Star Trek: Picard director Hanelle Culpepper reflects on her barrier-breaking career in Deadline guest column

(Left) Hanelle Culpepper of the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard during New York Comic-Con 2019 on Saturday, October 5th. Photo: Jeff Neira/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Right) "Remembrance" -- Episode #101 -- Pictured: Patrick Stewart as Picard of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: PICARD Photo Cr: Matt Kennedy/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 - Hanelle Culpepper has the distinction of being the first female director, as well as the first black director, to launch a Star Trek series with “Remembrance”, the pilot episode of Star Trek: Picard. She would go on to direct the next two episodes, “Maps and Legends” and “The End is the Beginning”, but it was her work on the pilot that recently earned Culpepper a nomination for Outstanding Director in a Drama Series at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards to be held next month. The Image Awards celebrate outstanding Black achievements in film, television, music and literature. Last week, Culpepper published a guest column on Deadline.com, sharing her experiences in the film industry and having what it takes to make it while striving for equality.

“Two years ago, right about this time, pre-pandemic and pre-BLM summer, I got the call,” Culpepper recalled. Picard executive producer Alex Kurtzman believed in her vision and had chosen her to bring Jean-Luc Picard back to the screen after 18 years. “I’m honored to be nominated for an NAACP Image Award,” Culpepper said in the column. “When I got the job, I didn’t realize that I was the first Black director and first woman director to launch any Star Trek movie or series. Why? It never crossed my mind; I was too busy thinking about the work.”

Culpepper doesn’t consider her race or gender when it comes to directing. She simply endeavours to be the best director she can be. In her own words, she is “a director who happens to be Black and female”. She noted that she is often asked what it’s like to be a Black, female director, and isn’t sure how to respond. “It’s not like I have anything to compare it to. Do they ask white male directors what it’s like to be them? I work hard, try to evoke and enhance the vision of the script, bring the best out of the actors, frame interesting and unique shots, [and] keep the pace going […] This is what all directors strive to achieve.” She went on to say that she is thankful to Alex Kurtzman for believing in her ability to balance a “strong visual style” and “attention to intimate, emotional human moments”, critical elements to filming Star Trek: Picard.

Another critical element was keeping with the tradition of inclusion and diversity that Star Trek is known for, something Culpepper said was important to both her and the show’s producers. Culpepper said, “The NAACP Image Awards are an appropriate venue for honoring the Star Trek universe, because the franchise has been speaking to issues of diversity and representation for well over half a century.” On working with the franchise, Culpepper added, “I’m proud to be a part of this tradition and commitment [...] Race and gender will and should be a part of the headline because it inspires other Black women to pursue directing and for those of us already doing it, to keep on keeping on.”

In addition to Culpepper’s NAACP nomination, Star Trek: Lower Decks has been nominated for Outstanding Animated Series and Dawnn Lewis is nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in Lower Decks. The 52nd NAACP Image Awards will air on BET (a ViacomCBS network) on March 27th at 8pm ET, with some categories being live streamed prior to the event, on March 22nd - 26th. To read Hanelle Culpepper’s guest column in its entirety, visit Deadline.com. You won’t be disappointed.