16. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  10. ^ "24th Annual African American Film Marketplace and S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase Shine a Light on Black Excellence, Independent Filmmakers and Social Justice". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2018-05-10. p. B1. ProQuest 2050596091.
  11. ^ "*America ReFramed* Acquires *A Woman on the Outside*". American Documentary. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  12. ^ "The ABFF Announces 2022 Feature, Documentary, and Web Series Lineup". American Black Film Festival. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  13. ^ McLachlan, Megan (2022-06-03). "8th Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Announces Award Winners in In-Person Film Festival Event". Awards Daily. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  14. ^ Complex, Valerie (2022-08-18). "Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Talking With Kristal Bush & Zara Katz". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  15. ^ "31st Philadelphia Film Festival Award Winners!". filmadelphia.org. November 3, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  16. ^ Peter Debruge (2020-02-20). "'Premature': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  17. ^ Rooney, David (2014-02-08). "She's Lost Control (Berlin Review)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  18. ^ Chris O'Falt (2014-02-18). "Exclusive: *She's Lost Control* Trailer Delivers Lessons in Intimacy". IndieWire. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  19. ^ "Independent Spirit Award Winners". Vanity Fair. 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  20. ^ "Hi8: Eight Questions with Kiara C. Jones, Producer of 'She's Lost Control'". Walker Art Center. March 11, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  21. ^ "Watch the 5 Short Films From The 2014 Bombay Sapphire® Imagination Series". tribecafilm.com. May 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  22. ^ Morales, Wilson (30 April 2014). "Watch Producer-Director Kiara C. Jones' Short The Other Side of the Game". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Kiara C. Jones TV Guide Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  24. ^ a b McDonald, Natalie Hope (July 30, 2015). "The 4th Annual BlackStar Film Festival Celebrates Black Stories". PhillyVoice. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  25. ^ "Participant's Films Received Four Spirit Award Nominations". Participant Media. November 25, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  26. ^ "Introducing 2021 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellows, Finalists, and Panelists". New York Foundation for the Arts. July 8, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  27. ^ "FilmNation Entertainment and the Writers Guild of America East Conclude the Inaugural New York Screenwriters Workshop". Writers Guild of America, East. March 4, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  28. ^ "Previous Seasons". ScreenCraft. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  29. ^ Small, Courtney (2016-02-13). "Kiara C. Jones Talks Romantic Comedies, Diversity in Hollywood, and Why This Critic Got It Wrong". Cinema Axis. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  30. ^ "NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre 2020 Recipients". NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  31. ^ Lewis, Hilary (2016-04-20). "NYU's Black List-Inspired Purple List Reveals Diverse Group of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  32. ^ "IFP Announces 26 Projects Selected for 2020 Documentary, Narrative, and Episodic Labs". Filmmaker Magazine. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  33. ^ "'Orphan Black', 'American Honey' Producers Among Those Selected for 2017 Trans-Atlantic Partners Lineup". Deadline. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  34. ^ "Kiara Jones BRIO Grant Recipient". Bronx Council on the Arts. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  35. ^ "PAFF 2015 - MUBI". MUBI. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  36. ^ "An Interview with Scott Frank: *The Queen's Gambit*". Writers Guild of America, East. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
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