December Spotlight: Award Winning Director Joslyn Rose Lyons
Joslyn Rose Lyons is here to expand the parameters of storytelling. The filmmaker has dabbled in a number of different genres and mediums, each time out managing to share a distinct and powerful message with viewers. She has several projects in the works currently, including her first feature film.
Some of the Lyons’ most notable projects to date include Butterfly Boxing, Stand, and Tale of the Tape. Tale of the Tape is a documentary that takes a look at mixtapes in the music world, and how they have helped to evolve the sound of hip hop music from the 1970s to the modern day. In addition to providing stellar historical insights, the documentary features exclusive interviews with industry legends like Big Sean, J. Cole, Mobb Deep, Wiz Khalifa, and Kendrick Lamar.
Another notable release that Lyons worked on was Speaking Truth to Power. The documentary tackled human rights and racial injustice from a number of different perspectives, while at the same time highlighting the career of Rep. Barbara Lee. It’s a devastatingly powerful watch, and features appearances by a veritable who’s who in the political/entertainment world, including Cory Booker, Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Van Jones, Danny Glover and Alice Walker. Speaking Truth to Power connected with critics as well, winning Outstanding Documentary at the 2022 NAACP Image Awards.
Despite excelling in the world of documentaries, Lyons has also proven herself a remarkable storyteller in the fictional world. She recently put out the short film Butterfly Boxing, which touches on similar ideas of injustice and economic hardship but through a lens of magical realism. Speaking with Film Daily earlier this year, the filmmaker said that working in a scripted setting allows her to exert more creativity.
“Scripted cinema is a space where I find that I can play the most, and let my imagination run free like a wild horse, and in that process I find a sense of freedom”, she explained. “I think we are drawn to things that allow us to feel freedom. For me, that’s what cinema does, it gives me a sense of freedom. It is a form of creative play, and when we are playing, that’s often when the most inspiring ideas spark.”
Lyons is gearing up to work on her feature debut, though the details surrounding the project remain scarce. The film is currently in the pre-production stages, and given how adept she’s been at every other facet of her career thus far, we can’t wait to see what she has in store for audiences.
