Deborah Riley Draper
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Deborah Riley Draper

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Deborah Riley Draper is a best-selling author and award-winning filmmaker. Deborah's first turn as an author is the new release from Simon & Schuster "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice", inspired by her documentary of the same name. Draper is 2016 Film Independent Lab Fellow and Variety Magazine’s “2016 Top 10 Documakers to Watch”. Her 2017 NAACP Image Awards nominated documentary, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, tells the untold story of 18 African Americans who defied Hitler and Jim Crow to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games. The film is one of only 3 nominees for the 2017 Peace and Sport Award in Monaco, presented by HRH Prince Albert. The film enjoyed packed screenings at the St. Louis Film Festival, LA Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival and many more. Draper’s debut film, Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution, opened New York Fashion Week and Toronto Fashion Week in 2012. Versailles ’73 appeared at festivals and fashion weeks around the world. The film premiered on Logo TV in September 2015 and aired on the Aspire Network in 2017. MOMA, SCAD, Guggenheim Bilboa and the de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and many other museums integrated the film with their major fashion exhibitions. Deborah Riley Draper’s advertising acumen and creativity can be found in major campaigns and projects for Lamborghini, Coca-Cola classic, ExxonMobil, REI, AT&T, and adidas. She has earned two regional Emmys, a Gold Effie, and several Addy Awards. Draper’s next film project is Coffee Will Make You Black. Draper penned the screenplay adaptation of April Sinclair’s seminal novel about an African-American girl growing up in 1960’s Chicago. Pro-duced by Octavia Spencer, Tate Taylor and John Norris, Draper will direct the film as well. Draper’s 2019 short film Illegal Rose stars Jasmine Guy and is currently on the festival circuit, garnering a best actress award at the DTLA Film Festival. Deborah Riley Draper is a Facebook 2018 SEEN Initiative Fellow, 2016 Guest Filmmaker Lecturer at Indiana University, 2016 Spelman College Digital Moving Image Salon Celebration of Excellence Award Recipient and 2014 Distinguished Visiting Professor at Johnson & Wales University in Entertainment Marketing. Draper, a Savannah, GA native, is the Atlanta Chapter lead of Film Fatales and a die-hard FSU Seminole.
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