Centerville native Hannah Beachler became the first African American to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Production Design, as well as the first to win the category, for the Marvel film “Black Panther” (2018).
As the production designer on “Black Panther,” Hannah oversaw a $30 million art budget and a crew of several hundred people. She is the first-ever female production designer of a Marvel film and was the second person hired for the project after director Ryan Coogler. She had previously collaborated with Coogler on “Fruitvale Station” in 2013, followed by “Creed” in 2015. Read more about her research and creative process for these and other films here.
Hannah graduated from the University of Cincinnati, where she studied fashion design. She also studied film at Wright State University in Dayton.
Ohio Goes to the Movies reached out to Hannah with a few questions to learn more about this amazing talent who is making Ohio proud:
What fuels your passion for your creative craft?
HB:
Pushing the envelope, storytelling and people are the things that fuel my passion for my craft. I think the challenge of creating the worlds of different stories is something that I’m always thinking about and how I can tell the stories in a way that captures an essence of the people/characters in the story that you might not instantly see, or pick up on as a creative. I like to find that thread and pull on it.
How did your Ohio roots/connections contribute to your career?
HB:
I think my upbringing in rural Ohio, growing up in the woods/farms — which later became the suburbs — had everything to do with it. My father was an architect, and his influence was immense. I spent a lot of time in my imagination, as most kids do, building forts and making up games with my siblings and neighbors in the summertime. This was the 1970s and ‘80s, and there wasn’t much around us, so we had to create things to do.
What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career in the film industry?
HB:
Don’t give up on what you want to be in the industry, no matter what it is. Just write the screenplay, or direct the short film on your phone, or design a set with your friends to make a short film or a feature film. Don’t wait to do it.