بیوگرافی
Director and Creator Desmond Faison has spent much of his life on the margins of the American experience. Born and raised as a Black man in Portland, Oregon's inner city during the mid-1990s, he has encountered realities few can genuinely claim to understand. As a small elementary school child struggling with a severe speech impediment, he was bused 30 minutes daily to an all-white school. Overcoming this challenge, he attended high school in North-East Portland, a neighborhood plagued by gangs and drugs, where he became a standout football player. His college journey followed a similar path, beginning at a Historically Black College in rural Langston, Oklahoma, then transferring to a junior college in California’s economically challenged Central Valley. Ultimately, his football career led him to Montana State University, where he earned a B.S. in Human and Family Science. It was only after college that Faison discovered his true passion for the arts. Demonstrating natural creative brilliance, he eventually settled in Los Angeles, California, where he has worked in television and film for nearly two decades.
Throughout his life, Desmond has been immersed in communities like his own. He has witnessed firsthand families devastated by the opioid crisis in overlooked parts of America—places so unfamiliar to many that they seem almost foreign. He has seen how fear can grow unchecked in areas lacking diversity. From the fragile, small child in special education classes to the shy teenager thrust into popularity, from a college athlete on a full scholarship to an elected official in LA County, Desmond has spent much of his life both on the margins and working to bridge vastly different worldviews.
Naturally, when behind the camera, his commitment to telling honest, impactful, and perspective-shifting stories is as strong as his unique background. A quiet and thoughtful individual, Desmond is driven to share stories from the viewpoint of the underdog, the marginalized, and the overlooked. His straightforward directing and photographic style is evident in his preference for dark, moody tones, slightly off-kilter framing, and his use of shadows that almost become characters themselves in his slow-burning, often subtle, but always meaningful and truthful narratives.
Desmond Faison’s distinct exposure to the wide spectrum of the American experience has shaped him into the man and artist he is today—truly one of a kind.
