Yvonne Welbon

Yvonne Welbon was an American documentary filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in history, Welbon traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, where she taught English, learned Mandarin Chinese, and published an arts magazine. After six years (and a nearly fatal motorcycle accident), she returned to the United States more confident in her identity as a bisexual African-American woman. Welbon then made her first film, an experimental short titled "Monique" (1992). The next year, she directed her first major festival circuit success, "Sisters in the Life: First Love" (1993), a short documentary/narrative blend about a black lesbian reflecting on her identity. Welbon's autobiographical short documentary, "Remembering Wei-Yi Fang, Remembering Myself" (1996) was shown on "P.O.V." (PBS, 1988-present) nationwide. She followed this success with her longest documentary project yet, "Living with Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100" (1999). The film followed the oldest "out" African American lesbian, the titular Ruth C. Ellis, and her story; Ellis died in 2000 at age 101. Welbon's documentary "Sisters in Cinema" (2003) showcased the relatively unknown world of African-American woman filmmakers, even stretching back as far as the 1920s and 1930s. Beginning in 2003, she produced a number of documentary projects, including a film about the recent gay rights movement and its effect on the African-American community called "The New Black" (2013).