normalize girls like Monica, who were girls like me, who grew up playing sports and were… made to feel different”. This element of Prince-Bythewood’s work - one that challenges expectations in arenas of society that refuse women’s (particularly black women's) ability to solidify their own subjectivity through passionate and purposeful vocational pursuits while also being desired romantically - has led some to label her work as romance films, in what some consider an oversimplification and dismissal of underlying womanist narratives and themes. Additionally, throughout her work, Prince-Bythewood has indicated a particular investment in spotlighting the humanity of the female characters that her films depict. According to Christina N. Baker, Prince-Bythewood forefronts the humanistic quality of her film’s characters through the development of narratives that demonstrate the complexities of human emotion. In producing narratives that highlight the intricacies of feeling, thought, and behavior, Prince-Bythewood works to dispel limiting images and representations of women that regard them as objects of desire and self-sacrifice whose purpose is centralized around being in service of others, who are often men, around them. When asked by Kathleen Newman-Bremang why highlighting emotion within her film's female characters is a significant element of her work in a discussion at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with Viola Davis oriented around the debut of The Woman King (2022), Prince-Bythewood said “It’s showing our humanity. People don’t see our humanity. So, it’s important to put it up on screen”. Filmography Shorts Feature film Producer Biker Boyz (2003) The Old Guard 2 (TBA) Television Awards and nominations References External links 1969 births 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers African-American film directors African-American screenwriters American adoptees American television writers American women film directors American women screenwriters American women television writers Film directors from California Hugo Award winners Independent Spirit Award winners Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Pacific Grove, California Screenwriters from California UCLA Film School alumni