Screenplays

Raushanah Simmons is a bold, character-driven writer whose work explores power, identity, and survival with unflinching honesty and sharp wit. In addition to her feature Group Home, she has written several dynamic, high-concept television pilots and a slate of short films that blend grounded realism with heightened, often explosive storytelling. Her voice is both cinematic and deeply human, shaped by a life of varied experiences and a keen eye for the complexities of people and systems. She is currently expanding her storytelling into the fast-evolving world of vertical series, bringing her signature emotional depth and visual sensibility to new formats.

Raushanah Simmons’ poetry is the heartbeat of her artistic voice—raw, lyrical, and transformative. Her debut collection, You Can Dance With the Devil But You Gotta Keep Time, emerges from a profound period of personal reckoning, capturing what she describes as a “dark night of the soul.” The collection opens with the poems “Quest,” “O’ Brave New World,” and “Host,” which together set the tone for a body of work that wrestles with resilience, identity, and rebirth. Her poems move fluidly between vulnerability and defiance, offering an intimate lens into the inner life that fuels all of her storytelling.

Poetry

Notable

Grants,

Programs,

&

Festival Selections

Raushanah Simmons screenplays has been selected for, and participated in several writing programs, and been awarded multiple writing grants. Screenplays she has written have birth films recognized by numerous film festivals.

Here is a list of notable ones:

2016 Cucalourus Film Festival

2016 Urban Action Film Festival

2016 Artemis Women in Action Film Festival

2016 Big Apple Film Festival and Screenwriting Competition

2016 WIND International Film Festival

2016 YoFi Fest

2021 - City Artists Corps Grant

2025 - Sundance Cultural Impact Residency - Finalist

2025 - LMCC Manhattan Arts Grant

2025 - GOTHAM Accountability Pitch Sprint

Film Festivals:
Grants:
Programs:

Notable

Grants,

Programs,

&

Festival Selections

Raushanah's screenplays have been selected for, and participated in several writing programs, and been awarded multiple writing grants. Screenplays she has written have birth films recognized by numerous film festivals.

Here is a list of notable ones:

2016 Cucalourus Film Festival

2016 Urban Action Film Festival

2016 Artemis Women in Action Film Festival

2016 Big Apple Film Festival and Screenwriting Competition

2016 WIND International Film Festival

2016 YoFi Fest

2021 - City Artists Corps Grant

2025 - Sundance Cultural Impact Residency - Finalist

2025 - LMCC Manhattan Arts Grant

2025 - GOTHAM Accountability Pitch Sprint

Film Festivals:
Grants:
Programs: