About

I’m Derek — a shooter/producer and accomplished documentary filmmaker with 20 years of experience chasing real stories with a camera in hand. I work small and move fast, specializing in character-driven, human-first storytelling.

My background is in cinematography, and I cut my teeth on projects where you had to do it all — shoot, produce, direct, and edit. That scrappy approach still defines my work: intimate, raw, and deeply collaborative.

I blend a cinematographer’s visual instinct with a journalist’s curiosity, building trust quickly and capturing unscripted moments that feel honest and alive. My feature doc Hurley — executive produced by Patrick Dempsey — premiered at Toronto’s LGBT Film Festival and later streamed on Hulu.

With over two decades in film and television, my work has been featured on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, CNN, PBS, Discovery, BBC and MTV.

I earned my BFA in Film & Television from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, specializing in cinematography. Whether I’m working solo in the field or shaping a story in the edit, I’m always after the same thing: real people, authentic stories and moments that move.