The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD) is pleased to honor Pierre Bagley, experienced director and producer and new director of MPTD, as the February 2014 Filmmaker of the Month. Bagley is the producer, director, and co-writer of the upcoming independent feature From the Rough, starring Academy Award nominees Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile) as well as Harry Potter series actor Tom Felton. Additionally, Bagley was a producer and director with First Tuesday Productions, which he founded in 1981 and ran for nearly three decades.
Pierre Bagley is MPTD’s first director to be recognized as the Filmmaker of the Month. As an active filmmaker with more than 35 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry, Pierre brings a unique background to the city’s lead agency for supporting and attracting film and television production.
“I believe the nation’s capital has so much to offer as one of the most dynamic cities on the planet to film, and I think I am uniquely positioned to show my fellow film and media makers just how phenomenal it is,” stated Pierre Bagley. “I will always be a filmmaker, but I see my new role here as an extraordinary opportunity to reimagine the District as one of the most sought after destinations for multimedia production in the world.”
Pierre began his career as a floor-crew member of a CBS affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona and within a few years, co-founded the Phoenix Video Center, one of the nation’s first independent production and post-production facilities, which serviced the Arizona/California market. Commercial clients included ABC, Jack-in-the-Box, Walmart, CBS and ABC Television Networks, Foot Locker, Proctor & Gamble and the Chrysler Corporation, among many others.
Most recently, Pierre produced, directed, and co-wrote From the Rough, which is inspired by the remarkable true story of the first female head coach of an NCAA Division 1 men's golf team, is scheduled to be released in theatres in early 2014. He guided the project from development to production in less than six months and raised nearly $7.5 million in equity to complete the film. The film is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2014. Other recent projects include two critically-acclaimed documentaries A Legacy of Leadership, hosted by Sidney Poitier; and LAPD: Transforming the Dream, commissioned by then-Los Angeles Police Chief (and now New York Police Commissioner) William J. Bratton.
Prior to his work with From the Rough, Pierre was a producer and director with First Tuesday Productions, which has garnered a national reputation for creating captivating works of art in the multi-dimensional mediums of film and video. Diverse and eclectic clientele ranged from TIME Inc. and Muhammad Ali to Neiman Marcus and talk show maven and billionaire entrepreneur, Oprah Winfrey. His company also was tasked by major institutions such as the National Urban League, Toyota Motor Company, National Association of Black Journalists, The Trammell Crow Companies, and Anheuser Busch to lend its unique creative perspective and consistent production execution. First Tuesday was the exclusive production company for the Dallas Market Center, creating programming for the fashion and design industries. Pierre also created the Dallas Market Center Television network, which encompassed the 10 million square foot complex and the surrounding major hotels, providing 24 hour TV industry specific programming.
Bagley currently resides in Ward 5 of 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 ONANON Productions and TheDCPlace.com founder Todd Clark, Línea Directa producer Eduardo Lopez, documentary filmmaker Ellie Walton, and Chinatown Producer/Director Yi Chen.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Pierre and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.