Alexandrina “Drina” Andre is a director on the rise! She is bold, intentional, and reshaping the future of independent film on her own terms. She’s also an actress, educator, and visionary, but what she embodies most is purpose. As the director of the award-winning indie gem One Life to Blossom, now streaming on Prime Video, Drina is part of a growing wave of Black filmmakers shifting the landscape of storytelling with care, courage, and community at the center.
Even as a child, she was drawn to people. While other kids were watching Rugrats, she was glued to The Oprah Winfrey Show and MTV’s True Life, captivated by the raw, unfiltered emotion of real stories. “I was always interested in what people were going through beneath the surface,” she says. “Even back then, I wanted to document that.”
Her journey as a filmmaker didn’t begin with a Hollywood handout or a viral shortcut. It began with a decision: to stop waiting for permission.
“I was tired of asking to be seen,” she says. “So I built something worth looking at.”
That “something” became One Life to Blossom, a powerful feature-length documentary chronicling the life of Blossom C. Brown, a Black trans woman navigating self-love, gender affirmation surgery, and the emotional terrain of visibility. The film, which earned a Telly Award and holds a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, is equal parts intimate portrait and cultural milestone. It challenges how trans stories are told and who gets to tell them.
Though Alexandrina is not a trans woman herself, she approached Blossom’s story with deep care, respect, and responsibility.
“Filming One Life to Blossom wasn’t just a creative endeavor;it was emotional labor,” she says. “It’s different when you’re telling a real person’s story. You have to honor them, not just the edit.”
That commitment to integrity extended far beyond the screen. From fundraising and casting to directing and promoting, she led the project from start to finish as an independent artist, often without traditional safety nets.
“I didn’t have a big budget. I had a big purpose.”
Her work resists spectacle and leans into softness. Where mainstream narratives flatten, she expands. Where others center trauma, she centers truth. Her artistic choices reflect an ethos of radical care, one that ensures the subject’s dignity is never sacrificed for dramatic effect.
And the industry is taking notice.
Alexandrina has been featured in Deadline, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and HelloGiggles, where she’s been celebrated as a rising creative voice. Her work not only commands attention it holds it, offering stories that are tender, urgent, and necessary. She believes in building a career that honors both purpose and sustainability. She credits her growth to staying grounded in her “why,” setting creative boundaries, and maintaining artistic clarity even when the industry moves in trends.
To other Black creatives walking a similar path, she offers this: “You don’t have to water yourself down to be seen. Tell the truth. Tell your truth. The people who need it will find you.”
Her proudest professional achievement so far is choosing to bet on herself, an act that redefined her path and positioned her as a filmmaker to watch. Through every frame she composes and every truth she tells, Alexandrina Andre is crafting a legacy rooted in representation, self-definition, and emotional truth.
Today, Alexandrina is continuing to build her own table, one that makes room for stories that don’t fit the mold. She mentors emerging young writers and filmmakers and is developing new scripted work that continues to challenge the industry’s limited lens.
When asked what keeps her going, her answer is simple: legacy.
“I want to make work that outlives me. Stories that make people feel seen. Films that remind Black girls they don’t have to shrink to survive.”
Black women are often overlooked behind the camera, but Alexandrina Andre isn’t just showing up, she’s taking up space and making it sacred.
To learn more about Alexandrina’s work, visit www.drinaandre.com and follow on Instagram at @drinaandre.
Photographer: Joshua Rosales
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