Darius Burke
Darius Burke
Burke started his professional career as a filmmaker on December 31,2015.
At an early age, he developed a curiosity for creativity.
As a teenager,
he learned the basics of cinematography by teaching himself to use a video camera.
Burke has been an autodidact for his
entire life.
Early Life and Education
Darius Saint Nicholas Burke was born on December 9,1994 in Newton,New Jersey at Newton Memorial Hospital.
As a small child, he grew up with creativity and his family encouraged it all the time.
Around the age of 8, he became interested in cinematography.
He made his first short film that year, called
"snow deck" which is about Darius Snowboarding in his backyard.
the title of the film is named after his snowboard
which the word "snow deck" was printed on the front of the snowboard.
as he grew older, Burke experimented more with cinematography.
From the year 2008 until 2015, Burke has made
approximately 300 - 500 home movies.
Darius Burke attended Keeney Elementary School in Manchester,Connecticut from September 2000 - June 2005.
He then switched around from school to school during the years 2006 -2010.
Burke attended High Road Academy Upper School in Wallingford,Connecticut for high school beginning in September 2010.
He graduated on June 19,2013 earning a High School Diploma from Manchester High School.
Burke briefly attended Manchester Community College in Manchester,Connecticut during the years 2013 - 2015.
Before deciding to go into filmmaking, Burke experimented with other potential careers.
In late-2013, Burke created a social networking service called "Social XT", he lost interest in this career path in September 2014.
From March 2015 - August 2015, Burke started a pop-punk band with a friend.
They practiced recording some potential songs during the summer of 2015.
In late-August 2015, Burke eventually decided against going forward with the idea because of memorization issues.
Burke is unable to memorize words and he considers himself a "visual thinker", meaning he can only create things through visual thoughts.
This thinking style has positively influenced his natural ability at directing movies and writing screenplays.
He tried completing college a total of three times.
Burke eventually dropped out in December 2015.
He then began pursuing a filmmaking career instead starting that same month on December 31,2015.
Beginning of Career (2015 - 2017)
On December 31,2015, Burke announced in a video uploaded to his Facebook profile that
he was taking his love of making movies to a professional level.
His independent production company Grandad Productions, formerly known as
"Darius and Ben Productions" was created on December 31,2015.
in January 2016, Burke filmed his first short film called "The City of Village Charm"[14]
On March 10,2017, "The City of Village Charm" was released onto YouTube.
On April 2,2016, Burke filmed his second short film titled "Adam & Juliet"[16]
It was released onto YouTube on November 1,2016.
On September 10,2016, Burke filmed his third short film titled "Words Can Hurt"[17]
The film is about bullying.
Burke was a victim of bullying in high school and this short film is based on it.
On July 12,2017, the film was finally released onto YouTube.
from October 22,2016 until November 13,2016,
Burke filmed his first feature film titled "Best Party Ever!", [20]
it is a parody film that satirizes "Project X"[19]
The film was released onto YouTube on December 5,2016.
The screenplay for a feature length Biographical film about internet activist, Aaron Swartz
titled "Patriot of the Web" was completed on January 20,2017, the same day as the Inauguration
of President Donald Trump.
"Patriot of the Web" was filmed from March 12,2017 until June 7,2017.
[22] and is scheduled to be released
onto Amazon Prime in October 2019.
Feature films, short films, Future projects
** (2017-Present)**
On February 19,2017, Burke directed his fourth short film titled "The Girl in the Woods"[23]
The theme of the film is mental health awareness and challenging stigma.
the film is inspired by true events that Burke dealt with during the year of 2016, which is
depression mainly.
"Patriot of the Web", a biopic film about Aaron Swartz
was filmed from March 12,2017 until June 7,2017.
"Patriot of the Web" was released on Reelhouse on December 12,2017 [7]
"Patriot of the Web" was released on Pivotshare on January 30,2018.
In November 2017, Burke directed his sixth short film titled
"Love In The Future" which is a sci-fi / romance short film.
on January 12,2018, Burke began filming "Revolt" which is a movie about a
It is set to be released on July 2,2020 [84]
In late-April 2018, Burke began filming a short film titled "Skylar & Ashley",
Burke plans on filming his first feature length horror film "Giving Up Forever" after "Revolt" finishes post-production.
Production will begin on April 20,2020.
The screenplay was finished in September 2017.
Burke began writing the screenplay around February 14, 2017.
Burke's twelth short film titled "Grandad" will be released on April 8,2020 onto YouTube.
The release date would've marked his Grandfather's 90th Birthday, who died on February 28,2007.
Filmography [2]
# means the title is a short film, { means the title is a feature film
** [ means the title is a documentary**
Director,Writer, Producer: [5] Release Date(s):
[ Doc For Gov (2018) [43]
Love in the Future (2020) [4]
{ Giving up Forever (2022) [59]
[ Narcissism: The Untold Story of Terror (2023) [42]
In Development:
{ Mandalay (???) [32]
{ Santana (???) [33]
{ The Wizard of Menlo Park (???) [57]
{ Zuck (???) [58]
{ The Train in my Grandmother's Backyard (???) [41]
Personal Life
called "Grandad Productions" which is named in honor of his Grandfather who died in 2007.
Melissa Fidler on his films since February 2017.
Burke's friend Phillip Misenti has been collaborating with him since 2016 as the set
a mental health advocate fighting for the lives of those with mental illness.
He has written a bill
he began writing in September 2015, which if passed in the Connecticut legislature, would effectively
criminalize bullying and stigma against all people including those with disabilites and mental illness.
His top 4 favorite music bands are 5 Seconds of Summer, Blink-182, All Time Low and Linkin Park.
He is currently single.
Burke has said that when he makes it into the commercial film industry, he plans on buying several luxurious homes in the united states.
Influences
Burke has stated that he refuses to copy other filmmakers, which
basically to him means "being the next Spielberg", [34] He encourages young filmmakers
to not be like any other filmmaker, stating "it's great to have influences but do not conform
to the basic idea of making it all about money, making movies should come straight from the heart"[34]
Despite this, Burke has stated that these
filmmakers influenced him in his writing and style of films, [25]
Filmmakers Oliver Stone and Michael Moore have influenced the style of Burke's films, which are mostly political, or historical.
Burke considers his film "Revolt" as an example of having Oliver Stone and Michael Moore influenced content.
Steven Spielberg influenced him
because of his science fiction direction of filmmaking,
a technique similar to Burke's short film "Love in the Future" which has Spielberg type
science fiction elements with an important message.
Burke considers filmmaker Shaun Hart his "mentor" and "the reason why i got into filmmaking",
Hart inspired him also because of the "importance of being brave in films and criticizing the system"
which includes elements of targeting political correctness, which Burke says has "given him strength
to not be afraid to speak out", [25] La La Land Director Damien Chazelle, motivated Burke, Burke states that
"Chazelle gives me hope that i can make it in the industry and especially at a very young age"[25]
References
- April 2017