Frances-Anne Solomon

A trailblazer in the film and television industry, Frances-Anne Solomon was born in England of Trinidadian parents. She was raised and educated in the Caribbean and Canada before moving to Great Britain where she built a successful career in the 1990's with the BBC as a TV Drama Producer and Executive Producer. Productions included Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998) by John Maybury and Speak Like a Child (1998) by John Akomfrah, both of which she executive produced for the BBC. She also produced and directed films and television programs through her production company Leda Serene Films. Solomon moved to Toronto in 2000 where she continued to create, write, direct and producer her own projects. Her film A Winter Tale (2007) received many prestigious international awards, including Best Diaspora Film in The Paul Robeson Category at FESPACO 2009. Other directing credits include the feature film Peggy Su! (1997), What My Mother Told Me (1995), Bideshi (1995); and documentaries Literature Alive (2005) and I Is a Long Memoried Woman (1990). She produced the multi-award winning feature Kingston Paradise (2013) and was the Co-creator, Producer and Director of Lord Have Mercy! (2003) - Canada's hit Caribbean sitcom that aired on Vision TV, Toronto1, Showcase and APTN and starred comedian/actor Russell Peters. The show received two Gemini nominations. Her latest feature film HERO Inspired by the Extraordinary Life & Times of Mr. Ulric Cross (2019) began its World Tour on February 28th, 2019 and has been receiving critical acclaim. HERO opened the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, New York African Film Festival's Opening Night of Film At Lincoln, DC Caribbean Film Festival and premiered at the Durban International Film Festival. It is currently on Showtime in the US. She is the founder and CEO of the CaribbeanTales Media Group, which produces, exhibits and distributes Caribbean-themed content, including the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, and CaribbeanTales-TV, as well as CineFAM that promotes bold original filmstrips by women of colour creators, and now the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival based in the UK. Solomon is a a Director member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of Canada.