Savannah Leaf
Visiting Filmmaker, MFA in Film
Shatara Michelle Ford
Visiting Filmmaker
Profile
Shatara Michelle Ford (they/she) is an African American filmmaker born in Arkansas, raised in Missouri, and based in Central Pennsylvania. Ford’s films explore memory, perception, alienation, isolation, America, and Americanness, all the while interrogating systems of oppression through characters who must live, survive, thrive, or languish within them. Their debut feature TEST PATTERN won prizes from San Francisco Film Critics Circle, Austin Film Critics Association, Women Film Critics Circle, New Orleans Film Festival, and BlackStar Film Festival. Additionally, Mx. Ford was awarded the prestigious New Generation prize by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and is a 2021 Pew Fellow.