Ayoka Chenzira

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-length film, Alma's Rainbow (1993). She has earned international acclaim for her work.

Her work, as well as her efforts as one of the first African American woman film educators, have led some in the press to describe her as a media activist for social justice and challenging representations of African American stereotypes in the mainstream media. She has formed or otherwise been involved with several companies and nonprofits dedicated to Black films, including the Black Filmmakers Foundation, Red Carnelian, and Production Partners. Along with 14 other panelists, Chenzira's contributions for the Minority Task Force on Public Television resulted in the first Multicultural Public Television Fund. She has also served as a media panelist for the Jerome Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.