Salim Akilis an American television director and writer from Oakland, California. He is a producer of Black Lightning. ^[0] [2][3]

Akil started as a staff writer for Showtime's award-winningSoulfoodand quickly worked his way up to series executive producer, on top of directing and writing several episodes. ^[2]

He wrote and co-produced the film Drylongso (1999) which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival. He has worked as a director on several other episodic television series, including UPN'sGirlfriends, The CW /BET's "The Game" and BET's Being Mary Jane. Additionally, Akil directed the feature film Sparkle, a Sony Pictures remake of the 1974 musical of the same name. ^[2]

In 2016, Akil and Mara Brock Akil acquired a multi-year development deal with Warner Bros. [3]

Salim met his wife, Mara Brock Akil, while working on the set of Moesha, and the two married in 1999. The couple has two sons, their first son, Yasin Ali Akil, was born on April 16, 2004, and their second son, Nasir Lukmon Akil, was born on November 16, 2009. ^[2]