Danielle A. Scruggs shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Danielle A., we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
A recent moment that has made me feel proud is planning and curating a short horror film showcase, File Under: Horror, at a horror-movie-themed venue in Kenosha, Wisconsin (just outside my hometown of Chicago). I showcased the work of five Black women and nonbinary filmmakers working in the horror genre:
The Garden of Edette (2023), dir: Guinevere Thomas (@guiny_the_pooh)
A lonely Creole woman has to choose between sacrificing herself or a newfound friend to her flesh-eating garden.
Hag (2024), dir: Jay Najeeah (@jaynajeeah)
A young woman, pregnant with her first child, battles for her mental health and against a hometown urban legend come to life.
The Wounded and the Watcher (2021), dir: Nace DeSanders (@nacedesanders)
Watching a tragedy take place, a mysterious somebody does nothing but react.
You Were Dead Yesterday (2025), dir: Destiny Cox (@destinyjcox)
A Black family of five struggles to survive a zombie apocalypse and uncover the truth behind the outbreak.
Hair Wolf (2018), dir: Mariama Diallo (@diallogiallo) The staff of a Black hair salon in Brooklyn fend off a terrifying new monster: white women intent on literally sucking the lifeblood from Black culture.
These are award-winning, indie filmmakers whose work ranges from genuinely terrifying to clever satire to ruminations on cultural legacy. I’m so honored that they all trusted me with their work and so thrilled to see and hear people respond so well to the films and the event overall, which also featured Black women vendors selling jewelry, clothing, candles, teas, tinctures, tarot readings, and more. It was my first solo event related to Black Women Directors after co-organizing the Chicago Film Symposium last year with Black Film Club Collective. I feel proud of myself for pulling this off and supporting Black women and nonbinary filmmakers through community programming in addition to the digital archive I maintain.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Danielle A. Scruggs and I am a photographer, photo editor, writer, curator, and aspiring film programmer based in Chicago. I currently work as a Visual Editor at CatchLight, a visual-first media organization that partners with local, nonprofit newsrooms across the country to leverage the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities.
Outside of my work, I am also the founder and curator of Black Women Directors, a digital archive of films by Black women and nonbinary filmmakers based across the globe. Starting in 2015, I have curated a library of more than 180 directors and 400+ films to celebrate the work of these filmmakers and expand the notion of what an auteur looks like and to expand the film canon. While I am not a filmmaker myself, I love film and am inspired by it in my personal work as a photographer and writer. I also work as a unit stills photographer.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
My immediate thought was loss of trust. Trust is everything— it takes an incredible amount of vulnerability to open yourself up to someone else and trust them to hold everything about you—good, bad, and that grey area in between. Once that’s lost, that can absolutely break whatever bond you built over time. I think what restores those bonds is forgiveness (of the other person and oneself) and again, vulnerability. It’s a risk, but on the other side of vulnerability is connection. And, to paraphrase Toni Morrison, maybe the bond doesn’t survive whole. Perhaps that bond is no longer what it used to be. But it’s still there, even though it has cracks and a few missing pieces.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
The same things that help me now: Going to the water. Listening to soul music or jazz. Time being quiet by myself.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
A truth that is so foundational to me that I rarely articulate it is the idea that we absolutely owe each other. Being in community, real community with people, means you’re not just in it for yourself. And that’s related to career, interpersonal relationships, friendships, romances, etc. It’s been very strange for me to see, over the last few years, a rise in the notion that “no one owes you anything” and that it’s okay to never inconvenience yourself for someone else. While people-pleasing is dangerous and causes you to lose sight of yourself, being in true community with each other means, yes, sometimes being there for someone else means you won’t always be comfortable, it won’t always be convenient for you, but it will mean the world to that person you are interacting with. I am not always successful at this, of course, but this is how I have tried to move through life.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
Honestly, that’s none of my business. I know what my intentions are with all the work that I do as a photographer, photo editor, writer, curator, and also just as a human being trying to move through the world with integrity and intention. If people don’t understand what I am trying to do (or purposely try not to understand it), that is truly none of my business, and that is for them to sit with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackwomendirectors.co
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/blackwomendirectors
- Other: www.daniellescruggs.com – portfolio site
Image Credits
Chicago Film Symposium 2024 (movie theater images): Joel Troncoso/Shot by LSD
Sinners screening image: courtesy of Black Film Club Collective
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
