We had the good fortune of connecting with Queen Norris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Queen, why did you pursue a creative career?
For as long as I can remember, I was a writer. I use to write and create books out of notebook and construction paper when I was 5. Then I fell in love with cameras. By the time I had gotten to the 8th grade, I married my 2 loves(writing and cameras) and decided that I wanted to make movies for the rest of my life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a filmmaker from Brooklyn New York. A writer and a director to be exact. I own a film production company called Qii Films (pronounced like key).

It was an incredibly long road with a plethora of obstacles to get to this point of my career and I still have a good ways to go. As with any type of art or creative field, your first obstacle is your family. Parents and grandparents come from a different time and they place their fears and doubts on you. My mom always wanted me to get a “real” job, something with benefits. To her filmmaking had no security and it was a long shot of me making it.

Growing up, my mother was losing her sight so my brother and I learned things very early. Things you learn as a preteen and teenager, we learned at 6-7 years old. Things like cooking, washing clothes, setting alarm clocks so that we could get up by ourselves…she wanted us to know how to take care of ourselves so when she completely lost her sight, we were good.

Glad to say she has finally came around when I started getting notable actors in my films. It took a while but she realized that I really loved this life.

Then of course, life happens when you’re trying to pursue dreams. I started at Howard University after high school, couldn’t afford to finish and I ended up in the Army for 12 years. During that time, I deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a very different life for me, driving convoys through danger everyday.

But the military blessed me with patience, a virtue I badly needed to be in this business. Sometimes it’s difficult being a woman in a male dominated industry. It feels like being on a plane. Sometimes it’s a smooth flight no problems, sometimes the turbulence is so bad you think you may fall out of the sky.

After I got out of the Army, I finished film school and started writing and directing my own short films for my YouTube channel. Those films caught the eye of some investors and they invested their money and trust in me, allowing me to make some feature films. The rest is history. I now have 5 features films done with 3 more in the lineup.

Patience, humility, and ambition keeps me going. I saw the life I wanted for myself at 13 years old. My goal was to make money making movies, now my goal is to continue to do that while becoming better and better.

I want the world to know that I will not falter, ever. I’ve struggled through homelessness, depression, 2 wars, PTSD, disabilities, self-doubt and failure to reach my success. I will never allow anyone or anything to keep me down long enough to just whittle away. I am here, I am dope and I am will continue to grow.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Honestly, I like to do active things. I love hiking, bowling, go carts and things like that.

Recently there has been a some really creative spaces opening up. Art places where you paint everything in the room, there’s a glass blowing place I just found in Decatur, the Trap Museum is nice.

We would spend the week at local breakfast spots and doing artsy things.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Spike Lee was my very first inspiration in film. He was from where I was from and he made his own movies. Then when Love and Basketball came out, Gina Prince-Blythwood became my biggest inspiration. She was a tomboy like me, played ball like me, and had written and directed a film that I connected with so heavily as a teenager. So I would like to dedicate this shoutout to Spike Lee and Gina Prince-Blythwood.

Website: Qiifilms.com

Instagram: Queen_of_Qii

Youtube: Qii Films

Other: My business IG @Qii_Films

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