Zeinabu irene Davis (born April 13, 1961) is an American filmmaker and professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego.

She has received numerous grants and fellowships from such sources as the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts.

[1] As a filmmaker, her films have been categorized as belonging to the genre of Black feminism due to the ways she incorporates the unique experiences of African American women.

[citation needed] Cycles (1989) Working as the director, producer, editor and cast for her first short film, Zeinabu irene Davis depicts a woman's growing anxiety as she awaits her overdue period.

Jacqueline Stewart with UCLA describes Davis's techniques as she “combines beautifully intimate still and moving images of the woman's body and home space, along with playful stop-motion sequences”.

[7] Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant (1989) Zeinabu irene Davis captures black woman icons with her unapologetic and undistorted lens.

Women like Bryant wanted to leave the world knowing not only that their craft would live on, but that their children, loved ones, friends, and young Black people in general could take an easier route to discovering their true identity and freedom.

In this film, four women perform a comic old-school rap about the preposterous claims in ads for feminine hygiene products.

Mother of the River (1995) This film centers around Dofimae, a young, enslaved girl, who learns about the world through her father's riddles.

Davis delves into an original take on love stories as the characters deal with the societal issues of race, gender, class, education, and ability—all while communicating via sign language.

This film truly “considers the ephemeral nature of love and life, while illustrating the enduring challenges of race and racism, over the course of a century”.

[11] The filmmakers included in this documentary are Charles Burnett, Ben Caldwell, Julie Dash, Haile Gerima, Barbara McCullough, Billy Woodberry, and Davis herself.

In addition, her works such as A Period Piece (1991), A Powerful Thang (1991), Mother of a River (1995) and Compensation (1999) "continued to garner her awards from numerous organizations and festivals".