Allison Swank (also credited as Allison Swank Owen) is a Brooklyn- and Johannesburg-based commercial, documentary, and music-video director. She trained as an editor in Chicago, produced documentary work for The History Channel and National Geographic, then directed short- and long-form pieces in New York for Questlove’s OkayAfrica and Okayplayer before an extended South Africa chapter spanning brand films, commercials, and music videos, including the Afrobeats short From Lagos to London. Commercial credits include the anti-vaping film Ditch the Vape (cast with real high-school students; multi-media and layered), Stimorol’s Your Flavour, Your Flow (Johannesburg Gen-Z real-people casting plus director-led flavor VFX), Visa Voices of Access, Adobe’s branded documentary with Ramisha Sattar, MadeGood, Visit South Africa, SAT’s Lekker Local Tips, Carvela, Billiato, and Sprite Limelight. Independent work includes Scum Boy (2021), which won Best Short Documentary at the IMDB Independent Shorts Awards and was covered by METAL and PAPER; festival-nominated motorsport short Landspeed Liz; and Gotham Cheer, a vérité-and-stylised portrait of New York’s premier LGBTQ+ adult cheer team. In 2024 she was nominated for Best New Director at AICP and Le Book. She is currently rostered at Sparks Productions, with Identity (US) and Giant Films (South Africa) listings.