A village child with her nose always buried in a fantasy novel, Sonte’nish carries her love for genre and the heroic journey into her filmmaking. With roots in both the U.S. and Jamaica, Sonte’nish’s voice began to crystallize once she understood that she needn’t look any further than her places of origin and the people who loved her to find what was significant and lasting in filmmaking. From drama to sci-fi and fantasy, Sonte’nish centers worlds and characters familiar to her in hopes of continuing the legacy of the folktales she grew up with.
Since the success of her award-winning short Cross My Heart, a Vimeo Staff Pick and streaming on SHOWTIME ANYTIME, Sonte’nish has garnered support for her feature scripts inclusive of fellowships with Sundance, Tribeca, and Film Independent. Sonte’nish is in late development of her Black List screenplay Stampede; a sci-fi/period film.
A graduate of NYU’s Graduate Film program where she is now an adjunct professor, Sonte’nish works across mediums. In the music video space, Sonte’nish has directed for Grammy-nominated artists such as Tank and the Bangas and Grammy-award-winning artists like Samara Joy.
With the support from Nikon and Black Women Photographers for her photography, Sonte’nish is also developing her debut audio-visual exhibition “Auntie”.