Brandon-headshot

Brandon Wilson

Brandon David Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California, on July 7th (the same day as Gustav Mahler, Ringo Starr, George Cukor, Marc Chagall, and Shelley Duvall) in 1971.

He grew up in the Crenshaw District, attended Dorsey High School, took both his B.A. (in African-American Studies) and an M.F.A. (in Film Directing/Production) at UCLA.

While in film school, BDW studied with Oscar nominated director Jerzy Antczak and filmmaker Gyula Gazdag.  As a student journalist for the Daily Bruin, BDW supplemented his formal education by interviewing directors like Bernardo Bertolucci, Mike Leigh, Alan Parker, Clare Peploe, the Wachowski Brothers, novelist James Ellroy, and countless actors, including Judy Davis, Madonna, Kenneth Branagh, Helena Bonham Carter, Jeff Bridges, and Lili Taylor.  His work for the Bruin earned him two awards for Best Film Review from the California Association of Student Journalists. In 2017, he returned to UCLA as a lecturer in the Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

His short films have aired on PBS, KJLA, and have been shown in festivals such as the Hollywood Black Film Festival, the Long Island Film Expo, and the Toronto DV Festival, the IFP/West Cinema Lounge, as well as many local showcases.

In addition to the short films, BDW has authored numerous feature-length screenplays  and co-written two others, The Plunderers and The Bluest Blood (with novelist Gary Phillips and filmmaker Vivien Lesnik Weisman respectively).  In 2003, his screenplay The CON was a finalist in the Script PIMP Screenplay Competition and a quarterfinalist in the Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition.   And that same year BDW saw 381 films.

The Man Who Couldn't... is BDW's first feature as screenwriter, executive producer, director and editor. Shot on 24p SD digital video in the summer of 2004 in and around Los Angeles, the movie had its world premiere at the 2005 Pan African Film Festival, followed by a screening at the Independent Black Film Festival in Atlanta. The Man Who Couldn't... had its Oklahoma premiere at the Bare Bones Independent Film Festival where BDW received his first award for filmmaking, the Oscar Micheaux Spirit Award. The movie had its east coast premiere in Boston at the 30th Annual New England Film and Video Festival.

In 2016, BDW debuted his second feature film, this time co-directed with his wife Jena English (who also shot the film in 1080p HD), Sepulveda at the 2016 Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City. Filmed without a screenplay, Sepulveda stars non-professional actors playing versions of themselves on a road trip down the longest street in Southern California. Sepulveda screened at the Silicon Beach Film Festival and the Culver City Film Festival where it won awards for its ensemble cast and a special achievement award.

BDW lives with his family and his Blu-Ray player in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. He is currently plotting projects, teaching film, and tweeting.