Darin Beckstead is an American director and screenwriter. His fantasy film, Courage & Stupidity (2005), was inspired by Steven Spielberg's making of Les Dents de la mer (1975). The 25-min ...Show More
Darin Beckstead is an American director and screenwriter. His fantasy film, Courage & Stupidity (2005), was inspired by Steven Spielberg's making of Les Dents de la mer (1975). The 25-minute dramedy was shot on Super 35mm, thanks to a sponsorship from Kodak and Panavision, and screened internationally at top festivals such as Fantasia and Sitges.For his work and upfront communication, Darin received a letter of endorsement from Mr. Spielberg's long-time publicist and Senior Advisor, Marvin J. Levy (available on Beckstead's website). The film was later championed by Ted Sarandos, who made it the first short to receive a stand-alone distribution deal with Netflix.Beckstead's Indie movie, Somebody's Hero (2012), was lensed in New York City and employed 16mm film to support his retro vision for the story. The picture screened at The Heartland Film Festival, was voted an audience favorite at The Newport Beach Film Festival, and won Coney Island's festival, taking home the award for "Best Feature."Darin's Motion FX Test for his scripted creature feature, Evil Nature (2018), combined practical and digital effects to demonstrate his imagined monster movement. The live-action work screened for audiences of The LA International Short Film Festival and was awarded "Best Special FX" at 2018's Indie Horror Film Festival.In 2019, "Fresh Voices" ranked one of Beckstead's screenplays among their Top 10 thriller & horror scripts, and that same year, his writing was further recognized by "The Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards." During 2020, another of Darin's works became a "ScreenCraft" sci-fi finalist.In the world of advertising, he has directed commercial campaigns for clients such as The Larry King Cardiac Foundation, NordicTrack, Century 21, Sony Music, and The Children's Miracle Network. Hide
