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Snapper Films welcomes Amma Asante
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An award-winning writer, director Asante has spent her career breaking barriers, challenging conventions and telling stories that deserve to be heard.
An award-winning writer, director and genuine trailblazer, Amma Asante MBE has spent her career breaking barriers, challenging conventions and telling stories that deserve to be heard.
Her debut feature, A Way of Life (2004), made history when she became the first Black director to win a BAFTA Film Award for writing and directing a feature film. It was an extraordinary start to a career that has continued to gather momentum. The film picked up an impressive collection of international awards and nominations, including Best Director at BAFTA Cymru, the FIPRESCI and Grand Jury prizes at Miami Film Festival, the Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award at the London Film Festival and The South Bank Show’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
Asante also received Promising Newcomer nominations at both the Evening Standard British Film Awards and London Critics Circle Film Awards. Her follow-up, Belle (2013), proved that this was just the beginning. A critical and commercial success, it became one of the highest-grossing independent films of the year and earned Asante a place among CNN’s Leading Women of 2014 and Variety’s prestigious 10 Directors to Watch.
With A United Kingdom (2016), she made history once again, becoming the first Black director to open the BFI London Film Festival.
In 2017, her contribution to cinema was formally recognised when Queen Elizabeth II awarded her an MBE for Services to Film as a Writer and Director.
And she hasn’t slowed down. Her work across film and television includes directing Emmy Award-winning episodes of the global hit Mrs. America (FX), episodes of the acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), and writing and directing the powerful and harrowing feature Where Hands Touch (2018).
Most recently, Asante executive produced, wrote and directed all six episodes of Constantin Film’s highly anticipated Smilla’s Sense of Snow, an adaptation of Peter Høeg’s bestselling novel. The series has since been acquired by AMC+.
"What attracted me to Snapper is their passion for filmmaking and real belief in the directors voice. I’ve always been interested in the possibilities of storytelling whatever the format, and i think some of the most exciting creative and distinctive opportunities today exist in the connection between cinema and advertising.
Helen and the team have built something that feels personal and yet creatively ambitious. I’m looking forward to developing new relationships, exploring unexpected ideas and, as always, making the work that connects to audiences” said Asante.
Beyond the screen, Asante continues to play an influential role in the industry. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has twice been elected to the council of BAFTA. Her achievements have also been recognised with an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts from the University of Westminster, an Honorary Fellowship from the National Film and Television School and an Honorary Associateship of the London Film School. From 2019 to 2025, she also served as Chancellor of Norwich University of the Arts. A remarkable body of work, a distinctive creative voice and a career built on doing things differently. Snapper Films is delighted to welcome Asante to the roster.
