Kiara C. Jones is an American film and television director, writer, and producer. She is the founder of Cultivated Films LLC.
Early life and education Kiara Jones is the daughter of parents from The Bronx and Brooklyn. When she was five-years-old her family moved to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1992, she graduated from Wolfson High School.
After her father’s death in a car accident, Jones enlisted in the United States Air Force, where she served as a computer security specialist and later retrained as a broadcaster at the Defense Information School. During her military career, Jones worked in radio and television broadcasting.
After leaving the Air Force, Jones pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and a Master of Fine Arts in Film from New York University Tisch School of the Arts under artistic director Spike Lee.
Career Film and television Jones is a writer, producer, and director with the company she runs, Cultivated Films, LLC. She debuted as a feature filmmaker with Christmas Wedding Baby, which won the Directors Guild of America Grand Jury Award and aired on BET and Netflix. She then directed 21 and Done, a documentary on children aging out of foster care which won Best Documentary at Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival and was a "Films With a Purpose (FWAP)" selection in 2018. From 2018-2022, she worked as a producer on the film A Woman on the Outside, which profiles the founder of a transportation service and nonprofit dedicated to helping families maintain connections with incarcerated loved ones.
Jones has worked as a producer on several notable films, including: Title Year Role(s) Festival/Network Highlights References A Woman on the Outside 2022 Writer Premiered at SXSW; Best Documentary at American Black Film Festival and Mammoth Lakes Film Festival; Audience Award winner at Philadelphia Film Festival; PBS broadcast in 2024 Premature 2019 Producer Premiered at Sundance; Won Someone to Watch Award at Independent Spirit Awards She’s Lost Control 2014 Producer Premiered at Berlinale; CICAE Award; Spirit Award nomination The Other Side of the Game 2014 Writer Premiered at Tribeca Film Festival; Winner at Bombay Sapphire's Imagination Series film competition The First 48 / After the First 48 Various Consulting Producer True crime TV series on A&E
Awards and recognition
Award Work Year Notes References Directors Guild of America Grand Jury Award Christmas Wedding Baby 2015 BlackStar Film Festival Independent Spirit Award Nominee She’s Lost Control 2014 Best Documentary A Woman on the Outside 2022 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival and American Black Film Festival NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship – 2021 New York Foundation for the Arts Writers Guild of America FilmNation NY Fellowship – 2020 Screenwriters Fellowship ScreenCraft Film Fund – 2021 Sony Diverse Directors Program – – NYC Women's Fund – 2020 Media, Music, and Theatre Best Documentary A Woman on the Outside – Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival NYU Purple List – 2016 Screenwriting Honors IFP Filmmaker Lab – 2020 Documentary, Narrative, and Episodic Labs Trans Atlantic Partners Producing Fellow – 2017 BRIO Award for Screenwriting – – Bronx Council on the Arts Best Director Christmas Wedding Baby 2015 Pan African Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Christmas Wedding Baby 2015 BlackStar Film Festival Audience Award – Best Short Barbasol 2012 Urbanworld Film Festival
References
External links
Cultivated Films Official Website A Woman on the Outside Official Website AICP Show Archives – Black Rose NYU Purple List Winners