Darius Clark Monroe (born 1980) is a writer, producer, and director, living and working in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Early life and robbery

Monroe was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. As a teenager, Monroe robbed a bank in

Stafford, Texas Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small part in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, Stafford's population was 17,666, down from 17,693 at the 2010 census. H ...

; which resulted in him being sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Filmmaking

Filmography

Evolution of a Criminal (2014)

Monroe's feature debut, ''Evolution of a Criminal'', World Premiered at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

2014. The film won awards at the

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. The festival is a program of the Center for Documentary Studies, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) at Duke University. ...

(Grand Jury Prize, Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award) and

Dallas International Film Festival The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF), presented by Dallas Film, is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas. About Dallas Film Dallas Film, established as Dallas Film Society, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

(Special Jury Prize). Produced by Monroe, Daniel Patterson, and Keith Davis; and, executive produced by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

; filmmaker Darius Monroe returns to his home town and to the bank where he committed the crime, examining and confronting how his actions affected the lives of his family, friends, and victims. ''Evolution of a Criminal'' started as a project of Monroe’s at NYU’s film school.

Black 14 (2018)

Released in 2018, ''Black 14'' is a documentary set in 1969 detailing the lives of 14 black student athletes who were dismissed from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

's football team for protesting against racial harassment and racial discrimination in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Monroe utilizes historic footage in his 15 minute documentary to probe the role the media coverage played in representing and manufacturing public perception of the protest. ''Black 14'' played at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

Exhibitions

Darius Clark Monroe participated in the 2019

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...

, curated by

Rujeko Hockley Rujeko Hockley (born in Zimbabwe) is a New York-based US curator. Hockley is currently an Assistant Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Life and education Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Hockley relocated to Washington, D.C. with her famil ...

and

Jane Panetta Jane Panetta is a New York-based curator and art historian. Panetta is currently an Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Career Curating Before working at the Whitney, Panetta spent five years in the Painting and Sculpture Dep ...

. Monroe presented four short documentary films as part of the 2019 Biennial's dedicated screening program. The films, all on

racquet sports Racket sports are games in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object. Rackets consist of a handled frame with an open hoop that supports a network of tightly stretched strings. Paddles have a solid face rather than a ne ...

, are titled: ''South Oxford'' (2019), ''All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club'' (2019), ''Maravilla'' (2019), and ''Serve'' (2019). Monroe's films played alongside Jenn Nkiru’s film, ''BLACK TO TECHNO''.

References

External links

Evolution of a Criminal - PBSitvs - Evolution of a CriminalEvolution of a Criminal, Director Darius Clark Monroe - Film School Radio

''Black 14 - full movie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe, Darius 1980 births Living people 21st-century American artists New York University alumni University of Houston alumni American film directors