Hayley Kiyoko on directing as a woman of color: only 5% of film directors are women of color. She credits Sofia and Chloé Zhao as pioneers, and describes watching Zhao win an Oscar as a ripple effect that fueled her own ambitions.
You think about, like, stats, there's only 5% of women of color directing films. It's 2026. So of course not many perspectives are being shared because they're being shared by very similar people and very similar perspectives. So even before I even started this journey, there was a massive mountain before I even started climbing. So I feel very honored to be a part of that club and, People like Sofia and Chloé Zhao paving the way and proving, you know, I remember seeing Chloé, I was like, seeing someone who looks like me win an Oscar as a director, how cool is that? Oh my gosh, maybe one day I'll be up there. It's a ripple effect.
