Hot Shots 2024: Joelle Mae David

When Further South Productions wanted a lead director for Channel 4/Onyx Collective’s adaptation of Candace Carty-Williams’ award-winning novel Queenie, they knew they had found the right person in Joelle Mae David.

During her stint working as a production assistant, David, who was born in east London to Caribbean parents, bought a DSLR and began creating her own documentaries about her local community. The resulting short series, Hidden Talent, aired on BBC3 and led the channel to commission  her to create the poetic doc Losing My Home In The Name of Regeneration in 2019.

After releasing her first narrative short film, Greasy Spoon, a comedy sci-fi film about gentrification, she directed two episodes of Adjani Salmon’s 2021 BBC3 comedy series Dreaming Whilst Black.

Queenie might have been a step up for David, but she hit the ground running. She was brought on board early enough to contribute to the script and, says executive producer Sarah Conroy, “had great insights in terms of character, theme and story”.

She also helped the casting director find little-known actress Dionne Brown for the lead character. Conroy describes David as “a great talent with a strong vision who is perceptive, creative and passionate about her work”.

David is now preparing to direct the second series of BBC3 teen comedy-drama Boarders, plus her debut feature film. She continues as chief executive of Bluebird Pictures, which was chosen as part of Indielab’s TV Accelerator 2024 cohort.