Justin Simien (born 7 May 1983) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His first feature film, Dear White People, won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.[ Simien has also been named to Variety‘s 2013 “10 Directors to Watch” list.[
Simien was born on 7 May 1983 in Houston, Texas. He is the son of Anna Simien. Raised in the metro area, he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. After graduation, he studied film at Chapman University in California. Simien worked a number of jobs in Los Angeles prior to directing his first feature film, including social media manager at Sony Television, publicity assistant at Focus Features, and publicity coordinator at Paramount Pictures.[
Simien directed three short films prior to Dear White People: Rings (2006), My Women: Inst Msgs (2009), and Inst Msgs (Instant Messages) (2009).[
Simien started work on what would become Dear White People in 2006,[ with inspiration for the script coming from his feelings while attending the predominantly white Chapman University. In 2012, he created a concept trailer using his tax refund as funding.[ With the concept trailer as a centerpiece, he launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise $25,000 but he got an overwhelming response and managed to raise $40,000 instead.
The film premiered in-competition in the US Dramatic Category at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. The film began its theatrical release in the United States on October 17, 2014. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $344,000 in only eleven locations for an impressive $31,273 per theatre average.[
Dear White People won Simien the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and the “Audience Award” at the 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival. Simien has also been named to Variety‘s 2013 “10 Directors to Watch” list.[
On May 5, 2016, Lionsgate announced a deal to produce a Dear White People television series based on the film and distributed through Netflix with the show’s first ten episodes to be written by Simien. The show was released on April 2017 to critical acclaim. In June 2017 the show was renewed for a second season, which was released on May 2018 to critical acclaim. In June 2018 the show was renewed for a third season.
While Simien has been compared to director Spike Lee, Simien says he does not welcome this comparison because he does not want to be “the next Spike Lee” but instead “the next Justin Simien” (although he does credit Lee’s Do the Right Thing with “showing him that it’s possible to make these types of black films”). Simien also counts among his influences, Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman.
At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Dear White People, Simien publicly announced he is gay.