Mya Baker facts for kids

Mya Baker (aka Mya B.; born 1974) is an American filmmaker, poet, writer, director and researcher. She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and has lived and taught early childhood education in Brooklyn, New York.

Biography

Baker was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois to an electrical engineer father and mother who worked for the EPA. She grew up around positive Black male and female role models, but also experienced racism while growing up. She said in an interview: "I remember so clearly, when I was 5 years old, my mother, my brother and I were chased out of a Chicago neighborhood called Bridgeport when we were young. .....

Baker studied film at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois, and later founded production company Shoot Films Not People. Her films have been shown at film festivals. She has also worked as a Special Education preschool teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Baker stated in an article on Patch.com that she creates films to begin the healing process for Black men and women, and for society.

..... In this film she interviewed Nzingha Steward and Little X, two directors in the Black music video industry. During the interview they discuss the impact of the 'video hoe' image on society. ..... The film educates the public to the historical and contemporary racial tensions and injustices in America in regards to Black males. Baker shares her experiences, and interviews black males from all walks of life spanning three generations.

Filmography

• 1994 - Warrior Queens - Baker's first documentary short which was shown at the Dusable Museum of African American History in Chicago.
• 2010 - Maya Illusion is a short film starring Angelo Boyke and Sophia Loren Coffee; Directed by Mya Baker and Co-Directed by Amy Werber. This film short is an about a young woman who falls in love with a pretty face to find out later that the pretty face has HIV.
• 2014 Afraid of Dark. This film confronts negative stereotypes of Black males with interviews with rappers, actors, and politicians that talk about their experiences with racism and injustices. In the film are interviews with Lou Myers, Malik Yoba, Sadat X, Sam Greenlee, Tom Burrell, Vondie Curtis Hall, Cornel West, Khalil G. Muhammad, General Steele, Kenya K. Stevens, and Kevin Powell.

Honors

• 2006 - BET finalist in the Rap It-Up Competition
• 2018- Screencraft Horror Competition, Semifinalist
• 2019 - Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship, Semifinalist
• 2018 - Script Pipeline Screenplay Competition, Semifinalist
• 2020 - Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Awards (Season 4), Finalist