A Rodeo Film
A bull rider who falls out of love with the sport must choose between his family’s legacy of rodeo and his own aspirations of life.
Darius Dawson is an international filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He received his BA in Film Studies from North Carolina State University. After undergrad he went on to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts based in Singapore for graduate film production where he concentrated in cinematography. He has lensed projects across Southeast Asia , China and Japan. His projects have screened in several international festivals across the globe. After working several years in advertising Darius has returned to school at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles to focus on directing.
A few years ago, I came across an article about the last all black touring rodeo left in the United States; the Bill Pickett Invitational. I wasn’t aware that there was such a thing as black rodeo athletes, so reading the article was surprising. But what really grabbed me from the article was the images. There were guys that looked like me; tattoos, wide noses, coarse hair. These people looked like me except they wore cowboy hats, rode bulls and tended cattle.
I’ve always been interested in creating stories that normalize the black experience in America and I think that part of that normalization is showing the diversity that exists within the community. I’m from the country, but I’m not from the West. This is a whole lifestyle that’s different from my experiences growing up in North Carolina, but their story is a part of the black experience, just like mine is. After seeing the images, I had to create a narrative in this world. Where I landed was a story that is a synthesis of western culture and hip-hop culture; a blend that’s rarely been seen on the big screen.
I’ve always been very drawn to stories about forbidden love and love triangles so I’m taking that and putting that into this world of bull riders. With my team we’re crafting something that is extremely visually engaging, emotionally engaging and hopefully very entertaining. I’m not an extremely political filmmaker. I believe that diversity comes in many forms. It is my intention to expose this world to people who may otherwise have never known such a world existed.