Today on What’s My Frame, I’m joined by award-winning director and producer DeMane Davis. This conversation has so much heart, insight, and encouragement—it’s the perfect start to our year. From the way DeMane creates a culture of kindness on her sets to the creative community that has supported her career, this conversation is a beautiful example of following your dreams, preparing for opportunities, and understanding how thoughts become things. Today, DeMane shares favorite stories from QUEEN SUGAR, BR...
Today on What’s My Frame, I’m joined by award-winning director and producer DeMane Davis. This conversation has so much heart, insight, and encouragement—it’s the perfect start to our year. From the way DeMane creates a culture of kindness on her sets to the creative community that has supported her career, this conversation is a beautiful example of following your dreams, preparing for opportunities, and understanding how thoughts become things. Today, DeMane shares favorite stories from QUEEN SUGAR, BRILLIANT MINDS, and a few childhood laughs.
DeMane Davis is an award-winning television director, producer, and commercial director who has an overall creative deal with Warner Brothers Television Group. Under this pact, Davis first served as co-executive producer/producing director of Ava DuVernay's DC Comics series "Naomi" for the CW Network. She helmed multiple episodes (including the series finale) and oversaw the show's directing team. Soon after, she directed the pilot and second episode of the NBC missing persons drama "Found" from Nkechi Okoro Carroll and Greg Berlanti. Davis received a Gracies Awards Honorable Mention for her work on "Found" and returned in their final season to direct the penultimate episode. She is now working as Executive Producer/Producing Director on the acclaimed drama series "Brilliant Minds," the TV series inspired by the work of neuroscientist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks, played by Zachary Quinto.
In 2020, Davis produced and directed the last two episodes of the four-part Emmy-nominated Netflix limited series "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker." The period drama starred Octavia Spencer, Blair Underwood and won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding TV Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special. In 2020 and 2021, she was co-executive producer on the CBS drama "Clarice," the television sequel to the Academy Award winning film "The Silence of the Lambs," and directed the two-part season finale.
Davis began her career writing and directing independent features. Both of her films premiered in Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival internationally at Edinburgh. She's best known for "Lift," the story of a "booster" or professional shoplifter, which was selected for the prestigious Sundance Director's and Screenwriter's Labs. It starred Kerry Washington in her first leading role. "Lift" was honored with two Spirit Award nominations before airing originally on Showtime.
Davis was working on teleplays and freelancing as an advertising copywriter when the prolific director and producer Ava DuVernay ("ORIGIN," "When They See Us" literally "slipped into her DMs. DuVernay asked her to helm an episode of her groundbreaking series, "Queen Sugar" (OWN). Davis, of course, agreed and arrived at the "Queen Sugar " production office on crutches (who has time for a broken ankle?). Later that summer, DuVernay asked Davis to be Producing Director on the third season of "Queen Sugar." She directed the celebrated premiere where Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) learns he's not the father of his son, as well as two more episodes while overseeing DuVernay's all female, first-time-TV-directing sisterhood. She was also one of a handful of directors asked to return by DuVernay to direct two episodes of the final acclaimed season of "Queen Sugar" in 2022.
Davis has directed the GLAAD Media Award nominated series, "The Red Line" (CBS), episodes of "You" and "The Girls on the Bus" for HBO/MAX. She also helmed "For the People," and multiple episodes of fan favorites "How to Get Away with Murder" and "Station 19"
When not directing, Davis splits her time between writing and being involved with several philanthropic endeavors including ABCD Boston (an organization dedicated to eradicating poverty), The Innocence Project and the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
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