BIOGRAPHY
Originally from the quiant suburbs of Texas, Desmond Levi Jackson is an Afroqueer dancer, poet, and filmmaker invested in creating African-centered projects that showcase intersectional experiences. Having survived with Ankylosing Spondylitis since age 11, Desmond transformed his piercing back pain into telling original action and horror stories injected with Black characters overcoming fear, agony, and mental strife.
In the narrative space, his short WOLVES was lauded Best Low Budget Short at the Long Island Scared for Your LIIFE Film Festival, and his action short BEATEN BUT NOT BROKEN was an award winner at the Black Truth Film Festival. Additionally, his short film BE, highlighting the stigmatization of male bisexuality, premiered at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival and Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Since 2019, Desmond has participated in several programs including the Facebook Seen Future Filmmakers fellowship, Sundance’s Blackhouse Fellowship, The Hollywood Professional Association’s Young Entertainment Professional Fellowship and the Academy Gold Rising Program. Most recently, Desmond was selected as one of 10 emerging filmmakers in the Deutsche Bank Frieze LA Film Fellowship and was one of 5 filmmakers chosen to make a brand film under Red Bull’s Establishing Shot program.
On the branded side - Desmond has earned a Brand Storytelling certification by responding to an RFP from GoDaddy and has become adept at incorporating his love of poetry and dance into various commercial projects for Conde Nast and fashion brand D’IYANU.
ACCOLADES
INSPIRATION
Influenced heavily by the filmmakers Jordan Peele, Terence Nance, along with the heightened aesthetic of Japanese anime (NARUTO, ATTACK ON TITAN, DEATH NOTE), Desmond boasts a dynamic cinematic style that he brings to his projects. Through African-centered storytelling, Desmond subverts damaging stereotypes and depicts the untold emotional and mental health of Black men and women through the use of elevated genre. His goal is to uplift African people and inspire them to be critical of social behaviors and systemic institutions. By building imaginative worlds, crafting complex queer characters, and finding nuanced stories to tell, Desmond knows his films can bring about unity and change within the African Diaspora.
