Writer/Director & Actor

Kira Powell is an award-winning writer-director and actor of African American and Ecuadorian descent whose films explore identity, belonging, and the immigrant experience. She holds an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory.

Her AFI thesis film Best Eyes premiered at the Academy Award®–qualifying Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) and won a 2024 DGA Student Jury Award. The short continues its run at festivals including the Academy Award®–qualifying Urbanworld Film Festival. She was honored by the African American Critics Association (AAFCA) and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) as the 1st place winner of the Afro-Latino short film competition, sponsored by Lexus. She is developing the feature version of Best Eyes, which advanced to the second round of the Sundance Development Track, was a finalist for the Sundance Cultural Impact Residency, and a semi-finalist for the Athena Writers Lab.

Powell's short The Good Mother, a psychological horror about motherhood and cultural isolation, premiered at Screamfest, and her co-directed experimental short Borders is currently screening at Tallgrass and Black Harvest. She also wrote, directed, and performed Caught in the Mix, an award-winning solo show exploring Black-Latinx identity, staged at multiple venues across Los Angeles and recognized for its social impact.

As a SAG-AFTRA performer, Powell has appeared in film, television, and national commercials, including the indie cult hit The Endless, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Moon Knight, Loki), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her dozens of commercials include Jif’s nationally recognized “That Jif’ing Good “campaign — named one of Adweek’s Top Commercials of the Year — as well as collaborations with directors Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and John Hillcoat (The Road).

She is currently developing the feature adaptation of her award-winning short Best Eyes as her debut film, alongside other projects for film and television.

GRANTS & ACCOLADES

• 2025 AAFCA/LEJA Afro-Latino Short Film Competition, sponsored by Lexus — 1st Place Winner.

• 2024 DGA Student Film Award – Jury Award, Best Eyes (National honor from the Directors Guild of America for outstanding directing)

• 2024 Perenchio Family Endowed Scholarship – AFI Conservatory (Awarded for artistic excellence)

• 2023 Gary Winick Scholarship – AFI Conservatory (Awarded in recognition of directing talent and creative promise.)

• 2023 Scott Patterson Scholarship – AFI Conservatory (Honors talent and creative vision)