Thembi Banks

Born in Harlem New York, storytelling has been a part of Thembi Banks/ DNA since she can remember. She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia H.S and majored in theater and received her MFA from USC's Film & TV Production program where she worked on several award-winning films. She was most recently a co-producer on Home Before Dark, an upcoming hour-long drama set to premiere on Apple's streaming platform in 2019. Previously she wrote for SMIFL, Daytime Divas and Step Up and is currently writing a feature for Universal Studios with Malcom D. lee attached to produce and direct. She will be making her feature film directorial debut with YOUNG. WILD. FREE written by Juel Taylor. Thembi was a 2017 directing fellow at Project Involve: Her film Suitable has screened in over twenty five festivals and won the Award of Excellence, Special Mention in the 2018 IndieFEST competition and the Audience Award at the Black Harvest Film Festival. The film was also licensed by HBO to air on its online platforms.

Thembi's additional writing credits include Only Light, a USC advanced project, that sheds light on the epidemic of human trafficking, for which she was awarded best screenplay in the LA Indie Shorts Festival. Was featured on WeForShe's 2016 list of the best pilots written by women for the script Unique State of Mind which she co-wrote. Thembi directed the pilot presentation "88", which won the Best of Fest Award at the 2018 ITVFest. She is a 2018 HBO Access Directing Fellow, a 2019 Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directing Fellow and a participant in Powder Keg's inaugural female directing program, created by Paul Feig for which she wrote and directed the pilot presentation Baldwin Beauty.