On August 13, the African American Steering Committee (AASC) hosted their online meeting. In addition to Committee business, the meeting featured the panel discussion, “Breaking It Down" a conversation with Director Gina Prince-Bythewood.
In a conversation moderated by AASC Co-Chair Jeff Byrd, Prince-Bythewood discussed her recent film, the Netflix action movie, The Old Guard.
Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka, Prince-Bythewood’s superhero film tells the story of four immortal mercenaries who have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. When the team is recruited for an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are exposed, they must eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power.
Following the moderated portion of the event, Prince-Bythewood took questions from the online audience.
About the Panelists:
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 Gina Prince-Bythewood
A DGA member since 1999, Prince-Bythewood made her directorial debut with the Emmy-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning CBS Schoolbreak special, What About Your Friends. She received an Independent Spirit Award and a Humanitas Prize for her widely acclaimed Sundance hit Love & Basketball. In addition to The Old Guard her other directorial credits include feature films, The Secret Life of Bees and Beyond the Lights; the movie for television Disappearing Acts; the pilot for the Marvel series, Cloak and Dagger; and episodes of the series Shots Fired.
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 Jeffrey W. Byrd (moderator)
Byrd made his debut with the short film Breakdown in 1997. He would go on to direct the features King’s Ransom and A Beautiful Soul; the movies for television Seventeen Again and Jasper, Texas; and episodes of the series Dynasty, The Flash, Charmed, Black Lightning, Soul Food and Single Ladies. A DGA member since 1999, he has served on the Western Directors Council and previously served two terms as the AASC as Co-Chair from 2014 to 2018 and as the AASC Director category rep from 2018-2020.
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About the Committee:
The African American Steering Committee (AASC) was born of a desire to address the specific needs of the African-American members of the Directors Guild. One of the primary goals of the Committee is to establish a productive line of communication between African-American members and the creative community. The Committee meets monthly to plan events throughout the year celebrating the achievements of African-Americans, as well as forums with industry executives to proactively address what can be done to hire more African-Americans.