Harrisburg artist designs ‘The Woman King’ movie poster and gains global attention

September 28, 2022 | 5:07 PM

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  Aniya Faulcon
  

  

  Aniya Faulcon is a Smart Talk Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.

  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.

  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.

  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

Dionn Reneé Owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and “The Woman King”

The Woman King movie which was released earlier this month, is a described by critics as a spectacular action-filled historical epic film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior tribe that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. The film is set in the 1820s and stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies.

A Harrisburg native and Middletown area school district graduate, Dionn Renee, was chosen by Sony Pictures Entertainment to be the selected creator of The Woman King’s movie poster.

Renee said a friend told her about a movie poster design contest Sony launched for the upcoming movie and she decided to enter.

One of the life threatening tribulations that Renee was talking about overcoming and fighting through was her battle with lupus and its debilitating symptoms. She said lupus was the fight of her life, so she relates to the fight that it took to create this movie.

“I needed to make art every chance that I could because my hands didn’t always work. When they did work, I had to make art. I had to make use of the time that I wasn’t in pain,” Renee said.

Renee designed the poster to have a combination of painting and graphic design. She said she wanted the poster to be soft, have visible brushstrokes, and a painterly quality that showed freedom, humanity, and femininity.

Renee has painted portraits of Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Maya Angelou, who displayed her portrait in her office. Today the poster that she designed is being shown all over the world and has opened doors to create more art in the future. Next she is working artwork for Universal Studios, American singer and songwriter, Chaka Khan, Queen Diambi, American rapper and regae artist, Lil Vicious, and more.

“I create art for everyone, but for black women, it’s so important what’s getting pushed out, because that’s the group of people who deserve representation and it’s just a beautiful thing to make,” Renee said. “It’s something I can make, something I understand. It’s something I am. I grew up with black women. I know what we need and making art that displays them in a good light is important.”