Every year ZIFF welcomes a filmmaker as its Chief Guest to celebrate their achievements and contributions to the film industry. This year, ZIFF is especially excited to welcome Dexter Davis as his visit is just the start of what promises to be a long and important partnership aimed at advancing the develop of the film industry in Africa.
Dexter has a solid and illustrious pedigree within the film industry in the USA and beyond, and has solidified his commitment to the development of African film through a number of initiatives which began in South Africa in 2010. His attendance at ZIFF is further testament to his belief in the future of the African film industry.
Dexter has this to say of his upcoming visit to Zanzibar and ZIFF: “I’m thrilled to be invited to such a beautiful part of the world, and this year’s edition of ZIFF as Chief Guest to host a series of important workshops that speaks to the business of film, which often gets overlooked by independent filmmakers. I can’t thank ZIFF’s team and their CEO Daniel Nyalusi and Festival Director Fabrizio Colombo enough for the invitation to be a part of such an important and much needed festival. Their commitment to African Cinema and stories from the continent is infectious. I’m looking forward to a long and productive relationship with ZIFF for years to come.”
Dexter began his career in entertainment at 23 years old when he formed Dexter Davis Productions, a company that specialized in organizing creative fundraising events for nonprofits
in San Francisco, California. In 2000 Davis started the boutique production company StoneCreek Entertainment based in Los Angeles, California. He expanded the company, changed the name to D Street Media Group and relocated to Europe to learn firsthand the global film business. D Street now has offices in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Cape Town and is headquartered in New York City.
In 2004 he executive produced his first feature “The Reception,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2005. He continued to produce films, including indie hits like “Rivers Wash Over Me” and “Somewhere Slow” with Jesslyn Gilsig (Glee, Vikings) and David Costabile (Breaking Bad, Billions.) He formed D Street Releasings in 2006 to distribute international films in the U.S., and brokered a first of its kind co-marketing deal with Volkswagen to support specialized cinema in America.
In 2014 Dexter joined the board of Ghana’s National Museum on Slavery and Freedom where he serves with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kofi Annan and world-renowned architect David Adjaye. Davis has produced four additional films with several films going into production in 2017, including the action-packed heist film “The Blue Mauritius” starring Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy, The Last Ship), legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu and South African actress Pearl Thusi and other international stars.
Following is ‘Team Joy,’ which he’s executive producing for Joe Newcomb, the Oscar winning producer of ‘Dallas Buyers Club,’ and ‘Moto Anjos,’ a Brazilian action film set in Sao Paulo, Brazil, directed by Emmy Award winner Joe Tripician. In 2018 D Street will be producing its’ first film set in East Africa called ‘Ballin…On the Other Side of the World,’ and recently announced the casting of Tanzanian personality turned actor Idris Sultan as one of the leads. Aside from film and television production, Davis is building a state-of-the-art film and TV studio in the beautiful town of Port Shepstone. A municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Dexter Davis is committed to producing and distributing films from the African continent to the United States and around the world. Developing content with Africa talent and American talent is key to establishing a star system in Africa and is an important element to how Africa will get out of the shadow of the United States and Europe when it comes to international cinema.
