Patrik-Ian Polk

Patrik-Ian Polk (born July 29, 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African-American LGBT people. In 2016, Polk was included in the Los Angeles Times Diverse 100 list, which described him as "the man bringing black gay stories to screens large and small".Polk made his feature film directorial debut with Punks (2000), an independent film that he also wrote and produced. Punks had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2004, Polk created the television series Noah's Arc, which made its debut on Logo in October 2005 and ran for two seasons. After the series' cancellation, Polk wrote, directed, and produced a film spin-off, Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, which was released theatrically in 2008. His subsequent feature films, The Skinny, starring Jussie Smollett, and Blackbird, starring Mo'Nique, Julian Walker and Isaiah Washington, were released in 2012 and 2015, following festival runs.