GINA PRINCE–BYTHEWOOD

(Screenwriter/Director)

Gina Prince–Bythewood wrote and directed the widely acclaimed feature film LOVE & BASKETBALL, which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Prince–Bythewood won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and a Humanitas Prize for her work on the film. Her other feature directing credits include the HBO film “Disappearing Acts.”

Prince–Bythewood obtained her first feature film producer credit in 2003 on BIKER BOYZ, a Dreamworks film which was co–written and directed by her husband, Reggie Rock Bythewood.

Prince–Bythewood studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynolds Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. Upon her graduation, she was immediately hired as a writer on the television series “A Different World.â€� She continued to write and produce for network television on series such as “Felicity,” “South Central,” “Courthouse” and “Sweet Justice” before making the transition to directing.

Her television directorial debut was the CBS Schoolbreak Special “What About Your Friends,” which won Prince–Bythewood an NACCP Image Award for Best Children”s Special and two Emmy nominations for writing and directing. She has also directed episodes of the hit television comedies “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Girlfriends.”

Prince–Bythewood currently resides in Southern California with her husband Reggie and their sons Cassius and Toussaint.

Directed by GINA PRINCE–BYTHEWOOD

SYNOPSIS

A touching story about the need for love, family and redemption, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES explores our undeniable desire for a sense of belonging and the often daunting journeys that we must navigate to achieve it. Set in South Carolina during the turbulent Civil Rights era, the home of the intelligent and independent honey-making Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo) is suddenly thrust into upheaval with the arrival of fourteen year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) and her caretaker Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson). Surrounded by the unexpected comforts, grace and deep rooted spirituality Lily (Fanning) encounters in the Boatwright home, she forms a maternal bond with each of these women whose unique and special gifts help reconcile the loss of her mother. Lily ultimately comes to the realization that sometimes you must leave home in order to find it.