Stephanie Allain

STEPHANIE ALLAIN is one of the most prolific African American producers working today. Her award-winning films by writer-directors of color make headlines, launch careers and shape the cultural landscape. Critical acclaim includes Oscars, Independent Spirit Awards, NAACP Image Awards and worldwide recognition at the Sundance, Telluride, Toronto and Cannes Film Festivals.

Allain started her career as a studio executive at Columbia Pictures in the early 90s, championing John Singleton’s directorial debut, Boyz N the Hood, which earned $65 million and two Oscar nominations. She stayed at the studio for a decade, supervising seminal, independently spirited films by writer-directors, which include Poetic Justice, El Mariachi and Higher Learning.

In 1996, she became President of Jim Henson Pictures and produced Muppets From Space, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland and Buddy.

She founded Homegrown Pictures in 2003 to produce inspirational and aspirational films by and about women and filmmakers of color, including Biker Boyz, Hustle & Flow, Something New, Black Snake Moan, Peeples, Beyond the Lights, Dear White People, French Dirty, Burning Sands, Juanita, The Weekend, Really Love and more.

From 2011-2016, she served as Director of the LA Film Festival, turning it into the most diverse film festival in the United States and the first to report on its percentages of films directed by women and people of color.

As a writer, she adapted Misty Copeland’s best-selling memoir, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina for New Line Cinema.

In 2020, she became the first African American woman to produce the Academy Awards for which she was Emmy nominated. Her TV credits include Justin Simien’s Dear White People, CW’s Make It Work and Ava Duvernay’s Zoom Where It Happens.

A long-time activist for inclusion and diversity within the business, she is a founding member of gender parity organization, ReFrame, and an active member of AMPAS and the Writers Guild of America. A former board member of Women in Film and Film Independent, she currently sits on the boards of American Cinematheque and the Producers Guild of America.

A recipient of the 2020 PGA/UCLA Vision Award, she has taught at UCLA, USC and is a frequent panelist and commentator.