After receiving her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and studying photography and writing at The American University of Paris, Anika Poitier returned to New York City to pursue a career in acting. While studying at the acclaimed Stella Adler Conservatory and Sande Shurin Studios, she worked on a number of films including Myth America and Swordfish. It was at this time that she began to realize she had a keen interest in what goes on behind the camera. That interest culminated in her first feature film, “The Devil Cats” which she wrote, starred in, and directed. “The Devil Cats” won accolades on the festival circuit including the Tribeca Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival and won Best Lounge Feature at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival. Anika went on to shoot several web projects and spec commercials for Nike and Stella Artois. She co-produced and directed the short film “Yard Sale”, which played at several festivals around the country, including The Waterfront Film Festival.

Anika was accepted into the prestigious American Film Institute’s Directing Program for Women. It is with AFI that she made her most recent film “Black Irish”, which won The Adrienne Shelley Award, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor at the 2013 Playhouse West Film Festival. Most recently Anika has directed episodes of IssaRae’s “The Choir”. In 2013 Anika co-founded Film Heist a production company that is developing several projects including two series for the web and a feature film.

Winning Project: Black Irish

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https://vimeo.com/65652822

Black Irish Website http://www.blackirishthefilm.com

Black Irish on Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/black-irish/id598637468

Yard Sale: