Academy Award-winning actress Regina King made history at the 77th annual Venice Film Festival in Los Angeles — with a great chance to make even more.
King became the first Black female director to have a film screened at the elite cinematic conference with One Night in Miami. It may seem incomprehensible that it took until 2020 for this to happen at the film fest, which began in 1932.
The “Watchman” star, who took home a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and Golden Globe for her gripping portrayal in 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk, has already generated buzz for the 2021 Academy Award season. According to Variety, King has inserted herself into the Oscar race, which would make her the first-ever Black female director to be nominated for the prestigious award. The late John Singleton was the first Black male to get an Oscar nod for the seminal 1991 classic Boyz N the Hood.
According to Variety, King’s film, One Night in Miami, is an adaptation of a play written by Kemp Powers surrounding a fictional meeting of the minds between four towering icons in 1964: Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, NFL great Jim Brown and singer Sam Cooke.
King, 49, has pretty much grown up on the big and small screen. She starred in the hit sitcom “227” as a teen in the 1980s, and her uninterrupted trajectory since then has now landed her at history’s doorstep once again.
Variety reports that just five women have been nominated for a Best Director Oscar in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards. King could become the first Black female with One Night in Miami.
