Frances-Anne Solomon, a pioneering figure in the film and television industry, was born in England to Trinidadian parents. Her upbringing and education took place in the Caribbean and Canada before she relocated to Great Britain, where she built a successful career in the 1990s with the BBC as a TV Drama Producer and Executive Producer.
Solomon's notable productions during this period included Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998) by John Maybury and Speak Like a Child (1998) by John Akomfrah, both of which she executive produced for the BBC. Through her production company, Leda Serene Films, she also produced and directed films and television programs.
In 2000, Solomon moved to Toronto, where she continued to create, write, direct, and produce her own projects. Her film A Winter Tale (2007) received numerous prestigious international awards, including Best Diaspora Film in The Paul Robeson Category at FESPACO 2009. Her directing credits include the feature films Peggy Su! (1997),What My Mother Told Me (1995),Bideshi (1995),and documentaries Literature Alive (2005) and I Is a Long Memoried Woman (1990).
Solomon produced the multi-award-winning feature Kingston Paradise (2013) and was the Co-creator, Producer, and Director of Lord Have Mercy! (2003),a hit Caribbean sitcom that aired on Vision TV, Toronto1, Showcase, and APTN, starring comedian/actor Russell Peters. The show received two Gemini nominations.
Her latest feature film, HERO Inspired by the Extraordinary Life & Times of Mr. Ulric Cross (2019),began its World Tour on February 28th, 2019, and has been receiving critical acclaim. HERO opened the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, the New York African Film Festival's Opening Night of Film At Lincoln, DC Caribbean Film Festival, and premiered at the Durban International Film Festival. It is currently on Showtime in the US.
Frances-Anne Solomon is the founder and CEO of the CaribbeanTales Media Group, which produces, exhibits, and distributes Caribbean-themed content, including the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, and CaribbeanTales-TV. She is also the founder of CineFAM, which promotes bold original films by women of colour creators, and the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival based in the UK.
Solomon is a Director member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of Canada.
