Filmmaker and Theatrical Director, Erica Sutherlin, holds a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Ms. Sutherlin made her directorial debut with the Lifetime Movie network’s #1 Christmas movie, “Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas”. This is her second feature following “Stratosphere", in which she directed and co-wrote. Before her appointment as director, Ms. Sutherlin was selected for the Lifetime Network’s Director Shadow program, held a fellowship with the Blackhouse Foundation Sundance Fellows program and was a recipient of Facebook’s SEEN initiative for black filmmakers. Currently, Ms. Sutherlin is a recipient of the Creative Pinellas Individual Artist Recovery Grant for film, and is a fellow for the Advancing Racial Equity on Non-Profit Boards class of 2022. As a writer, currently, Ms. Sutherlin is writing narrative features with Village Roadshow and the UK based production company, iGeneration Studios. She was a writer for the newly released and multiple award-winning film, “Voodoo Macbeth", which was produced through Warner Brothers and University of Southern California. As a USC Showrunner, she developed, wrote, and produced the sitcom, “Unschooled”, with a wonderful team of writers. Ms. Sutherlin concluded her time at USC in the writer’s room, developing, writing, and producing the short form limited dramatic series,Sugar Land. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Ms. Sutherlin began theatrically directing. For the past 20 years, she has directed numerous plays and musicals. Recently, Ms. Sutherlin received stellar reviews for her productions of Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu, Dutchman by LeRoi Jones/Amir,  Baraka and the musical, The Color Purple by Marsha Norman. As a poet and essayist, Ms. Sutherlin has published works in Building Womanist Coalitions: Writing and Teaching in the Spirit of Love and Hooked on the Art of Love: bell hooks and My Calling for Soul-Work, works by Dr. Gary Lemons, professor of English at University of South Florida. Amongst her talents as a writer-director, Ms. Sutherlin is an equity actress and arts educator who has performed and taught nationally and internationally. Other notable awards and citations included: the Shriram Family Fellowship, Jean & Ruth Negulesco Endowment Fellowship, the Director’s Citation and the NSHSS Nobel Educator of Distinction Award. Her theatre company, The Space, was awarded Tampa Bay’s Theatre on the Rise. Ms. Sutherlin has been featured in numerous newspapers, magazine, radio shows and digital media source platforms for her performances, writing and directing accolades.

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