Yohana Desta

2025 Diverso Fellow
New York University

SOULEYMANE
Logline: When the greatest soccer player in the world decides to represent Mali instead of France in the next World Cup, he compromises his golden boy status and incites a global debate about representation, colonization, and where he truly belongs.

Yohana Desta is an Eritrean- and Ethiopian-American writer and director based in New York City. Her creative practice spans short films, documentaries, and theater, and is often centered on contemporary narratives of the Black diaspora. She holds an MFA in writing and directing from New York University’s graduate film program, and is currently in post-production on her thesis project, a short dramedy set in Harlem. In addition to her creative work, Desta is also a longtime journalist, joining Vanity Fair as a staff writer from 2016 to 2023. During her tenure, she authored cover stories on Chadwick Boseman, Kristen Stewart, and Issa Rae, and reported at length about diversity in the film industry. She is also a seasoned moderator, leading conversations and Q&As on behalf of A24, HBO, SAG, and more.