Don Downie

Don Downie is an award-winning director, writer, and producer. He creates smart comedies with a twist of absurdity and a hint of magic. Don has extensive experience directing Hollywood-grade digital content. He directed 6 episodes of Kid Correspondent for YouTube Originals and Participant Media, featuring Rainn Wilson (The Office). Don won the New York Television Festival's Critics Award for the comedy series Royally starring Rachel B. Joyce (I'm Dying Up Here) and PJ Adzima (Broadway's Book of Mormon). He also directed eight episodes of AMNTS - A Mile in These Shoes, featured at the 2022 Catalyst Story Institute. Previously, he directed and produced the digital series Exit Strategy for TeenNick starring Erica Hernandez (CBS' True Lies). Don's TV credits (cinematography) include Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live, and Henry Ford's Innovation Nation. In the medium of film, Don wrote and directed two award-winning shorts: Pepper and the Salt Sea starring Kat Cunning (The Deuce) and Stacie Capone (Grey's Anatomy); and Le Creuset starring Walker Hare (1923, Babylon) He also recently directed the action-comedy short Viola - Unfinished Business and the modern film noir The Skies are Dead. As a screenwriter, Don was a semifinalist for the 2019 Academy Nicholl Fellowships; a semifinalist for the 2019 ScreenCraft Fellowship; and a finalist for the 2017 Jerome Foundation Film Grant; all with his feature script, The Spirit of Detroit. Don will direct the feature, which is being developed by BlüRemedi and Small Media Extra Large. Trevite Willis (The Forty Year-Old Version) is producing, the cast includes Angela Lewis (Snowfall) and J Mallory McCree (Homeland). Don is co-founder of Small Media Extra Large, a micro studio that makes big splash content for film, digital, and TV. He and partner Stacie Capone count Meta, Viacom, Microsoft, TED Conferences, and the Skimm amongst their clients. Don is also a longtime co-leader of Filmshop, and is the founder of Filmshop LA, a tight-knit collective of fiercely independent media makers. Don was born in Detroit, forged in Brooklyn, and now resides in Pasadena, CA.