Courtney Baker-Oliver
Filmmaker, Director, and Teacher in Washington, DC
Director of the feature film “Veils—Requiem for Trayvon” Courtney Baker-Oliver is a filmmaker, producer, director, writer and composer who spent more than twenty years as a theatre educator.
From his faculty role at Duke Ellington School of the Arts to his work as Education Director of the Theatre Washington and beyond, he's been developing the skills set required to direct and produce large scale productions on the world's stage.
In 2005, Courtney founded Restoration Stage, the premier Black-owned and operated theater company in the Washington, DC metro area with playwright Steven A. Butler, Jr. The company rebranded as Restoration Stage & Film Corporation in 2024.
Courtney is a graduate of the Howard University Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts where he earned a B.F.A. in Theater Education. After college, he worked as Assistant Director to choreographer Mike Malone, who Courtney credits as his mentor. He also completed coursework at La Sorbonne and the American University of Paris in Paris, France.
Always pushing for positive images of Blacks in the arts, Courtney developed tributes presented before Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson and Congressman John Lewis among others. Courtney wrote and directed the debut tributes for the U.S. Postal Service's African-American stamps honoring Paul Robeson (2004) and Marian Anderson (2005). He was a master teacher at Britney Spears' Arts Camp.
Courtney has worked with Diana Ross, Taraji P. Henson, Travina Springer and many more. He has directed or taught notables including Corey Hawkins (The Color Purple) Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black), Cornelius Smith, Jr. (Scandal) Isaiah Johnson (David Meets Man) and numerous others.
In 2008, Courtney developed “They Keep Coming—Voices of the Civil Rights Movement” for Dekalb Public Schools in Atlanta. In 2013, Restoration Stage, Inc. provided entertainment for Martin Luther King III's celebration of his father's legacy as part of the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the historic March on Washington. Restoration Stage’s work has been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, Greensboro, NC, Atlanta, GA, Florence, Italy, San Antoni, TX and across the DC metro area.
Courtney received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University and the Alan Sharpe Cultural Award from the Center for Black Equity in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
A native of Hobe Sound, Florida, Courtney resides in Bowie, Maryland with his family.