Michelle Materre (born May 12, 1954, Chicago, Illinois–died March 11, 2022, White Plains, New York) was an American educator and independent film distributor. Materre received a bachelor of science degree in education from Boston State College in 1975 and a master of education degree in educational media from Boston College in 1977. From 1988 to 1991, she was an associate director of the non-profit organization Women Make Movies, a distributor of projects by women filmmakers. In 1992, Materre co-founded KJM3 Entertainment Group, an independent film distribution company which released 23 films including Daughters of the Dust, the first film directed by a Black woman to receive a nationwide theatrical release.

In 1999, Materre formed the Creatively Speaking Film Series for the purpose of curating and promoting independent films by or about women and people of color. The Creatively Speaking series has sponsored film screenings at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and educational panels at institutions such as The New School in Manhattan. In 2017, the series received the Film Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics. As of 2024, the Creatively Speaking series has added climate and environmental justice issues to its focus on underrepresented communities.

In 2000, Materre began teaching courses in the Communications and Film department of New School University (later, The New School). Courses that Materre taught in the first years of her New School career included: Viewing Diversity within the African Diaspora, Script Analysis, and Global Cinema; and in 2005, Materre received The New School’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Materre served as Associate Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies, School of Media Studies, at The New School from 2009 to 2013, and in 2015, Materre was named Associate Professor of Media Studies, a position she held until her death of cancer in 2022.

References

“About: Creatively Speaking.” CreativelySpeaking.com, 2024. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://creativelyspeakingfilms.com/what-we-do.

“'Daughters Of The Dust' Re-Released Following Attention From Beyoncé.” NPR, November 20, 2016. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2016/11/20/502797705/daughters-of-the-dust-re-released-following-attention-from-beyonc.

“General Course Catalogs: Schools of Public Engagement.” 2000-2022. New School course catalog collection. New School Archives and Special Collections, The New School, New York, New York.

Martinez, Neyda. “Remembering Michelle Materre.” The New Historia. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://thenewhistoria.org/editorial/remembering-michelle-materre/.

Materre, Michelle. “Michelle A. Materre, Curriculum Vitae.” NewSchool.Academia.edu. 2014. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://newschool.academia.edu/MichelleMaterre/CurriculumVitae.

“Remembering Michelle Materre, Associate Professor of Media Studies and Film.” The New School News, March 18, 2022. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://blogs.newschool.edu/news/2022/03/remembering-michelle-materre-associate-professor-of-media-studies-and-film/.

Williams, Annabelle. “Michelle Materre, Champion of Black Independent Film, Dies at 67.” New York Times April 3, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/movies/michelle-materre-dead.html.