Two by Jessie Maple

Two by Jessie Maple

3 Episodes

With her landmark debut feature WILL, pioneering cameraperson turned filmmaker (and all-around Renaissance woman) Jessie Maple became one of the first Black American women to direct an independent feature film, bringing unflinching honesty and stirring emotion to an endearingly tough and tender portrait of a Harlem heroin addict striving to turn his life around. Though she directed only one other feature—TWICE AS NICE, a vibrant tale of twin sisters competing in college basketball to become the first professional draft pick—Maple blazed a trail that would allow a rising generation of Black women filmmakers to tell their own community’s stories on-screen.

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Two by Jessie Maple

3 Episodes

  • Spotlight on Jessie Maple
    16:35
    Spotlight on Jessie Maple
    Episode 1

    Spotlight on Jessie Maple

    Episode 1

    This new introduction by scholar Terri Simone Francis was recorded in 2025.

  • Will
    1:13:43
    Will
    Episode 2

    Will

    Episode 2

    Directed by Jessie Maple • 1981 • United States
    Starring Obaka Adedunyo, Loretta Devine, Robert Dean

    In 1981, Jessie Maple became one of the first African American women to direct an independent film with this raw, unflinching portrait of heroin addiction and recovery. Shot on location in Harlem...

  • Twice as Nice
    1:08:07
    Twice as Nice
    Episode 3

    Twice as Nice

    Episode 3

    Directed by Jessie Maple • 1989 • United States
    Starring Pamela McGee, Paula McGee, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke

    The second feature by pioneering director Jessie Maple is a wonderfully relaxed, comic portrait of twin sister basketball players Caren and Camilla Parker (played by real-life twins and NCAA b...

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