An Ohio native who designed the 鈥淏lack Panther" movie set is a nominee in the 91st Academy Awards ceremony that takes place Sunday in Los Angeles.
Production designer Hannah Beachler describes her nomination for Best Production Design, her first ever, as 鈥渁mazing.鈥� She's also the first African-American nominated for an Oscar in production design.
鈥淚t was just one of those things where you don鈥檛 really think it can happen to you, but when it does it鈥檚 other-worldly,鈥� Beachler says.
Beachler credits her with 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� director Ryan Coogler for getting her this job. They had collaborated on "Fruitvale Station" in 2013 and "Creed" in 2015. Beachler also worked on "Moonlight," and Beyonc茅's "Lemonade" film.
Beachler says her vision for 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� was to create a fictional country in Africa that did not experience colonization, and was in control of its own resources.
鈥淲e wanted to show a relationship between technology and nature, tradition and culture, family and spirituality and all of those things that come from a lot of the different cultures on the continent,鈥� Beachler says.
Beacher says she had a large budget to create the sets, but it wasn鈥檛 unlimited.
鈥淲arrior Falls, which I think people see the most in marketing and advertising, we built quite a bit of that, from the ground to the top of the set was 40 feet," she says. "It was 10 feet off the ground鈥� it had practical tunnels and caves in it and about 150,000 gallons of water running through it.鈥�
The movie has earned more than $1.3 billion at the box office in the U.S. and abroad. Beachler says that鈥檚 an important marker and it breaks down stereotypes.
鈥淚 think that it proves that black film travels,鈥� Beachler says. 鈥淚t proved that it sells overseas. It proved that a predominately-black cast can lead a movie. And that people across the board are interested in the stories of black filmmakers.鈥�
Beachler grew up in Centerville during the 1970-80s, and attended University of Cincinnati and Wright State University. She says she followed her father鈥檚 advice to keep going forward and maintain a hard work ethic.
鈥淏ecause I had a good support system and I allowed myself to take risks in that I came outside of my comfort zone to travel and pursue my career outside of the state," Beachler says. "It paid off."
As a black woman, Beachler says it's more difficult to achieve her goals in the film industry. Many times, she was the only black person on a production design team. She says mentors are important to establish a connection inside the filmmaking industry.
鈥淔ollow your dreams, no matter where they take you, and keep your eyes open for the people that are there to support you,鈥� Beachler says.
Beachler is currently working in Cincinnati on her next film production, which she expects will come out later this year.
