Hanelle Culpepper Wins NAACP Image Award For Directing ‘Star Trek: Picard’

On Tuesday, director Hanelle Culpepper won the Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for her work on the series premiere of Star Trek: Picard “Remembrance.” She beat out competition from Cheryl Dunye (Lovecraft Country – “Strange Case” on HBO), Misha Green (Lovecraft Country – “Jig-a-Bobo” on HBO), Nzingha Stewart (Little Fires Everywhere – “The Uncanny” on Hulu), and Steve McQueen (Small Axe – “Mangrove” on Amazon).

Parade: Celebrating These 21 Boundary-Pushing, Boss Black Women Behind the Scenes in Hollywood

 “People are not used to seeing a Black woman director. The majority of the time, people are excited…It’s a cool thing, but it’s also frustrating because it shouldn’t be that way.” She continued, “As soon as I see what casting breakdown is needed, I’ll ask the producers, ‘Are you open to turning this male role into a female role or this white role into a diverse role?’”

Featuring fabulous women firsts! ‘Star Trek’ makes history with first ever Black female director: Hanelle Culpepper

“Star Trek” has always had a diverse cast, from George Takei, who is Japanese, to Nichelle Nichols, who is African-American. And now, the popular TV series has Hanelle Culpepper, its first Black female director in the franchise’s history of more than 50 years.

IMDB Feature: Movies That Shaped Director Hanelle Culpepper

For IMDB, I offer up a quick cross-section of a handful of key movies and shows — in alphabetical order — some that inspired my fascination as a little girl, some that shaped my desire to come to Hollywood and tell stories, and some that ultimately taught me how to think cinematically. All are worthwhile, and I hope you enjoy checking them out.

— Hanelle M. Culpepper

Deadline: ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Director Hanelle Culpepper On Breaking Barriers And Doing The Work – Guest Column

Two years ago, right about this time, pre-pandemic and pre-BLM summer, I got the call. Alex Kurtzman loved my vision and was entrusting me to guide the return of a beloved hero – Captain Picard. Today, I’m honored to be nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the Star Trek: Picard pilot. When I got the job, I didn’t realize that I was the first Black director and first woman director to launch any Star Trek movie or series. Why? It never crossed my mind; I was too busy thinking about the work.

Actor Dawnn Lewis and director Hanelle Culpepper among Star Trek nominations for NAACP Image Awards

The NAACP Image Awards celebrate outstanding Black achievements in film, television, music and literature. The 2021 awards are the 52nd annual awards, and the first in which Star Trek has been nominated, at least since Star Trek: Discovery premiered.

The three awards that Star Trek was nominated for are: Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (for Hanelle Culpepper from the Star Trek: Picard episode “Remembrance”), Outstanding Animated Series (for Star Trek: Lower Decks), and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television) (for Dawnn Lewis, also from Star Trek: Lower Decks).

Kevin Hart & Wesley Snipes To Star As Brothers In ‘True Story’ Netflix Limited Drama Series

Stephen Williams (Watchmen, Lost) will direct and executive produce the first four episodes. Hanelle Culpepper (Star Trek Picard, Kung Fu) will direct the final four episodes.

“Kevin Hart’s career is one defined by courageous creative risks and Wesley Snipes is a legendary talent – together they are truly a dream team,” Newman said. “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with these two. As always, I am grateful to Netflix for their continued support, as well as to Charles Murray, Stephen Williams, and Hanelle Culpepper for their creative partnership.”

In Star Trek: Discovery’s New Future, Franchise History Still Matters

Interestingly, in both Culpepper’s Picard episode “Remembrance” and in Discovery’s “Forget Me Not,” memories, dreams, and events that only take place within the mind literally take center stage. In other words, Culpepper is a director who is experienced with taking stories that occur inside a character’s heads, and then showing us what that might look like.

TrekMovie.com: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Gets Rejoined In “Forget Me Not

“Forget Me Not” is just the kind of solid mid-season Discovery episode you want to have…quiet character beats were well played by director Hanelle Culpepper, without descending into the indulgent melodrama Discovery too often leans on.