Iyabo Kwayana is an independent filmmaker who is interested in filmmaking as a healing art. She is the recipient of several awards and fellowships including, the Ousmane Sembene Jury Award from ZIFF, the Helen Hill Jury Prize from Indie Grits. She is a BAFTA shortlisted and Academy Award Shortlisted filmmaker and the recent BlackStar Pitch awardee for her film By Water. Her film Practice, which screened at Camden Film Festival in 2018, will premiere on Criterion in July of 2021. She currently resides in New Hampshire where she teaches film at Dartmouth College.