Kiara C. Jones is a celebrated filmmaker renowned for her commitment to crafting diverse, human-centered stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, to a loving Bronx-Brooklyn family, Kiara's upbringing played a significant role in shaping her artistic vision.
Kiara's journey in filmmaking began after deferring college to enlist in the United States Air Force, where she served as a computer security specialist. This experience sparked her passion for storytelling, leading her to pursue a Bachelor's degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and later earn a Graduate degree in filmmaking from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Under the guidance of esteemed filmmakers like Spike Lee, Shaka King, and Chloé Zhao, Kiara honed her craft and developed a unique voice in the industry.
Kiara's directorial debut, Christmas Wedding Baby, garnered critical acclaim, earning her the Directors Guild of America Grand Jury Award and distribution on Netflix and BET. Her writing collaboration with Oscar-winning filmmaker Geoffrey Fletcher won the prestigious Bombay Sapphire Imagination Series at TriBeCa. Notable producing credits include She's Lost Control, which received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and Premature, which premiered at Sundance and won the Some One to Watch Award for Director Rashaad Ernesto Green.
Kiara's dedication to telling complex, socially imperative stories is evident in documentaries like 21 and Done, which sheds light on the struggles faced by children aging out of Foster care, and A Woman on the Outside, which premiered at SXSW and won Best Documentary at the American Black Film Festival before airing on PBS.
In addition to her filmmaking accomplishments, Kiara has received numerous accolades, including the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship (2021),the NYC Women's Fund Grant (2020),and the Writers Guild of America East and FilmNation Screenwriting Fellowship under mentor Scott Frank (2020). She was also selected as an IFP/Blackhouse/HBO Producers Lab Fellow (2019) and recently served as a producer on A&E's hit true crime series The First 48, enhancing context and story.
