Niva Dorell is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter with over 25 years of experience in the industry. Her career was launched when KINGS, her graduate thesis short film at USC, caught the attention of Robert Zemeckis and the late John Singleton, who both chose to mentor her. KINGS went on to win Showtime’s Black Filmmakers Grant and screened at prominent festivals, including Slamdance and the Pan African Film Festival. It also became one of seven films featured on Afrocentricity - Vol 1 (available on Amazon).

Building on this early success, Niva wrote and directed MILK AND HONEY, starring Russell Hornsby and Maya Rubin, with support from Showtime. The film premiered on Showtime’s Black Filmmaker’s Showcase, competed at the Jerusalem International Film Festival, and later aired on BET-Jazz. She then directed the 2-hour TV pilot WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS, featuring Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr., Kym Whitley, and Keshia Knight Pulliam. Niva has also directed music videos, PSAs, and theater productions, collaborating with notable talents such as Keith David, Loretta Devine, Ernie Hudson, and Mykelti Williamson.

Her latest directorial effort is the short film TRAVELING MERCIES, produced by the Social Cinema Foundation. Her upcoming projects include THE LOTTO LINE, set to shoot in early 2025, and her first narrative feature film LIVING LIVING, a deeply personal love story. Niva is also developing multiple projects, including two original television pilots.

In addition to her narrative work, Niva has ventured into non-scripted storytelling. She directed the feature documentary SKID ROW, featuring Pras Michel of The Fugees, and developed KNOCKOUT, a podcast and documentary series about a major embezzlement scandal in the boxing world. She also adapted Caroline Sullivan’s memoir Bye Bye Baby into a television pilot/series and Morris Ardoin’s memoir Stone Motel into a feature screenplay.

Her work has been supported by residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Millay Arts, and Cill Rialaig, and championed by mentors such as David Mamet, Rodrigo Garcia, and Scott Frank. As a mentor herself, Niva has guided emerging filmmakers through organizations like Social Cinema Foundation and the New York Film Academy.

Niva holds an M.F.A. from USC’s School of Cinema and a B.A. from Temple University. After two decades in Los Angeles, she now resides in New York, where she continues to explore storytelling through her Substack, The Think Tank, writing about filmmaking and the creative process.