Jump to content

Misan Sagay: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
formatting and a little clarity
m remove href oddities
 
(6 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 10: Line 10:


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Sagay was born in Nigeria and at the age of five moved with her parents to England.<ref name=SoulVision>[http://soulvisionmagazine.com/misan-sagay-telling-stories-through-the-colorblind-lens/ "Misan Sagay: Telling Stories Through the Colorblind Lens"], ''SoulVision Magazine''.</ref> She graduated from [[St Andrews University]] with a First Class Honours degree<ref>Smith, Anthony (1 August 2016), [https://thebbbawards.com/nominee/misan-sagay-2/ "Misan Sagay"], [[Black British Business Awards]].</ref> in [[biochemistry]] then trained as a doctor at [[St Mary's Hospital Medical School]], London.{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}
Sagay was born in Nigeria and at the age of five moved with her parents to England.<ref name=SoulVision>[http://soulvisionmagazine.com/misan-sagay-telling-stories-through-the-colorblind-lens/ "Misan Sagay: Telling Stories Through the Colorblind Lens"], ''SoulVision Magazine''.</ref> She graduated from [[St Andrews University]] with a first-class Honours degree<ref>Smith, Anthony (1 August 2016), [https://thebbbawards.com/nominee/misan-sagay-2/ "Misan Sagay"], [[Black British Business Awards]].</ref> in [[biochemistry]], then trained as a doctor at [[St Mary's Hospital Medical School]], London.{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}


After qualifying as a doctor, she specialised in [[Pediatrics|Paediatric]] [[Hematology|Hamematology]] and Critical Care and at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at [[Westminster]] Children's Hospital. {{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}
After qualifying as a doctor, she specialised in [[Pediatrics|Paediatric]] [[Hematology|Haematology]] and Critical Care and at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at [[Westminster Children's Hospital]]. {{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}


== Career ==
== Career ==
A former emergency room doctor, Sagay made her writing debut with the 1999 film ''The Secret Laughter of Women'' on which she was a writer and producer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/547|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803095457/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/547|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-08-03|title=BFI {{!}} Sight & Sound {{!}} The Secret Laughter of Women (1998)|website=old.bfi.org.uk|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref> She co-wrote the teleplay for the Oprah-produced television movie ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)|Their Eyes Were Watching God]]'', based on the book by the same name. [[File:Dido_Elizabeth_Belle.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay]] (1761–1804) and her cousin [[Lady Elizabeth Murray]]]]
A former emergency room doctor, Sagay made her writing debut with the 1999 film ''The Secret Laughter of Women'' on which she was a writer and producer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/547|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803095457/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/547|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-08-03|title=BFI {{!}} Sight & Sound {{!}} The Secret Laughter of Women (1998)|website=old.bfi.org.uk|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref> She co-wrote the teleplay for the [[Oprah]]-produced television movie ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)|Their Eyes Were Watching God]]'' (2005), based on the [[Their Eyes Were Watching God|1937 novel of the same name]] by [[Zora Neale Hurston]]. [[File:Dido_Elizabeth_Belle.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay]] (1761–1804) and her cousin [[Lady Elizabeth Murray]]]]
Sagay wrote the 2013 British drama ''[[Belle (2013 film)|Belle]]'' after visiting [[Scone Palace]], where she saw a unique portraiture of two women, [[Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay]] and her cousin [[Lady Elizabeth Murray]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thesource.com/2014/04/27/her-source-i-writer-misan-sagay-talks-belle/|title=Her Source I Writer Misan Sagay Talks 'Belle'|last=Shaina411|website=The Source|date=27 April 2014|access-date=2016-04-04}}</ref> This painting, and the women within, acted as the inspiration for her screenplay.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/movies/belle-and-slaverys-end-in-britain.html|title='Belle' and Slavery's End in Britain|last=Rickey|first=Carrie|date=25 April 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-04-04}}</ref> The film tells the Story of Belle, the daughter of an enslaved African and a British admiral. The film discusses the prominence of African decedents and women in British society in the late 1700s.<ref name=":2" />
Sagay wrote the 2013 British drama ''[[Belle (2013 film)|Belle]]'' after visiting [[Scone Palace]], where she saw a unique portraiture of two women, [[Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay]] and her cousin [[Lady Elizabeth Murray]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thesource.com/2014/04/27/her-source-i-writer-misan-sagay-talks-belle/|title=Her Source I Writer Misan Sagay Talks 'Belle'|last=Shaina411|website=The Source|date=27 April 2014|access-date=2016-04-04}}</ref> This painting, and the women within, acted as the inspiration for her screenplay.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/movies/belle-and-slaverys-end-in-britain.html|title='Belle' and Slavery's End in Britain|last=Rickey|first=Carrie|date=25 April 2014|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-04-04}}</ref> The film tells the Story of Belle, the daughter of an enslaved African and a British admiral. The film discusses the prominence of African decedents and women in British society in the late 1700s.<ref name=":2" />


