Dominick Evans
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Dom Ławniczak Evans is a Polish-Irish-American filmmaker,
streamer Streamer or streamers may refer to: * a person who streams online on an internet platform like twitch or youtube * Pennon, a small pointed flag * Streamer, a kind of confetti consisting of strips of paper or other material * Streamer, a common nam ...
, public speaker, and
social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
who focuses on
LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...
and
disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...
.


Early life

Evans was born in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
to a Polish-American father, David Ławniczak (d. 2001), who was deaf, and Irish-American mother, Pam Ryan. Dom grew up in
Walbridge, Ohio Walbridge is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States, within the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 3,019 at the 2010 census. History Walbridge was platted in 1874. A post office called Walbridge has been in operation since 1871 ...
with an older brother. They also have two half brothers from their father's first marriage who did not live with their family. Evans had a contentious relationship with their parents, particularly their mother, which escalated when they came out at the age of 16. Their father died of heart failure in 2001. Evans was close with their grandparents Willis "Willie" and Melba "Noonie" Ryan, who helped raise Dom and their older brother. Their grandmother, Noonie, was a singer on the radio in Toledo and taught them to sing. Dom was a child actor and singer, as well as a poster child for the
Muscular Dystrophy Association The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular di ...
, although they no longer supports the organization, claiming it does harm to the disabled community. They attended Lake High School in Millbury, Ohio, where they graduated with honors in 1999. They had trouble finding the right college, where they were initially studying theater and acting. Dom originally attended
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...
while still in high school. They left BGSU in 2000 to attend
Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...
, but had to leave due to an injury. They returned to WSU in 2010, where they completed their BFA in Motion Pictures Production. They also spent a year studying theatre at a satellite school for the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 2009 to 2010. Evans had a difficult childhood where they were bullied incessantly at school. In 2018, Dominick was featured in the book ''American Hate: Survivors Speak Out'' by community activist and professor
Arjun Singh Sethi Arjun Singh Sethi is a Sikh American civil and political rights writer, human rights lawyer, and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and Vanderbilt University Law School. Background and career Sethi grew up in Virginia. ...
. His chapter explores an experience in high school where he was tortured by classmates as a part of a senior prank when he was a sophomore along with his fear of being outed publicly in his neighborhood.


Career


Film

Evans completed their first film, ''trip'', in 2013. It won a 2015 Indie Fest Award of Recognition. They have worked on other films including the short film, ''Nance + Sydney''. As of 2020, They are currently producing two short films, ''Inamorata'' and ''Overture''. ''Inamorata'' is about a lesbian couple in the 1960s, while ''Overture'' is about two queer wheelchair users who meet in a nursing home. Dominick's films tend to be about marginalized individuals, and they work with diverse film crews that are predominantly made up of minority filmmakers.


Activism

Evans has been advocating for the disability community since youth. They have been heavily involved in the movement for better portrayals of transgender people and disability in film and other media, as well as the marriage equality movement for both LGBTQ and disabled people. They were invited to attend the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
's first forum on disability and LGBT issues in June 2014. While in college, Evans studied disability in film, television, and other media. They were disturbed by what they felt was a huge lack of inclusion for disabled actors and filmmakers in the industry. They have made it a tenet of activism, speaking on the topic regularly, including at Lights, Camera, Access! 2.0 at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
and
John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts co ...
in July 2015 and mentoring disabled media, film, and communication students at the White House in November 2016 via the video robot ALF. Dominick is one of the few people to have the privilege of controlling a robot at the White House from across the country. In 2014, Evans started the
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
discussion #FilmDis, a now-monthly discussion that explores the problems with inclusion of those with disabilities, as well as portrayals of disability in film, television, and other media. Discussions have been attended by notable filmmakers, comic book writers, and actors. They also hosted the panel "Crip Culture and the Media – Perceptions of Disability in Film and Television" at
New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a f ...
in 2015. In 2016, they returned to New York Comic Con via
Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...
for the panel "Where are the Wheelchairs?", which also included author and activist Day Al-Mohamed; model and activist Jillian Mercado; actress, comedian, and advocate
Maysoon Zayid Maysoon Zayid ( ar, ميسون زايد) is an American actress and comedian. Of Palestinian descent, she is known as one of America's first Muslim women comedians. Early life Zayid was born in New Jersey in 1974. She described herself in a ...
; and actor, comedian, and activist Steve Way. Dominick previously worked at the Center for Disability Rights in New York as a media and entertainment advocate. In 2016, Dominick was involved in protests against the film ''
Me Before You ''Me Before You'' is a romance novel written by Jojo Moyes. The book was first published on 5 January 2012 in the United Kingdom. A sequel titled ''After You'' was released on 24 September 2015 through Pamela Dorman Books. A second sequel, ''St ...
'', a film in which a disabled man travels to
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
for
assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
. Evans is a leading voice in the movement for marriage equality for people with disabilities. They worked with LGBT marriage equality activists in Ohio, to discuss the issue and its relations to the topic of LGBT marriage. They currently stream video games and web shows on
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
. As of 2019, they have been working in Hollywood with film and television studios, such as  Lionsgate and Netflix, as an independent consultant.


Spaces

In 2021, Dom directed the music video for the song "Spaces" by James Ian. Evans directed the video from home, where they were in bed, due to chronic pain. Evans believes that they have proven that disabled directors are capable of directing from any location. Their next goal is to develop a television show they can direct from home in Michigan.


Honors

Evans was named one of eight "LGBT influencers you need to know in New York City" in the summer of 2016 by
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
. Evans was named one of ''
New Mobility ''New Mobility'', launched in 1989, is a United States-based magazine for active wheelchair users. This monthly publication covers health, disability rights, adaptive technology and lifestyle topics such as recreation, travel, the arts, relationsh ...
s 2016 People of the Year for being part of a protest against assisted suicide.


Personal life

Evans lives in the suburbs of
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. They have worked primarily with their creative partner, Ashtyn Law, since 2002. Dominick has started consulting on scripts for studios such as
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
and shows airing on networks like Netflix. Evans was diagnosed with a degenerative neuromuscular disorder
spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common genetic ...
at age 4, and has had to use a wheelchair full-time since 1997. They also have asthma, chronic pain, ADD, OCD, PTSD, and are hard of hearing. Evans is
non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
,
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
and
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
, and uses both ''they/them'' and ''he/him'' pronouns.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Dom Living people American people of Polish descent American disability rights activists Film directors from Ohio American LGBT film directors LGBT people from Ohio American LGBT rights activists American transgender people American non-binary people People with spinal muscular atrophy Transgender non-binary people Transgender rights activists Non-binary activists Wright State University alumni Bowling Green State University alumni 21st-century American LGBT people Year of birth missing (living people) American activists with disabilities Film directors with disabilities LGBT people with disabilities Queer people Transgender people with disabilities