Biography

Award-winning director, screenwriter and producer Kiel Adrian Scott's creative works explore the psychological and systemic ramifications of identity, inequity, and ideology, often investigating the conflicts arising from social stratification in modern society.

Scott’s recent work includes directing OWN’s Peabody Award-winning television series David Makes Man. The series, from Academy Award-winning Moonlight screenwriter and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, is a magical realism coming-of-age story about a teenage prodigy navigating the incredible opportunities and extraordinary dangers of two very different worlds: one of academic privilege, the other, a community in need. Scott’s work on the series included directing eight of its twenty episodes, including repiloting the critically acclaimed series in its second season. In 2026 the series was acknowledged by Time as one of "The 50 Most Underappreciated Television Shows of the 21st Century."

Before David Makes Man, Scott directed BET’s hit television miniseries The Bobby Brown Story. The biopic, exploring the beautiful yet sometimes tragic life of famed R&B legend Bobby Brown, proved to be a meme worthy instant classic. The two-night television event went on to win the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special.

In 2025 Scott was hired to write the forthcoming historical actioner Be Free Or Die from TriStar /Sony Pictures Entertainment. The film will tell the story of Robert Smalls, a black man enslaved by the Confederacy and conscripted into military service on one of their deadliest battleships. The film follows Smalls’ harrowing journey to free himself, his family and his fellow enslaved crew by stealing the very battleship upon which he served.

Scott is also currently producing the documentary feature Chief Adjuah: Sound Carved From Legend. The film follows acclaimed two-time Edison Award-winning, six-time Grammy-nominated international recording artist Chief Adjuah (formerly known as Christian Scott), who happens to also be Scott’s identical twin. The documentary, which is currently in production, explores Chief Adjuah’s artistry and revolutionary genre blind musical philosophy "Stretch Music" and the global fandom it has inspired!

Among Scott’s other acclaimed works is the featurette Samaria, his New York University graduate thesis. Scott, who wrote, directed, and produced the film, won a Directors Guild of America Student Film Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the Audience Award at the Urbanworld Film Festival for his efforts. Samaria was also a finalist in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. This marked Scott’s second time as a finalist in the lauded competition. The film, inspired by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, powerfully depicts the human cost of societal apathy and corporate greed in the wake of an environmental catastrophe. Scott’s feature length screenplay adaptation of Samaria, entitled Epilogue, was an inaugural selection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Emerging Voices Program.

The Roe Effect, a short film written, directed, and produced by Scott, also won several film festivals and awards, including, but not limited to Best Short Film at the American Black Film Festival’s HBO Short Film Competition, Best Narrative Short at the Urbanworld Film Festival, and the Saatchi & Saatchi NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award. The Roe Effect was also included in Cannes Film Festival’s Court Métrage. The film explores the cyclical nature of violent abuse, asking what could happen when a person’s agency and bodily autonomy are stripped away. Of the film, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme remarked, "The Roe Effect is exquisitely made, and fantastic in every single aspect. Kiel is an incredibly exciting new American filmmaker!"

Scott was a member of the inaugural class of the HALF Initiative, the now celebrated television directing mentorship program from Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning creator and showrunner Ryan Murphy. While in the program, Scott shadowed legendary actor and director Angela Bassett on FX’s hit series American Horror Story.

Scott is an alumnus of New York University’s Graduate Film Program, where he was awarded a full tuition scholarship, was a Dean’s Fellow, a Spike Lee Fellow, and served as Professor Spike Lee’s Graduate Teaching Assistant. After completing the program, Scott continued to work with longtime mentor Spike Lee, as his assistant on his professional projects. In that capacity, Scott shadowed Lee for three years on projects ranging from commercials and documentaries to narrative features and a Broadway play. Scott later collaborated with Lee by co-writing his cult classic video game feature film, NBA2K16 Livin’ Da Dream.

Scott is also a graduate of the renowned Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science of Art, where he, along with all students awarded admission to the university, received a full tuition scholarship. While pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree there, Scott was thrice distinguished for his creative practice and fine artworks. Upon graduation he was named Commencement Speaker, was recognized as a National Collegiate Scholar, and awarded both the Alumni Association Outstanding Service to the School Award and the Student Service Award for his contributions to the university.

Always looking for ways to serve, Scott has continued his work in arts education, cultural affairs, and community support. Scott has been a guest lecturer at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. He speaks publicly, contributing to panels and talks, most recently co-headlining "I'll Make Me A World: World Building and the Power of the Imagination" with his twin Chief Adjuah at the famed Apollo theater in New York City. Scott is a member of the Black Genius Brain Trust of the Black Genius Foundation, which celebrates and invests in the intellectual and creative genius of Black artists, arts professionals, and arts organizations. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the N.O.C.C.A. Foundation, which serves as the non-profit arm of the celebrated arts conservatory high school, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (N.O.C.C.A.). Scott, a native New Orleanian, is also an alumnus of N.O.C.C.A. Scott also serves on the Executive Board of the non-profit organization, Guardians Institute. Through its youth and community-based programming, Guardians Institute promotes literacy, healthy lifestyles, civic engagement, and the preservation of New Orleans’ cultural arts.
- IMDb mini biography by: Kiel Adrian Scott