In 2013, the authorship of the film was in dispute. The director of the film, [[Amma Asante]], contested that she dismissed Sagay's writing and instead wrote her own adaptation of the story, seeking writing credit. Asante's claim caused the [[Writers Guild of America]] to automatically investigate per the guild's regulations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-belle-controversy-20140729-story.html|title=Writing dispute for film 'Belle' bubbles up again|last=Los Angeles Times|first=|website=latimes.com|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref> The guild took the case through [[arbitration]] and ruled in favour of Sagay as the sole writer. Asante appealed but lost.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/05/understanding-screenwriting-credit-and-wga-arbitration-in-belle-and-12-years-a-slave-235814/|title=Understanding Screenwriting Credit and WGA Arbitration in ‘Belle’ and ’12 Years A Slave’|last=Mumin|first=Nijla|date=2014-05-19|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11008121/Belle-authors-in-bitter-feud-over-writing-credit.html|title=Belle authors in bitter feud over writing credit|first=Anita|last=Singh|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=3 August 2014|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref>
In 2013, the authorship of the film was in dispute. The director of the film, [[Amma Asante]], contested that she dismissed Sagay's writing and instead wrote her own adaptation of the story, seeking writing credit. Asante's claim caused the [[Writers Guild of America]] to automatically investigate per the guild's regulations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-belle-controversy-20140729-story.html|title=Writing dispute for film 'Belle' bubbles up again|last=Olsen|first=Mark|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=29 July 2014|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref> The guild took the case through [[arbitration]] and ruled in favour of Sagay as the sole writer. Asante appealed but lost.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/05/understanding-screenwriting-credit-and-wga-arbitration-in-belle-and-12-years-a-slave-235814/|title=Understanding Screenwriting Credit and WGA Arbitration in 'Belle' and '12 Years A Slave'|last=Mumin|first=Nijla|website=IdieWire|date=2014-05-19|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-30|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816023716/https://www.indiewire.com/2014/05/understanding-screenwriting-credit-and-wga-arbitration-in-belle-and-12-years-a-slave-235814/|archivedate=August 16, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11008121/Belle-authors-in-bitter-feud-over-writing-credit.html|title=Belle authors in bitter feud over writing credit|first=Anita|last=Singh|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=3 August 2014|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref>


In 2016, Sagay was a co-writer on the six-part limited TV series ''[[Guerrilla (2017 miniseries)|Guerrilla]]'' from award-winning writer and producer [[John Ridley]], known as the screenwriter of ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 years A Slave]]''. The ''[[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]'' and [[Sky Atlantic]] series stars award-winning actor [[Idris Elba]], known for the TV series ''[[Luther (TV series)|Luther]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/idris-elba-star-guerrilla-john-ridley-limited-series-sky-showtime-1201740521/|title=Idris Elba To Star In John Ridley Limited Series 'Guerrilla' For Sky & Showtime|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|date=20 April 2016|website=Deadline.com|accessdate=13 October 2017}}</ref>
In 2016, Sagay was a co-writer on the six-part limited TV series ''[[Guerrilla (2017 miniseries)|Guerrilla]]'' from award-winning writer and producer [[John Ridley]], known as the screenwriter of ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 years A Slave]]''. The ''[[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]'' and [[Sky Atlantic]] series stars award-winning actor [[Idris Elba]], known for the TV series ''[[Luther (TV series)|Luther]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/idris-elba-star-guerrilla-john-ridley-limited-series-sky-showtime-1201740521/|title=Idris Elba To Star In John Ridley Limited Series 'Guerrilla' For Sky & Showtime|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|date=20 April 2016|website=Deadline.com|accessdate=13 October 2017}}</ref>
Line 26: Line 26:
Away from screenwriting, Misan is creating a programme with the Tisch School of Fine Arts in [[Florence]], which will help established connections between aspiring black screenwriters and established ones. The end goal is to help provide guidance to the next generation of talent.{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}
Away from screenwriting, Misan is creating a programme with the Tisch School of Fine Arts in [[Florence]], which will help established connections between aspiring black screenwriters and established ones. The end goal is to help provide guidance to the next generation of talent.{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}


