Dustin Morrow bridges the worlds of creative practice and scholarly inquiry as an Emmy-winning filmmaker, bestselling author, film festival programmer, optioned screenwriter, podcaster and educator. He is a tenured Professor in the School of Film at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches courses in digital cinema production, screenwriting and film studies. He previously taught at Temple University, Monmouth College and the University of Iowa.
As a media artist, his works frequently explore the complex interplay between landscape/space and personal, communal and cultural identities; the relationship between music and the moving image; intersections of traditional cinema and emerging media technologies; the actor-director collaboration; the cultural resonance of 1980s cinema; and the structures, conventions and subversions of genre filmmaking.
Morrow’s professional journey includes significant time in Los Angeles as an editor and director specializing largely in short-form content and series television, for such clients as Sony Pictures, MTV, FoxSports, the Discovery Channel, and for such filmmakers as Spike Jonze, Michael Apted, Steven Soderbergh, Guy Ritchie, and (as directors) Kathy Bates and Denzel Washington. Through his production company, Little Swan Pictures, he continues to pursue independent projects that have carried him to locations as far-flung as the Aleutian Sea.
Prof. Morrow has written books and essays; optioned screenplays; exhibited photography in solo and group shows; produced and hosted a web series; directed a dramatic narrative podcast; produced and hosted a podcast focused on 1980s cinema; programmed and directed film festivals; directed study away programs in Dublin, London and NYC; given a TED Talk; is an in-demand speaker at festivals and conferences in both the U.S. and abroad; and is a Fellow of the acclaimed animation powerhouse Laika Studios (Coraline, Paranorman). He has written, produced, edited and directed dozens of short and feature films in narrative, documentary, and experimental forms. His movies have screened in more than 45 countries on 6 continents and been honored with dozens of awards. His work has been supported by more than a half-million dollars in grant funding.
Learn more about his work at www.dustinmorrow.com.