Photos below.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/DOw-RvzWAAAOIJW-1.jpg\")
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Amma Asante was born in London to Ghanaian parents.<\/p>\n
She trained at the Barbara Speake Stage School. Kwame Kwei-Armah, Michelle Gayle and Naomi Campbell were some of her schoolmates.<\/p>\n
Asante was a member of the cast of BBC\u2019s Grange Hills, and also appeared in other productions in the late 80\u2019s and early 90\u2019s.<\/p>\n
She owns Tantrum Films, and was head writer for BBC2 series\u00a0Brothers & Sisters.<\/em><\/p>\nShe speaks fondly of her relationship with her dad, who died during the filming of\u00a0Belle<\/em>. In an interview with\u00a0The Guardian<\/strong>, she said her dad was loving but strict. A saying by her dad \u201cWhat is right can never be impossible\u201d was included in the above-named film.<\/p>\nWhat matters to Asante is\u00a0\u201cpassion for the project and a vision. As a director, you are the only person carrying the bigger picture and every tiny detail. It is about keeping a cohesive, creative, motivated vibe going.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>she told\u00a0The Guardian<\/strong>\u00a0in a 2014 interview.<\/p>\nShe was invited by the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to join its class of 2016 in its push for diversity at the Oscars after severe backlash in previous years.<\/p>\n
She made history as the first Black Female Filmmaker to open the 2016 BFI London Film Festival in its 60 years of operation with her movie\u00a0A United Kingdom<\/em>.<\/p>\nAsante and the cast of the movie received a standing ovation when it premiered at the\u00a02016 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).<\/em><\/p>\nThe movie is based on the true story of Botswana\u2019s first president, Seretse Khama (played by David Oyelowo), who fell in love with a London office worker, Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), who became the First Lady of Botswana.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n