A woman standing in front of a camera looks at her notes
Yoruba Richen
Photo courtesy Yoruba Richen
Director & Producer
Yoruba Richen looking directly at the camera, with a short haircut. She wears matching earrings and a necklace, and a blouse. Black and white portrait.

Yoruba Richen is a documentary filmmaker whose work explores issues of race, space, and power. She has directed films in the U.S. and abroad, including The New Black and Promised Land. The New Black won Audience Awards at AFI Docs, Philly Q Fest, and Frameline LGBT Film Festival. The film also won best documentary at the Urbanworld Film Festival and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and a GLAAD Media Award. The New Black opened theatrically at New York’s Film Forum and aired on PBS’s Independent Lens. Yoruba has received numerous grants including from Sundance Documentary Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and the Ford Foundation. She won the Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access and was also a Sundance Producers Fellow. Yoruba is a featured TED Speaker and a Guggenheim Fellow. She is director of the documentary program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Yoruba is currently working on How It Feels To Be Free, a two-part documentary chronicling how black entertainers like Lena Horne and Cicely Tyson navigated the industry and took control of their own images, all while fighting for civil rights through their art and actions.

Follow
more Research & Development Grant 2023 winners
Macarena Aguiló looks directly at the camera.
Macarena Aguiló
Photo courtesy Macarena Aguiló
Camille Laemlé looks directly at the camera.
Camille Laemlé
Photo courtesy Camille Laemlé
Headshot of Carmen Castillo, a politically committed Chilean artist and filmmaker. Forced into exile during the Pinochet dictatorship, she has dedicated her life to fighting for democracy and her artistic work to exposing the human cost of political dictatorship.
Carmen Castillo
Photo courtesy Carmen Castillo
Quentin Laurent looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Quentin Laurent
Photo courtesy Quentin Laurent
Sarvnik Kaur is leaning against a paper wall and looks away from the camera. She has short hair, and wears a shirt.
Sarvnik Kaur
Photo courtesy Sarvnik Kaur
Carine Chickowsky looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Carine Chichkowsky
Photo courtesy Carine Chickowsky headshot
Mila Turajlic has curly medium-length hair and wears a coat and a shirt underneath. Black and white portrait.
Mila Turajlic
Photo courtesy Mila Turajlic
Elwira Niewiera looking directly at the camera, slightly smiling. Black and white portrait.
Elwira Niewiera
Photo courtesy Elwira Niewiera
Petra Costa behind the scenes
Petra Costa
Photo courtesy Petra Costa
Grace Lee has short, dark hair, wears a coat and a scarf, looks away from the camera and smiles. Black and white portrait.
Grace Lee
Photo courtesy Grace Lee
Jonathan Cohrs looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Jon Cohrs
Photo courtesy Jonathan Cohrs
Cynthia Lowen looks directly at the camera.
Cynthia Lowen
Photo courtesy Cynthia Lowen
A producer in a white short-sleeved shirt with shoulder-length black hair in a black-and-white photo is looking to the right.
Sona JO
Photo courtesy Sona JO
In a black-and-white photo, the black-haired, short-cut director is looking to the left.
Bora Lee-Kil
Photo courtesy Bora Lee-Kil
The headshot of a woman with short black hair, wearing a green scarf and a chequered coat next to a window.
Cristina Hanes
Photo courtesy Cristina Hanes
Headshot of a curly black-haired woman dressed in a colorful sari against a white wall.
Arya Rothe
Photo courtesy Arya Rothe
Headshot of a woman in her 30s wearing a blue polka dot shirt against a neutral background.
Isabella Rinaldi
Photo courtesy Isabella Rinaldi
A headshot of Amar Lohana, who is a middle-aged South Asian man with short salt and pepper hair. He is wearing a blue blazer and blue shirt.
Amar Lohana
Photo: Tara Noelle
A headshot of Habiba Nosheen, a south asian woman with straight long black hair, wearing a white shirt & jacket with blue jeans.
Habiba Nosheen
Photo: Tara Noelle
Derren Lawford, a black man wearing glasses and a suit, looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Derren Lawford
Photo courtesy Derren Lawford
Alex Tondowski, a bald caucasian man wearing a blue shirt, looks directly at the camera.
Alex Tondowski
Photo courtesy Alex Tondowski
Anna Kapustina, a blonde woman with a bold red lip, looks away from the camera.
Anna Kapustina
Photo courtesy Anna Kapustina
Svitlana Lishchynska looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Svitlana Lishchynska
Photo courtesy Svitlana Lishchynska
Brown-skinned Black man with glasses and short curly hair.
Thomas Allen Harris
Photo courtesy Thomas Allen Harris
Dark brown-skinned Black woman with long dreadlocks and a wide smile.
Yvonne Welbon
Photo courtesy Yvonne Welbon
Brown-skinned Black woman with silver hair in a long ponytail.
Luchina Fisher
Photo courtesy Luchina Fisher
A caucasian man with brown hair, a salt and pepper beard, and blue eyes behind rectangular framed glasses looks direct to camera.
Jeff Reichert
Photo courtesy Jeff Reichert
A South Asian woman with short, textured purple hair and a blue shirt with tie-dyed cuffs stand in front of a white wall, lifts one arm behind her head and looks directly to camera.
