Tayarisha Poe

Tayarisha Poe
Born	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Swarthmore College (BA)
Occupation(s)	Writer, director
Years active	2014–present
Notable work	Selah and the Spades

Tayarisha Poe is an American writer and director. Her feature directorial debut Selah and the Spades won the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2019 BlackStar Film Festival and premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Poe's sophomore film, The Young Wife, was released at the 2023 South by Southwest film festival.

Life and career

Poe was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She graduated from the Peddie School in New Jersey and received her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in 2012.[1][2][3] She initially planned to pursue a career as an attorney, but turned her interest towards filmmaking in college.[4] Poe has named Terence Nance, Anna Rose Holmer, and Kasi Lemmons as three of her mentors.[2]

Poe's directorial debut feature film and screenplay, Selah and the Spades, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Amazon Prime Video in 2020.[2] The film grew from a series of photos, short films, and prose she began posting online in 2014. Her nonlinear story received positive reception online, with director Terence Nance agreeing to executive produce the project.[5] In 2016 she received support to develop the film through the Sundance Institute's Knight Foundation Fellowship.[6][2] Selah and the Spades stars Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome, and Celeste O'Connor.[6] The film received mainly positive reception.[7]

Poe's second feature film, The Young Wife (starring Kiersey Clemons, Judith Light, Leon Bridges, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Kelly Marie Tran), was released at South by Southwest in March 2023.[8] The film was well-received, with critics praising the production design, the acting, and the "naturalistic" script.[9][10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Ref.
2019	Selah and the Spades	Yes	Yes	Yes	[11]
2023	The Young Wife	Yes	Yes	Yes	[8]

Television

Year	Title	Episode(s)
2019	Two Sentence Horror Stories	"Tutorial"
		"Little Monsters"
2020	The Twilight Zone	"Among the Untrodden"
2021	Dave	"Somebody Date Me"

Awards and nominations

• 2015, Filmmaker, 25 New Faces of Independent Film[2]
• 2019, Variety, 10 Directors to Watch[3]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2019	BlackStar Film Festival	Best Narrative Feature	Selah and the Spades	Won	[11]
	Palm Springs International Film Festival	Directors to Watch		Won	[11]
	Sundance Film Festival	NEXT Innovator Award		Nominated	[12]
2020	Indiana Film Journalists Association	Breakout of the Year		Nominated	[13]
2021	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	Best Picture		Nominated	[14]

References

1. "Q&A: A Chat with 'Selah and the Spades' Writer/Director Tayarisha Poe - sundance.org". 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
2. Clark, Kevin L. "Meet Tayarisha Poe: A First-Time Filmmaker with a DIY Approach". Essence. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
3. Morfoot, Addie (2019-01-04). "10 Directors to Watch: Tayarisha Poe Shows Her Hand With 'Selah and the Spades'". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
4. Obenson, Tambay (2020-04-25). "'Selah and the Spades': Tayarisha Poe on Her Journey from 'La Jetée' to One of the Year's Most Assured Debuts". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
5. "25 New Faces of Independent Film". Filmmaker Magazine. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
6. D'Alessandro, Anthony (2018-08-21). "Sundance Institute Alum Tayarisha Poe Making Directorial Debut With 'Selah And The Spades'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
7. "Selah and the Spades". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
8. Wiseman, Andreas (2022-03-02). "'The Flash's Kiersey Clemons Leads Cast In 'The Young Wife' For FilmNation & Archer Gray". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
9. Lattanzio, Ryan (2023-03-18). "'The Young Wife' Review: 'Selah & the Spades' Director Tayarisha Poe Sends a Zany Marital Missive from the Future". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
10. Brady, Erin (2023-03-17). "The Young Wife Review: A Visually Stunning Ode To Radical Love In Times Of Crisis [SXSW 2023]". /Film. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
11. "The Independent Critic - "Selah and the Spades" a Strong Debut From Tayarisha Poe". theindependentcritic.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
12. Obenson, Tambay (2019-07-17). "'Selah and The Spades': Amazon Acquires Sundance Drama, Will Also Develop as Series". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
13. Monteil, Abby (2021-07-22). "The Refreshing Coming Of Age Hidden Gem You Can Find On Amazon - Looper". Looper.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
14. TomatesVFritos (2021-03-07). "Las Vegas Film Critics Society 'Sierra' Awards 2020 – Ganadores". Blog de Cine Tomates Verdes Fritos (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.

External links

• Official website
• Tayarisha Poe at IMDb