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Bronx Princess

– by Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed

    1. Nonfiction

    2. Date Awarded: Winter 2008

    3. Directors(s): Yoni Brook & Musa Syeed

    1. Company Credit: DR Int'l Sales & PBS/POV/ITVS

    2. Location: USA / Ghana

    1. Film Status: Completed

    2. URL: » http://www.bronxprincess.com

    3. Distribution: DR Int'l Sales & PBS/POV/ITVS

About the Film:

BRONX PRINCESS follows headstrong 17-year-old Rocky’s journey as she leaves behind her mother in New York City to reunite with her father, a chief in Ghana, West Africa. Filmed during the tumultuous summer between high-school and college, BRONX PRINCESS tells Rocky’s coming-of-age story. By confronting her immigrant parents’ ideas of adulthood, Rocky reconciles her African heritage with her dream of independence.


About the Filmmakers:

Yoni Brook directed the documentary short, A Son’s Sacrifice, which won Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival and the International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards. The film was broadcast in 2008 on PBS’ Independent Lens series. The documentary Bronx Princess, which he co-directed with Musa Syeed, premiered on P.O.V. on PBS in September 2009. He and Syeed are currently co-directing a film called The Calling for national ITVS/PBS broadcast. Yoni has also worked as a photojournalist at The New York Times and The Washington Post, among other publications. His work has received highest honors at the Pictures of the Year International and Best of Photojournalism competitions. He was named national College Photographer of the Year by the Missouri School of Journalism and was the youngest ever to be selected for Photo District News’ “30 Photographers to Watch”. He is an alumnus of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and was selected to attend the CPB/PBS Producers’ Academy and the Berlinale Talent Campus.

Musa Syeed is an independent filmmaker and writer. After producing A Son’s Sacrifice & co-directing Bronx Princess, Syeed is currently co-directing a film called The Calling for national ITVS/PBS broadcast.

Syeed was a Fulbright Fellow in Cairo, Egypt, where he focused on experimental filmmaking. As a writer, he produced original theatrical work for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and is the film editor for Islamica Magazine.

Syeed has worked as an educator in schools, community centers, and prisons. This year, he is a professor of documentary production at Williams College. He serves as an advisor for film and television companies, including Thirteen/WNET.

He is an alumnus of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies Department.