Farihah Zaman
Photo courtesy Farihah Zaman
Yuri Averof headshot in black and white.
Yuri Averof
Photo courtesy Yuri Averof
Rea Apostolides looks directly at the camera.
Rea Apostolides
Photo courtesy Rea Apostolides
A passport photo style headshot of Angeliki Aristomenopoulou.
Angeliki Aristomenopoulou
Photo courtesy Angeliki Aristomenopoulou
Andrijana Sofranić Šućuris, a blonde woman with dark red lipstick, looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Andrijana Sofranić Šućuris
Photo courtesy Andrijana Sofranić Šućuris
Marija Stojnic, a woman wearing black glasses and a burgundy shirt, looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Marija Stojnić
Photo courtesy Marija Stojnic
Madeleine Molyneaux, a ginger haired woman with blue eyes, looks directly at the camera. She stands next to a dark green door.
Madeleine Molyneaux
Photo courtesy Madeleine Molyneaux
Iva Radivojević looks directly at the camera. She is standing by a background of dark green foliage.
Iva Radivojević
Photo courtesy Iva Radivojević
Sahar Yousefi looks directly at the camera. Black and white headshot.
Sahar Yousefi
Photo courtesy Sahar Yousefi
Rita Baghdadi looks directly at the camera. The image of her face is mirrored to display twice.
Rita Baghdadi
Photo courtesy Rita Baghdadi
Sabaah Folayan in the field
Sabaah Folayan
Photo courtesy Sabaah Folayan
Wendy Espinal looks directly at the camera wirh arms crossed.
Wendy P. Espinal
Photo courtesy Wendy Espinal
Tatiana Fernandez Geara looks directly at the camera and smiles.
Tatiana Fernández Geara
Photo courtesy Tatiana Fernandez Geara
Kristi Jacobson looking directly ahead. She has shoulder-length hair and wears a leather jacket and scarf. Buildings are seen in the background out of focus. Black and white portrait.
Kristi Jacobson
Photo courtesy Kristi Jacobson
Black woman with shoulder length black air at microphone smiling
Mehret Mandefro
Photo courtesy Mehret Mandefro
Light skinned black woman with long curly hair wearing red glasses and a red jacket.
Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Photo courtesy Lacey Schwartz Delgado
black and white headshot of filmmaker Erika Cohn. a young woman with shoulder length, dark wavy hair looks directly at the camera. She has light colored eyes ringed with dark eyeliner and wears large silver earrings.
Erika Cohn
Photo courtesy Erika Cohn
Production still of Chuck Norris vs. Communism. Ilinca Calugareanu is looking through the director’s viewfinder and is leaning over a stairwell. To her left, there is a bearded man standing on the stairs above her.
Ilinca Calugareanu
Production still from Chuck Norris vs. Communism
A close up of Dan Fallshaw, a white male with short brown hair and a light beard, standing with his arms crossed. He is wearing a white T-shirt with the text "ART IS A DIRTY JOB BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT" printed in bold letters on the front. Dan has a serious, confident expression on his face. A silver watch is visible on his wrist. The background is blurred, featuring graffiti art, which adds an urban feel to the portrait.
Dan Fallshaw
Photo courtesy Dan Fallshaw
A close-up photo of Redelia Shaw, an African American woman with dark brown skin and short, natural coiled hair adorned with small beads. She has expressive eyes with long eyelashes, a warm smile revealing a gap between her front teeth, and a few freckles on her cheeks. She is wearing colorful, patterned earrings and a black top. The background is a gradient of orange and yellow, creating a soft, warm ambiance that complements her friendly expression.
Redelia Shaw
Photo courtesy Redelia Shaw
Violeta Ayala is shown in a close-up portrait. She has straight, dark hair styled in a braid, adorned with colorful red and orange tullmas. Her expression is calm and confident, highlighting her strong features, including high cheekbones and a warm, light brown complexion. She is wearing a black shirt, and the plain background keeps the focus on her face, reflecting her Quechua heritage.
Violeta Ayala
Photo courtesy Violeta Ayala
Portrait of a woman with medium long hair, thick black frames and laughing and looking away from the camera
Karla Bukantz
Photo courtesy Karla Bukantz
An unconventional headshot of Sandra Luz Lopez Barroso in black in white. Half of her face is not visible, having to do with her actual search: she can’t see it all yet.
Sandra Luz López Barroso
Photo courtesy Sandra Luz Lopez Barroso
Kenya-Jade Pinto looks directly at the camera.
Kenya-Jade Pinto
Photo courtesy Kenya-Jade Pinto
Color, chiaroscuro photograph of smiling young woman with big eyes.
Leila Montero
Photo courtesy Leila Montero
Anjali Nayar looks directly at the camera.
Anjali Nayar
Photo courtesy Anjali Nayar
Color photograph of a young brunette woman filming with a handycam, with the sea out of focus in the background.
Daniela Muñoz Barroso
Photo courtesy Daniela Muñoz Barroso
Nancy Sabbagh producer headshot in black and white.
Nancy Sabbagh
Photo courtesy Nancy Sabbagh
Black and white portrait of Corine Shawi looking directly at the camera.
Corine Shawi
Photo courtesy Corine Shawi
Director Marah Strauch looks at the camera and smiles.
Marah Strauch
Photo courtesy Marah Strauch
newsletter sign up