Sista Brunch

Aaliyah Williams: From Her First Short at Sundance to Netflix’s Black Barbie

April 21, 2026·42 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Aaliyah Williams is an Emmy Award-winning producer and founder of Just a Rebel. She produced Netflix's Black Barbie, which earned two Daytime Emmys and an NAACP Image Award through Shondaland. In this conversation, Aaliyah shares her full journey -- from Harvard to finance to moving to LA without a film degree, from assisting for Effie Brown to producing a first short on 35mm that ended at Sundance, from building digital platforms at All Def Digital and MACRO to the real story behind how Black Barbie got to Netflix. She breaks down what it took to negotiate a deal that properly compensated the Black women who made the film, why she went to UCLA Law mid-career, and what she's directing next. Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

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