Alex Stapleton knows that some stories do not have fairy tale endings. The Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker is known for her thought-provoking projects and authentic storytelling in sports, music, pop culture and social justice.
Stapleton has dedicated her career of over 15 years to capturing stories that entertain viewers, shift their perspectives and inspire change. She has collaborated with some of the industry’s best documentarians and released projects with top networks, including HBO and Paramount.
As a Black female documentarian in a white and male-dominated field, Stapleton has cemented herself as a force to be reckoned with.
“I knew that I liked storytelling. But I didn’t really understand what a director was,” Stapleton told Blavity’s Shadow and Act.
The Houston native didn’t have the traditional journey into filmmaking. She bypassed film school and began working on film sets after dropping out of college at 18. Her heart was set on scripted projects. This was until she got a call to head to France and produce 2005’s Just For Kicks. The film’s success lit a fuse under Stapleton to take her career as a documentarian to the next level.
“It was like, wow, we just made a documentary about our culture, Black culture. And what’s cool to us,” she said.
She built her resume in documentaries, working as a producer and director, taking jobs in reality television, and doing whatever projects she thought would get her in the right rooms — a story all too common for Black directors.