Sagay is also a member of the ''Wolfe pack,'' a guild of 50 leading female Screenwriters working in Hollywood that aims to encourage more women to enter the film business.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2016/jun/16/diversity-black-women-screenwriters-film-misan-sagay-guerrilla|title='If diversity means giving white men more work writing about black women, we've failed'|last=Brewer|first=Kirstie|date=16 June 2016|website=the Guardian|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> Misan hopes also to be a catalyst for [[African diaspora|African]] descendants to take charge of their own narratives. Sagan said in an interview with ''[[The Guardian]]'': "Black women need to be in control of their own stories and that means hiring more black talent across all aspects of film and television".<ref name=":0" />
Sagay is also a member of the ''Wolfe pack,'' a guild of 50 leading female Screenwriters working in Hollywood that aims to encourage more women to enter the film business.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2016/jun/16/diversity-black-women-screenwriters-film-misan-sagay-guerrilla|title='If diversity means giving white men more work writing about black women, we've failed'|last=Brewer|first=Kirstie|date=16 June 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> Misan hopes also to be a catalyst for [[African diaspora|African]] descendants to take charge of their own narratives. Sagan said in an interview with ''[[The Guardian]]'': "Black women need to be in control of their own stories and that means hiring more black talent across all aspects of film and television."<ref name=":0" />


== Filmography ==
== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable" href="Sky Atlantic"
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
! href="political activism" |Year
!Title
!Title
! href="screenwriting" |Notes
!Notes
|-
|- href="Florence"
|1999
|1999
|''The Secret Laughter of Women''
|''The Secret Laughter of Women''
| href="Hollywood" |Co-writer & Producer
|Co-writer & Producer


|-
|- href="African diaspora"
| href="narrative" |2005
|2005
| href="The Guardian" |''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)|Their Eyes Were Watching God]]''
|''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)|Their Eyes Were Watching God]]''
|Co-writer
|Co-writer


|-
|- href="Amma Asante"
|2013
| href="Writers Guild of America" |2013
| href="arbitration" |''[[Belle (2013 film)|Belle]]''
|''[[Belle (2013 film)|Belle]]''
|Writer
|Writer
|-
|-
Line 53: Line 53:
|}
|}


== Awards, honors and nominations ==
== Awards, honours and nominations ==
Misan Sagay was nominated for a 2005 [[Black Reel Awards]] for Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Television for ''Their Eyes Were Watching God''
Misan Sagay was nominated for a 2005 [[Black Reel Awards]] for Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Television for ''Their Eyes Were Watching God''.


Sagay was nominated for a 2015 [[Black Reel Awards]] for Best Screenplay for ''Belle''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blackreelawards.com/15th-annual-black-reel-awards-nominate-a-spate-of-familiar-faces/|title=And the Nominees Are . . .|publisher=Black Reel Awards|date=17 December 2014|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref>
Sagay was nominated for a [[Black Reel Awards of 2015|2015 Black Reel Awards]] for Best Screenplay for ''Belle''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blackreelawards.com/15th-annual-black-reel-awards-nominate-a-spate-of-familiar-faces/|title=And the Nominees Are . . .|publisher=Black Reel Awards|date=17 December 2014|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref>


Sagay received the 2015 [[NAACP Image Award]] for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture for ''Belle''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/press/entry/winners-of-the-46th-naacp-image-awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213192955/http://www.naacp.org/press/entry/winners-of-the-46th-naacp-image-awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-02-13 |title=Winners of the '46th NAACP Image Awards' {{!}} Press Room |access-date=2016-06-30 |website=www.naacp.org }}</ref>
Sagay received the 2015 [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture]] for ''Belle''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/press/entry/winners-of-the-46th-naacp-image-awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213192955/http://www.naacp.org/press/entry/winners-of-the-46th-naacp-image-awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-02-13 |title=Winners of the '46th NAACP Image Awards' {{!}} Press Room |access-date=2016-06-30 |website=www.naacp.org }}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
Line 68: Line 68:
* {{Official website|http://misansagay.com}}
* {{Official website|http://misansagay.com}}
*Scripts & Scribes Interview [http://www.scriptsandscribes.com/misan-sagay/ with Misan Sagay]
*Scripts & Scribes Interview [http://www.scriptsandscribes.com/misan-sagay/ with Misan Sagay]

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture}}


{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagay, Misan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagay, Misan}}
[[Category:Black British filmmakers]]
[[Category:British women screenwriters]]
[[Category:British women screenwriters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Latest revision as of 17:10, 13 May 2024

Misan Sagay
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1999–present

Misan Sagay is a British-Nigerian screenwriter, best known for the 2013 film Belle.

