Kira Powell is an award-winning writer-director and SAG-AFTRA actor of African American and Ecuadorian descent, originally from Boston, MA. She holds an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory. Whether in coming-of-age drama or psychological horror, her films explore multiracial identity, belonging, and the immigrant experience, examining the collision between the self we present to the world and what the body can no longer contain.

Kira received a Directors Guild of America Jury Award at the 2024 DGA Student Awards for Outstanding Directing for her AFI thesis coming-of-age short BEST EYES, which premiered at the Academy Award®–qualifying Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF). BEST EYES also won First Place in the Afro-Latino Short Film Competition sponsored by Lexus and presented by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA).

Kira’s short films have screened at festivals including Urbanworld, Screamfest, Tallgrass, and Black Harvest Film Festival. Her award-winning one-woman show CAUGHT IN THE MIX, about Black–Latinx identity, was staged at multiple venues across Los Angeles and recognized for its social impact, laying the groundwork for the themes she continues to explore on screen.

As an actor, Kira has appeared in film, television, and numerous national commercials. Her credits include the indie cult hit THE ENDLESS, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Moon Knight, Loki), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; Jif’s “That Jif’ing Good” campaign—named one of Adweek’s Top Commercials of the Year; and collaborations with directors Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and John Hillcoat (The Road).

She is currently developing a slate of film and television projects, with the BEST EYES feature in active development. The screenplay has advanced to the second round of the Sundance Development Track and was a finalist for the Sundance Cultural Impact Residency. Her artistic development has also been supported by The Gotham.

GRANTS & ACCOLADES

• 2025 AAFCA/LEJA Afro-Latino Short Film Competition, sponsored by Lexus — 1st Place, Best Eyes.

• 2025 Grand Jury Award, Narrative Short— Awareness Film Festival, Borders.

• 2025 Georgia Latino International Film Festival — Best Student Short, Best Eyes

• 2024 DGA Student Jury Award, Student Film Awards — Best Eyes (national honor from the Directors Guild of America for outstanding directing)

• 2024 Perenchio Family Endowed Scholarship – AFI Conservatory (awarded for artistic excellence)

• 2023 Gary Winick Scholarship – AFI Conservatory (recognizing directing talent and creative promise.)

• 2023 Scott Patterson Scholarship – AFI Conservatory (honors talent and creative vision)

• 2022 SAG Foundation Dales Scholarship — awarded to long-standing SAG members to support continued studies and career transition.

• 2021 Hollywood Fringe Festival — Soaring Solo Social Impact Award, Best of Broadwater, and Diversity Scholarship for Caught in the Mix (award-winning solo show written, directed, and performed by Kira Powell)

LABS, FELLOWSHIPS & PROGRAMS

• Sundance Institute – Feature Film Program (Development Track) – Second-Round Contender, Best Eyes (feature screenplay), 2025.

• Sundance Institute – Cultural Impact Residency – Finalist, Best Eyes (feature screenplay), 2025.

• Athena Film Festival Writers Lab – Shortlisted, Best Eyes (feature screenplay), 2025.

• The Gotham Film & Media Institute — Accountability Sprint: Artist Statements — Selected Participant (2025)

• Walmart x mítu Filmmaker Program – Shortlisted, Hi Mija (short screenplay), 2025.

• Cherokee Film & Amazon MGM Studios Directors Elevation Program- shortlisted. (inaugural directing apprenticeship), 2025.