Blackfilm.com correspondent Ellen J. Wanjiru sits with Student Academy Award winner De’Onna Young-Stephens to discuss her docufilm Not Just a Name, which explores the stigma and racial bias experienced by African-Americans with unique sounding names, as well as the historical origin of these names in America. Watch interview below.
De’Onna is one of two Black creatives out of 17 students announced as winners of the 48th Student Academy Awards competition. Her film, “Not Just a Name,” received a Bronze medal in the Documentary (Domestic Film Schools) category. Congratulations, De’Onna!
De’Onna “Tree” Young-Stephens is a writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. She is currently a member of Women in Film Los Angeles (WIFLA), The International Documentary Association, The Black Women’s Film Network (BWFN), and the African American Women in Cinema Society (AAWC).
Born and raised in Walkertown, North Carolina, Tree’s interest in film started at the tender age of eight when she was enrolled as a dancer at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Her artistic vision expanded when she curiously ventured from ballet class and quietly followed a student filmmaker attending the school. A world she never knew existed became something she’d be passionate about for the rest of her life. She told her mother about her exciting discovery of student filmmakers and went on to act in films directed by them. The student films eventually led to her acting in numerous films on Television, but Tree slowly started to realize her passion was located behind the scenes. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Marketing from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Tree officially moved to Atlanta, Georgia and got her first behind the scenes professional job working as a day player on the film 42. She later went on to work as a personal assistant for Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe on Hidden Figures and as a second assistant director on numerous films and television shows in the Atlanta area.
Currently, Tree works for the Wondaland Arts Society as a producer and helped to produce the Grammy nominated emotion picture Dirty Computer. She most recently received her MFA from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and received a Student Academy Award for her latest short film documentary Not Just a Name.
The Student Academy Awards is an international student film competition, established in 1972, that recognizes and honors student filmmakers who demonstrate excellence in the creation of motion pictures. Each year, college and university film students from all over the world compete for awards and cash grants, with films being judged in the following categories: Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Alternative / Experimental. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to win 12 Oscars, and receive 64 Oscar nominations. Past winners include Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Patricia Riggen, Cary Fukunaga, Patricia Cardoso and Spike Lee.
Academy Reveals 2021 Student Academy Award Winners & Medal Placement
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