Biography

[edit]

Sagay was born in Nigeria and at the age of five moved with her parents to England.[1] She graduated from St Andrews University with a first-class Honours degree[2] in biochemistry, then trained as a doctor at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London.[citation needed]

After qualifying as a doctor, she specialised in Paediatric Haematology and Critical Care and at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Westminster Children's Hospital. [citation needed]

Career

[edit]

A former emergency room doctor, Sagay made her writing debut with the 1999 film The Secret Laughter of Women on which she was a writer and producer.[3] She co-wrote the teleplay for the Oprah-produced television movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Zora Neale Hurston.

Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay (1761–1804) and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray

Sagay wrote the 2013 British drama Belle after visiting Scone Palace, where she saw a unique portraiture of two women, Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray.[4] This painting, and the women within, acted as the inspiration for her screenplay.[5] The film tells the Story of Belle, the daughter of an enslaved African and a British admiral. The film discusses the prominence of African decedents and women in British society in the late 1700s.[5]

In 2013, the authorship of the film was in dispute. The director of the film, Amma Asante, contested that she dismissed Sagay's writing and instead wrote her own adaptation of the story, seeking writing credit. Asante's claim caused the Writers Guild of America to automatically investigate per the guild's regulations.[6] The guild took the case through arbitration and ruled in favour of Sagay as the sole writer. Asante appealed but lost.[7][8]

In 2016, Sagay was a co-writer on the six-part limited TV series Guerrilla from award-winning writer and producer John Ridley, known as the screenwriter of 12 years A Slave. The Showtime and Sky Atlantic series stars award-winning actor Idris Elba, known for the TV series Luther.[9]

Sagay is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[citation needed]

Away from screenwriting, Misan is creating a programme with the Tisch School of Fine Arts in Florence, which will help established connections between aspiring black screenwriters and established ones. The end goal is to help provide guidance to the next generation of talent.[citation needed]

Sagay is also a member of the Wolfe pack, a guild of 50 leading female Screenwriters working in Hollywood that aims to encourage more women to enter the film business.[10] Misan hopes also to be a catalyst for African descendants to take charge of their own narratives. Sagan said in an interview with The Guardian: "Black women need to be in control of their own stories and that means hiring more black talent across all aspects of film and television."[10]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Notes
1999 The Secret Laughter of Women Co-writer & Producer
2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God Co-writer
2013 Belle Writer
2017 Guerrilla Co-writer

Awards, honours and nominations

[edit]

Misan Sagay was nominated for a 2005 Black Reel Awards for Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Television for Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Sagay was nominated for a 2015 Black Reel Awards for Best Screenplay for Belle.[11]

Sagay received the 2015 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture for Belle.[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Misan Sagay: Telling Stories Through the Colorblind Lens", SoulVision Magazine.
  2. ^ Smith, Anthony (1 August 2016), "Misan Sagay", Black British Business Awards.
  3. ^ "BFI | Sight & Sound | The Secret Laughter of Women (1998)". old.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  4. ^ Shaina411 (27 April 2014). "Her Source I Writer Misan Sagay Talks 'Belle'". The Source. Retrieved 4 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Rickey, Carrie (25 April 2014). "'Belle' and Slavery's End in Britain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. ^ Olsen, Mark (29 July 2014). "Writing dispute for film 'Belle' bubbles up again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  7. ^ Mumin, Nijla (19 May 2014). "Understanding Screenwriting Credit and WGA Arbitration in 'Belle' and '12 Years A Slave'". IdieWire. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  8. ^ Singh, Anita (3 August 2014). "Belle authors in bitter feud over writing credit". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (20 April 2016). "Idris Elba To Star In John Ridley Limited Series 'Guerrilla' For Sky & Showtime". Deadline.com. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  10. ^ a b Brewer, Kirstie (16 June 2016). "'If diversity means giving white men more work writing about black women, we've failed'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  11. ^ "And the Nominees Are . . ". Black Reel Awards. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Winners of the '46th NAACP Image Awards' | Press Room". www.naacp.org. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Misan_Sagay&oldid=1223677773"