On February 3, the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee presented A Conversation with Director Anthony Hemingway. The event was held following a special New York membership screening of Hemingway’s new action-drama Red Tails.
The film tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a celebrated crew of African-American pilots who battled racial discrimination both on the homefront and within the army before flying into the annals of history during World War II. As the war wound down in Europe, the untested pilots were on the brink of being sent home to a deeply segregated America, when they are given the chance to show their courage by providing escort for Allied bombers and earning an impressive war record.
Following the screening in the DGA New York Theater, the committee hosted a Q&A session with the director. After opening remarks by EDSC co-chair Zetna Fuentes, Hemingway spoke about the making of the film with moderator/DGA Director member Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire). Also joining the conversation was one of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., former squadron commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. Brown was one of fifteen pilots who shot down the advanced German Me-262 jet fighter during WWII, and regaled the audience with a living account of history.
Hemingway served as an Assistant Director shows such as the DGA Award-winning drama The Wire, before moving into the Director’s chair on that series. His other directing credits include episodes Heroes, The Closer, True Blood, and Battlestar Galactica. He has been a member of the Guild since 1995.