Kelley Kali

Kelley Kali is a Howard University (BA) and USC School of Cinematic Arts (MFA) graduate who received the 45th Annual Student Academy Award for her short film Lalo's House out of USC. Her feature film, I’M FINE (Thanks for Asking), won Special Jury Recognition at SXSW, streamed on BET+, HBO Europe, and achieved a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. She directed Jagged Mind for 20th / Hulu and Kemba an MPI and BET Original Feature Film. Kemba is based on true events and has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, news outlets across the nation and has screened in the U.S. Capitol to congress members and the public. Kelley was selected as a recipient of the 2021 Academy Gold Fellowship for Women in directing and more recently she received the 2024 Amplify Award at Sundance Film Festival from the Sundance humanitarian partner, the Windrider Institute, for her directing work on Kemba. She was also nominated by the 2025 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Director in a TV Movie.

Kelley Kali is a Howard University (BA) and USC School of Cinematic Arts (MFA) graduate who received the 45th Annual Student Academy Award for her short film Lalo's House out of USC. Her feature film, I’M FINE (Thanks for Asking), won Special Jury Recognition at SXSW, streamed on BET+, HBO Europe, and achieved a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. She directed Jagged Mind for 20th / Hulu and Kemba an MPI and BET Original Feature Film. Kemba is based on true events and has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, news outlets across the nation and has screened in the U.S. Capitol to congress members and the public. Kelley was selected as a recipient of the 2021 Academy Gold Fellowship for Women in directing and more recently she received the 2024 Amplify Award at Sundance Film Festival from the Sundance humanitarian partner, the Windrider Institute, for her directing work on Kemba. She was also nominated by the 2025 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Director in a TV Movie.