Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African-American LGBT people.
[1] In 2016, Polk was included in the Los Angeles Times Diverse 100 list, which described him as "the man bringing black gay stories to screens large and small".
In 2004, Polk created the television series Noah's Arc, which made its debut on Logo in October 2005 and ran for two seasons.
After the series' cancellation, Polk wrote, directed, and produced a film spin-off, Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, which was released theatrically in 2008.
[4][5] Born in 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Polk was interested in television and movies as a child, notably Spike Lee's 1986 film She's Gotta Have It.
[citation needed] "Polk has built for himself a full collection of work that was formative for a generation of Black gay men.
The film starred Rockmond Dunbar, Renoly Santiago, Jazzmun, and Devon Odessa, and focused on the stories of a group of gay African-American friends.
The film focuses on the marriage and wedding of the main character, Noah Nicolson, and his boyfriend Wade Robinson at Martha's Vineyard.
[14] Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom was released on October 24, 2008, on a limited basis, at theaters in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Palm Springs, California, and Washington, D.C.
The movie then began showing at theaters in Philadelphia and Dallas in at the end of November and performed above expectations, with $30,336 per screen average that IndieWire dubbed "astounding".
[23] The New York Times said that the film has an "impressive, palpable conviction", although it ultimately "suffers from soapy excesses and narrative disjunctures".