Ron Davis (filmmaker)

Ron Davis
Nationality American
Alma mater Syracuse University and the New York Film Academy
Occupation Documentary director, writer, and producer
Known for Founding Docutainment Films
Website
Docutainment Films

Ron Davis is an American documentary film director, writer and producer. He is the founder of Docutainment Films.

Early life and career

Davis was born and raised in New Jersey, and was a junior equestrian as a youth. He attended Syracuse University and worked in the publishing industry out of college. Companies he worked for include Harper Collins and Simon & Schuster. Davis eventually became vice president at Sterling Publishing (a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble), at which point he began taking evening classes from the New York Film Academy. While there he produced and directed two short films: The Business Traveler and The Garden, which earned him a top ten finish in the 2004 Esquire Magazine Celluloid Style film competition. Davis eventually founded Docutainment Films to release his documentaries.[1][2]

Pageant

Main article: Pageant (film)

In 2008 Davis released his directorial debut Pageant, which featured the 2005 Miss Gay America female impersonator pageant. He co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed the feature-length documentary that followed five drag queens as they competed for the title. During its showings at film festivals the movie became "critically acclaimed", and was awarded festival prizes.[3][4][5] Pageant received its television broadcast debut on the Sundance Channel after winning a total of ten awards from film festivals.[6] Davis became a full-time documentary maker in 2010, two years after the release of Pageant.[1][7]

Miss You Can Do It

In 2013, Davis released his second directorial effort Miss You Can Do It, an original HBO documentary. The film featured Abbey Curran, who became Miss Iowa USA in 2008 and the first woman with a disability to compete in the Miss USA Pageant. Miss You Can Do It follows Curran as well as eight young women from around the US with special needs as they participate in the 2008 Miss You Can Do It Pageant in Kewanee, Illinois. The film debuted at the Palm Beach International Film Festival Friday on April 5, 2013 and received its first television broadcast in June 2013.[8]

Harry & Snowman

In 2014 Davis will complete the documentary Harry & Snowman, a documentary about Harry de Leyer and a plow horse named Snowman that de Leyer rescued.[1][9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Janis Fontaine (March 31, 2013). "Wellington filmmaker’s work in Palm Beach International Film Festival". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ "HBO airs ‘Miss You Can Do It’ documentary". Star Courier. June 26, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ Jeff Theodore (November 7, 2008). "'Pageant' crowns Jersey City film fest". NJ.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ Nathan Lee (December 26, 2008). "There She Is, Miss ... Well, Actually, It’s Mr.". New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  5. ↑ Gary Kramer (October 22, 2009). "Miss Gay America Lives on Film". San Francisco Bay Times. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Pageant". Sundance Channel. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ ML Elrick (July 23, 2009). "Sergei Fedorov: Financial adviser swiped $43M". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Carroll girl featured in documentary". Daily Times Herald. June 21, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ Emily Riden (May 1, 2013). "Harry de Leyer and Snowman: A Cinderella Story Becomes a Film". Sidelines News. Retrieved October 1, 2013.

External links