KAMILAH FORBES
Midsummer in Oxford ’97
Kamilah Forbes is an esteemed award-winning director and producer for theater and television. She currently serves as the Executive Producer at the World-Famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. In her diverse body of work, Kamilah is noted for having a strong commitment to the development of creative works by, for, and about the Hip-Hop generation.
This Howard University alum has won awards for both directing and producing, including the 2019 NBTF Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award and an NAACP Image Award.
Kamilah’s directing credits include Between the World and Me, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, written by Lynn Nottage Blood Quilt written by Katori Hall, and Sunset Baby written by Dominique Morrisseau. She has also worked closely with Kenny Leon on The Wiz Live, A Raisin in the Sun, Mountaintop, and Stick Fly on Broadway. She has produced several works for television, most notably the seventh season of the Tony Award and Peabody Award-winning series Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry on HBO.
Kamilah’s most recent directorial work, Between the World and Me aired as a special event on HBO and HBO Max in November 2020 to critical acclaim. In addition to her work at the Apollo Theater, Kamilah is set to direct the Broadway premiere of Soul Train alongside Questlove, Dominique Morrisseau, and Camille A. Brown.
Ms. Forbes is a powerful leader, widely known for her ability and commitment to continue to highlight the ideas, complexities, and work of artists in the hip-hop community and beyond.