Rising Stars of Pride Month 2024 – T’Nia Miller’s Picks

From actors like Waleed Akhtar to producers like Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor and filmmakers like Neelu Bhuman, make sure to check out all these talents.

For now, we’ll hand it over to T’Nia to tell us exactly why they made her list.

Walid Akhtar

Waleed Akhtar is a Pakistani actor and writer and a pure genius whose brilliant and daring subversive work tackles difficult and sensitive subjects through a comedic lens.

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He won an Olivier Award for his show The P Word. He also wrote on Paramount’s Road Trip and appeared in Miriam Margolyes’ Bucket on the BBC.

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor

Joy Gharoro Akpojotor is a Nigerian producer, screenwriter and director. There is a lot of excitement in the industry about his latest show and debut film, Dreamers, which just wrapped. Dreamers is a love story set against the backdrop of an immigrant removal center. She also produced the hit film Blue Story, which became the highest-grossing film of its genre.

In 2020, she was named Screen International Star of Tomorrow and BAFTA Breakthrough, and Joi Productions received a BFI Vision Award. In late 2021, she produced Aml Ameen’s directorial debut, Boxing Day, the first all-black Christmas film released from the UK. Most recently, Joy produced Champions for the BBC and Netflix.

Kevin Morosky

Kevin Morosky is a Jamaican director, author and poet. They say some people are ahead of their time and that may be true of Morosky. His work is unbridled, unapologetically evocative, controversial and important! It’s his use of imagery and poetry that captures my heart and attention.

Some of his credits include short films, the award-winning film Spun and Bruce (featured in the Channel 4 series Random Acts), the self-funded film More Time and the NFTS x Disney Plus UK-funded film Gently, which had its premiere worldwide at the BFI London film Festival 2023. Morosky currently has feature films in development with the BBC, Berlanti Productions and Luti Media, as well as a TV pilot produced by Home Team. Her latest book, Black Women Always (published by Harper Collins) was released in March of this year.

Jimmy Shaw

Jimmy Shaw is an American actor living in Europe and his flowers are long overdue. He is an incredibly talented and versatile actor who brings nuance to his roles. He has appeared in television series like Major Dad and Will and Grace.

Moving to Spain in 2001, he rose to prominence in the comedy series La Que Se Avecina and the miniseries El Tiempo Entre Costuras. He starred in El Ministerio del Tiempo, El Hombre de las Mil Caras and From Zero To I Love You. Shaw also won acclaim for his solo performance in Dream Man, balancing his career between Madrid, the United Kingdom and Los Angeles.

Lorna Gayle, aka Sutara Ji

Lorna Gayle is a Jamaican-Brixtonian actress and musician. This year she won an Offie Award for her autobiographical one-woman show The Legends of Them. The play addresses themes of spirituality, hope, fame, addiction, sexual and physical assault as part of her quest for unconditional love. There are plans to bring this play to the screen.

Neelu Bhuman

Neelu Bhuman is an Indian auteur filmmaker. Their films explore sociopolitical themes of race, gender, sexuality, culture, class, and a healthy dose of romance.

The documentary Chiraku is currently in development, about a young trans Muslim man, Adam, who dreams of becoming a professional pilot. After escaping pernicious family persecution, he enjoyed a scholarship from the Kerala government, a growing fan base and media presence.

Shiloh Coca

Shiloh Coke is a Jamaican/Grenadian actor, writer, composer and musician. Not only is she ridiculously talented, but she’s also a leading force in the industry – a changemaker for equality for her fellow contemporaries – and certainly deserves her flowers. The film Bumped, in which she stars, was the official selection of the Pan-African film Festival and the Toronto LGBTQ+ film Festival.

Dionne Edwards

Dionne Edwards is a Nigerian/Jamaican filmmaker and screenwriter whose debut feature, Pretty Red Dress, is not only a brilliant piece of writing, but also a superb cast. British cinema does not often address black gender and sexuality within the complex context of black British culture and identity.

Siri Rodnes

Siri Rodnes is a Scottish writer/director whose work is beautifully complex, heartbreaking and equally heartwarming. They have just completed their first feature film Follow Me, a psychological thriller starring Connie Nielsen and Stef Dawson.

Other feature projects in the works include Nine Lives, based on the sci-fi short story by Ursula K Le Guin. Their short films, including the BAFTA Scotland and Berlinale Crystal Bear nominated Take Your Partners, have screened internationally at the Berlin, TIFF, Seattle, Cork, Edinburgh and BFI London festivals.

Shiori Itō

Shiori Ito is a Japanese journalist and documentary filmmaker. Ito is an important voice of our time, lifting the veil on Japan’s problematic justice system when it comes to sexual violence. Ito was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine for her contributions to Japan’s Me Too movement.

Her documentary Black Box Diaries documents her own sexual assault and the investigation in Japan.

Bilal Hasna

Bilal Hasna is a British-Palestinian-Pakistani actor and playwright. He’s a fast rising star and there’s no surprise, because even when he’s in a supporting role, he manages to consistently steal the show. Her credits include Layla, Dead Hot and Extraordinary.

T’Nia Miller is RadioTimes.com’s Pride Month Guest Editor.

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