# Kemp Powers

Kemp Powers is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for his play One Night in Miami and the 2020 film adaptation of the same name, as well as for co-directing the animated films Soul (2020) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). His screenplay for One Night in Miami... earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the 93rd Academy Awards, while his work on Soul made him the first African-American to co-direct a Disney animated feature.

## Career

After writing the 2012 short film This Day Today, he scripted the 2013 play One Night in Miami, which was adapted into a feature film directed by Regina King. In 2017, Powers was brought onboard to write several scripts for Star Trek: Discovery season one episodes. In 2018, he drafted his second play Little Black Shadows.
In the same year, he co-wrote the script for Pixar's Soul, with Pete Docter and Mike Jones, as well as co-directing the film with Docter, making his directorial debut. An alumnus of Howard University, Powers is the first African-American co-director in Disney and Pixar history. On December 16, 2020, Powers hosted the first three episodes of the podcast Soul Stories, which was released as a Spotify exclusive. In the episodes, Powers interviewed several people who worked on the film mainly about their mentors and careers, as well as some behind-the-scenes stories behind the making of the film.
In 2021, he appeared in the podcast Spark & Fire, prior to writing his third play Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue. In the same year, he signed on to direct Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and its sequel Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse with Joaquim Dos Santos and Justin K. Thompson. In March 2023, Powers premiered his fourth play The XIXth (The Nineteenth), which chronicles the lives of two Black American sprinters who raised their fists in protest during the 1968 Summer Olympics games. In November 2024, he is set to make his live action filmmaking debut when he signed on to write and direct the crime film Lunik Heist for Searchlight Pictures. In December 2024, it was reported that he would not be returning to direct Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2012 | This Day Today | No | Yes | Short film |
| 2017 | Star Trek: Discovery | No | Yes | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | One Night in Miami... | No | Yes | Also executive producer |
| 2020 | Soul | Co-director | Yes | Co-writer with Pete Docter and Mike Jones |
| 2023 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Yes | No | With Joaquim Dos Santos and Justin K. Thompson |

## Plays

* One Night in Miami (2013)
* Little Black Shadows (2018)
* Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue (2021)
* The XIXth (The Nineteenth) (2023)

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Film | Result |
| Academy Awards | April 25, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | March 10, 2024 | Best Animated Feature | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Nominated |
| AAFCA Awards | April 7, 2021 | Best Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Won |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards | January 4, 2021 | Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | April 16, 2021 | Best Direction – Feature | Soul | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | April 16, 2021 | Best Writing – Feature | Soul | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Best Direction – Feature | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Won |
| Black Reel Awards | April 11, 2021 | Outstanding Breakthrough Screenwriter | One Night in Miami... | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | April 11, 2021 | Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original | One Night in Miami... | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | April 11, 2021 | Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original | Soul | Nominated |
| Celebration of Cinema and Television | December 4, 2023 | Animation Award | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | December 21, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Soul | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | December 21, 2020 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | March 7, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Denver Film Critics Society | January 18, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Florida Film Critics Circle | December 21, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Soul | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | February 28, 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Soul | Won |
| Harvey Awards | October 12, 2023 | Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Won |
| Hawaii Film Critics Society | January 13, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards | June 30, 2023 | Best Director | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Won |
| Houston Film Critics Society Awards | January 18, 2021 | Best Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Hugo Awards | December 18, 2021 | Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form | Soul | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | December 21, 2020 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | December 21, 2020 | Breakout of the Year | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | March 27, 2021 | Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | March 27, 2021 | Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture | Soul | Nominated |
| North Carolina Film Critics Association | January 4, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | January 25, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Satellite Awards | February 15, 2021 | Best Original Screenplay | Soul | Nominated |
| St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | January 17, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | March 21, 2021 | Best Adapted Screenplay | One Night in Miami | Nominated |