Vashni Korin
Directing
Biography
Vashni Korin is an American director with Puerto Rican and Caribbean roots, whose identity as a woman of the diaspora heavily influences her work. She strives to bring her community together through storytelling, folklore, spirituality, and celebration, with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of women. Korin has directed commercial spots for Instagram, Square and music films for Samora Pinderhughes and more. She was a cinematographer on Lizzo’s recent documentary, Love, Lizzo, as they traveled the world together. Her first documentary short, You Can’t Stop Spirit, explores themes of identity, sexual liberation, and the freedom that carnival brings to black women in New Orleans. This work was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the Blackstar Film Festival, won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Short at the New Orleans Film Festival, and was included on the DOC NYC short list. It is currently featured on NY Times Op-Docs and PBS.
Known For
Negra, Yo Soy Bella is a portrait of Mar Cruz, an Afro-Puerto Rican woman who sources strength, healing and black pride through the tradition of Bomba.
Negra, Yo Soy Bella
Keur Simbara is an intimate, lyrical short documentary that follows a group of women community organizers in a rural Senegalese village as they build and sustain systems of health, finance, agriculture, and domestic infrastructure. Amid water scarcity and environmental challenges, they articulate their hopes for the future and the legacy they wish to leave behind. Keur Simbara is a tribute to communal wisdom and the power of local organizing.
Keur Simbara
You Can’t Stop Spirit centers the Baby Doll Mardi Gras masking tradition, comprised of a group of self-liberated black women that created an alternative social space where they are allowed and encouraged to be free.