Leslie Cunningham

A graduate of the documentary arts program at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Leslie's collection of engaging doc films and videos have screened on public television, online and at film festivals in the U.S. and internationally. Leslie released her first feature-length documentary film, M.I., A Different Kind of Girl in 2012. M.I. debuted at the Hayti Heritage Film Festival in March 2012, followed by a three-city Pride Festival tour through Philadelphia, St. Louis, and ending in Raleigh at the Triangle Black Pride Festival. M.I. also was chosen for The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Atlanta's Out On Film, Gender Reel Film Festival, and Massimadi, the LGBT Film Festival of Africa and its Diasporas. Leslie is currently working on JIG SHOW, Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana, a feature documentary film which honors her family's Black and Cuban stage show and the legacy of her grandfather, Leon Claxton, one of the twentieth century's most successful traveling show producers. Part of a larger multimedia project called The Harlem in Havana Project, the documentary film aims to to educate audiences and revive Harlem in Havana's rich history.