Dawn has recently Directed episodes of Locke & Key, Empire and How To Get Away With Murder and is currently serving as Executive Producer and Director on Step Up.
Do The Right Thing (1989)
“Spike Lee is one of my all time favourite Directors. A master filmmaker, Spike’s influence on me goes beyond his choice of shots or subject matter. His films showed me that a Director can take the audience on a journey into his or her own point of view and make an entertaining movie this is both socially relevant and a work of art.
I went straight from SEED Alternative School to the Carlton to see this on the big screen and it blew my mind. It is still one of my favourite films. Spike was ahead of his time.”
Daughters of the Dust (1991)
“Julie Dash’s story of a Black woman searching for her roots resonated deeply with me, as did the absolutely beautiful cinematography by Arthur Jafa.”
Rude (1995)
“I was at the TIFF Premiere and witnessed Director Clement Virgo and his team celebrate this moment and I knew right then that I wanted to be a part of Black Canadian filmmaking.”
Juice (1992)
“This first feature Directed by my mentor Ernest Dickerson is considered a hip hop classic. I remember being moved by performances that would be award nominated if the film came out today.”
Love Jones (1997)
“I’m still waiting for Theodore Witcher’s follow up to this poignant story about young Black artists. When I saw the apartment where Nia Long’s Nina is house sitting and thought that’s where I want to live!”
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
“Kasi Lemmon’s poetic drama inspired me to take seriously a young girl’s point of view and tell my own story as I did years later in my first feature film Devotion.”
Home Feeling: A Struggle for Community (1984)
“This is the first film I saw about a specifically Black Canadian experience and I discovered it in Kay Armatage’s ‘Women In Film’ class at U of T. I was a budding filmmaker looking for role models and I found one in Jennifer Hodge De Silva.”
Black Panther (2018)
“This is the film I’ve been waiting for. Ryan Coogler’s epic imagery will inspire generations of filmmakers to come. Wakanda Forever!”
The Hurricane (1999)
“Shadowing Norman [Jewison] had a huge impact on my vision and how I direct actors and collaborate with the director of photography on my projects.”
