Niva Dorell

Niva Dorell's career officially began when Robert Zemeckis and John Singleton chose to mentor her USC thesis script "Kings", about a Black corporate attorney struggling to reconcile with his urban roots. The film won awards at dozens of film festivals and competitions, including the prestigious Showtime Black Filmmakers Grant, given annually to a minority filmmaker. Kings subsequently aired on Showtime and was included on Afrocentricity, a DVD compilation featuring up-and-coming minority directors (available at Tower Records and Amazon.com). Niva's next film (produced for Showtime) was "Milk and Honey", about a Black soldier and Israeli woman who meet and spend a day together in Texas, circa 1953. Inspired by Niva's parents, Milk and Honey was heralded a great success by Showtime, where it aired for over a year. Milk and Honey also made the festival circuit, culminating with its international debut at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. Niva was then hired to direct and rewrite the 2-hour Pilot "What About Your Friends", starring Keisha Knight Pulliam and Oscar winner Louis Gossett, Jr. The urban teen drama aired twice on UPN (primetime) to rave national reviews. Although it was not picked up for series, Ms. Pulliam was subsequently nominated for a NAACP Best Actress Image Award. Earlier this year, Niva "shadowed" on an episode of TV show "The Unit" (co-executive produced by Niva's mentor, David Mamet). Niva's most recent directorial effort is "Skid Row", a feature documentary about LA's Skid Row area featuring Pras Michel from The Fugees living undercover as a homeless person. Skid Row will be released theatrically in August 2007 by Screen Media Films.