Biography

**B.J. Winfrey** is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright, actor, and producer from Atlanta, Georgia. A multidisciplinary storyteller, his work spans theater, television, and independent film, with professional experience in writing, directing, producing, acting, editing, and cinematography.

Winfrey graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater/Film Studies. While at Emory, he founded **AHANA Theater** in 1991, serving as its Founder and Artistic Director. His early stage work earned consecutive Alpha Psi Omega awards for Best Student Written Play with *The Fantasy of Justice* (1991) and *Through It All* (1992), and he was inducted into Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theatre Honor Society, in 1992.

As a screenwriter, Winfrey wrote the feature screenplay for *One Night in Vegas*, which received the 2013 Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards (NAFCA) honor for Best Film in the Diaspora, screened internationally, including at the United Nations. His screenplay was also nominated for Best Screenplay (worldwide) and Best Screenplay in the Diaspora. As a director, his short films include *Five*, *Gone*, *The Coldest Day of Winter*, *Cherry*, *Punch Drunk*, *How to Murder a Millionaire*, *The Final Lesson*, and *Mothers*. His film *Five* won the 2014 NAFCA Award for Best Short Film, making Winfrey the first American filmmaker to receive that honor.

In addition to his work behind the camera, Winfrey has appeared as an actor in numerous film and television productions, including *Sabotage*, *Army Wives*, *American Soul*, *Reasonable Doubt*, *Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist*, *Monarch*, and *The Haves and the Have Nots*.

Winfrey is the founder of Winfrey Media Group and Icestorm Studios. His creative philosophy is simple: **"Great stories, well told."** He is currently developing his debut feature as writer and director, *BLUE*.
- IMDb mini biography by: B.J. Winfrey

Has worked as a welfare caseworker, a preschool teacher, and a personal trainer.

Mother is a Baptist minister.

Once sang lead vocals in a band.

Started a multicultural student run theater group, AHANA Theater, while a student at Emory University.

Winner of the 2014 NAFCA (African Oscar) Award for "Best Short Film/Trailer" for his film "Five".