Dana Verde

A headshot of Dana Verde with an image of Frida Kahlo behind her
Faculty

Screenwriting (BFA)

Dana Verde is an award-winning filmmaker who has written/directed eight short films that have screened in over 30 film festivals internationally. She is also an adjunct associate professor of screenwriting at UArts. 

Biography 

Dana Verde started her career co-hosting a TV show on MTV called Your Movie Show as a film reviewer, while pursuing a degree at The New School University in Media Studies/ Screenwriting. 

Verde continued her education in film at The London Film School, where she earned an MA in Filmmaking. After graduating, Verde returned to the U.S. to direct her independently produced feature film Grand Gesture, which was nominated by HBO for Best Feature Film at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival and screened in the Best Of series at the Black Harvest Film Festival in Chicago. The project attracted comedian/actor Brandon T. Jackson, from the Percy Jackson film series/Ben Stiller movie Tropic Thunder, who solicited Verde to write two comedy feature scripts for his production company, Class Clown.

Her next project, a spec feature screenplay called The Perfect Match, was produced by Queen Latifah’s production company, Flavor Unit, and was distributed by Lionsgate. It debuted at No. 6  at the U.S. box office and opened in 925 theaters across the country. Her love for short films and short-form content led Verde to create 3CK Media (Third Culture Kid Media), a new media production company that specializes in producing short digital content.

Experience

  • Verde has ventured into directing TV commercials and co-directed her first commercial for the streaming service Paramount Plus—which features Johnny Knoxville, The Good Fight actor Christine Baranski, Audra McDonald and Cedric the Entertainer—with commercial director David Shane from O Positive Films. 

  • Verde is also writing a feature thriller for MarVista/Fox Entertainment.

Visit the website for Dana Verde’s production company, 3CKmedia.

Visit Dana Verde’s IMDB profile.

Screenwriting is the most prized of all the cinematic arts. Actually, it isn’t, but it should be.

– Hugh Laurie