We have two boys. After George Zimmerman was found not guilty of killing Trayvon Martin, we had to explain to our older son, who was 12 at the time, how that could happen. Instead of hugging and consoling him, my husband pulled out a documentary about Emmett Till and showed it to him and started to talk about how the justice system works in this country - and how it often doesn't. From that conversation, our son wrote a short story about Trayvon Martin going to heaven to meet Emmett Till.
Gina Prince-BythewoodA classic is a classic for a reason. Let's try to create new classics. The idea of repeating ourselves drives me a little crazy.
Gina Prince-BythewoodSports also teaches you that it's about the team, and the better your teammates are, the better they make you.
Gina Prince-BythewoodIn film school, I knew I wanted to be a director, but I found out pretty damn quickly that nobody was just going to hand me a script to direct.
Gina Prince-BythewoodI write to music, and Nina Simone is always on my playlist to write to. I mean, shes inspiring. She's truthful and real and raw.
Gina Prince-BythewoodWhat we were most hoping to achieve with Shots Fired: empathy for all of the characters and conversations about our criminal justice system, which is broken on every level, from the street all the way up to the highest level of government.
Gina Prince-BythewoodGrowing up the way I did, it was tough being one of only a few black people in the town and in school. What my upbringing got me is never feeling completely safe emotionally. Never knowing when something racial was going to pop off based on how I look. So that's something I've carried with me personally and is reflected in my work.
Gina Prince-Bythewood