Meet
Derek Dow
Derek Dow always starts off by saying that he is just a boy from Illinois. Yes, Dow is a filmmaker, professor, actor, poet - you name it, Dow does it. Still, the source of all that creativity stems from Derek's early experiences growing up on the south side of Chicago. Derek's unique background and life experiences make him the award-winning director and filmmaker he is today and so much more.
Derek's creative journey in film began at Chicago State University, where he reluctantly enrolled in a production class after the university cut his major. During this class, Dow learned that in film, we get to play god. You want the underdog to win - write it; you want to empower the little guy - film him from below. There weren't any rules other than to stay true to you and tell the stories that mattered to you. The joy and passion he discovered in those early production classes at Chicago State led Dow to Los Angeles, California, where he continued studying film and earned his MFA from the University of Southern California's School for the Cinematic Arts.
Dow's time at USC refined his voice as an artist and enhanced his skills in front of and behind the camera. The results speak for themselves, as Derek's documentary film, Beyond the Sole, received the Irvin Kershner Fund for Documentary Filmmaking, which helped fund and screen the film and shed light on "Sneakerhead" culture. Later in Derek Dow's career, HBO recognized his work when they licensed his short film The Big Chop after screening it in HBO's Short Film Competition, where it screened with only four other films in Miami, FL. Additionally, in 2019, the Gene Siskel Film Center commissioned Derek Dow to produce Growing Pains, a film shot in his hometown of Chicago, in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Black Harvest Film Festival.
In 2020, Dow accepted a professorship at his alma mater, Chicago State University, where he hopes to inspire the next generation of filmmakers like himself from the southside of Chicago. Beyond the classroom, Derek continues to express his vibrant vision of the world around him through film, music, and poetry and works closely with numerous diversity programs to help shine a light on new voices.
My Career
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