The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD) is pleased to honor Andre Dahlman, experienced documentarian, as the July 2014 Filmmaker of the Month. Andre Dahlman, a native of the District of Columbia, began his career with the award-winning film Southern Faces upon the completion of his studies at the University of Toronto. The documentary, which explored rock climbing in exquisitely beautiful and often remote parts of New Zealand, gave Andre the chance to combine his passions for adventure and film and launch his career as a documentary filmmaker.
Andre is also the cofounder with partner Ian Cook of the DC-based Dahlman Cook Productions.
The boutique film company creates educational film and multimedia for a diverse group of clients that include Stop the Pipeline: The Rise Against Keystone XL Project, the Natural Resource Defense Council and Atelier Takagi.
Andre's other projects include the short film Corner Plot, which captures the life of Charlie Koiner an 89-year old urban farmer. Corner Plot has been featured in film festivals around the world and was an official selection of Silver Docs in 2010. In 2011 Corner Plot was selected by the US State Department for the American Documentary Showcase. As part of this program, Andre traveled to Tajikistan and organized workshops for local filmmakers to discuss documentary filmmaking.
Andre is currently in post-production on his third documentary feature Murphy’s Gambit, which documents a man as he struggles to earn a chess masters title while fighting addiction and chronic homelessness. Andre is a resident of Ward 6 in the District of Columbia.
MPTD launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital.
The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of MPTD’s mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include ANACOSTIA - The Web Series creator Anthony Anderson; award-winning filmmaker Nancy Swenton; Fatback Films founder Be Steadwell; and award-winning producer of West Wing and K Street Jonathan Zurer.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Andre and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.