Director Dee Rees–whose Mudbound (Netflix) earlier this week earned four Academy Award nominations, including one she shares with Virgil Williams for Best Adapted Screenplay–has joined production and management company Anonymous Content for commercial representation in the U.S. and U.K. Rees becomes the first African-American woman ever to be nominated for a writing Oscar. In addition to directing Mudbound and co-writing its screenplay, Rees served as an executive producer on the film which also garnered Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Mary J. Blige), Best Original Song (“Mighty River) and Best Cinematography. The latter went to Rachel Morrison, ASC, who too earns historic distinction as the first ever female nominee for the Best Cinematography Oscar.
Rees said she’s “excited to be working with the cool creators and storytellers over at Anonymous and can’t wait to play around with some fun and interesting short-form art.”
Eric Stern, Anonymous Content’s managing director and partner, described Rees as “a fearless talent and an important voice in our industry. We couldn’t be happier that she’s joined the Anonymous Content family.”
Now streaming on Netflix, Mudbound explores the racial divide of the post-WWII South with sharp commentary and heart-wrenching results. Starring Mary J. Blige, Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell and Jason Clarke, the film is set in the segregated Mississippi Delta, and tells the epic story of two families pitted against a barbaric social hierarchy and an unrelenting landscape as they simultaneously fight the battle at home and the battle abroad.
An alumna of New York University’s graduate film program and a 2008 Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab Fellow, Rees made her feature debut, Pariah, at Sundance in 2011; the film won the Excellence in Cinematography Award (Bradford Young, ASC) for the festival’s U.S. Dramatic competition. Pariah went on to be honored with the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards; the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Director; and Outstanding Film –Limited Release at the GLAAD Media Awards.
Rees’ other work includes the HBO film Bessie about the life of singer Bessie Smith, which won four Primetime Emmys, including the award for Outstanding Television Movie. Rees has also written and directed TV episodes for Fox’s smash-hit Empire and ABC’s miniseries When We Rise, about the history of the modern gay rights movement. Rees’s upcoming film projects include FilmNation’s An Uncivil War, which tells the story of feminist activists Gloria Steinem (Mulligan) and Florynce “Flo” Kennedy’s efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment; and a re-teaming with Mudbound producer Cassian Elwes in adapting Joan Didion’s political thriller The Last Thing He Wanted for the big screen.
