Doug Dearth – Director/Producer

Doug Dearth is a multi-talented filmmaker whose journey began in front of the camera, where he worked as an actor with esteemed directors like Stephen Frears, Bruce Beresford, Clint Eastwood, and Harold Ramis. However, it was his deep passion for music and its interplay with visual storytelling that drew him behind the camera where he collaborated with John Cusack’s New Crime Productions on the music selections for “Grosse Pointe Blank” and went on to work as Music Coordinator on the hit feature “High Fidelity”.

Doug’s producing endeavors  started when he took on the role of Associate Producer for HBO’s “The Jack Bull”. This marked the beginning of an enduring collaboration with Cusack’s New Crime Productions. He later served as both Co-Producer and Music Supervisor for the feature “Grace Is Gone” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award: Dramatic and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. He continued to showcase his  growing expertise by serving as Co-Producer and Second Unit Director for the feature film “War Inc.”

Doug’s love for documentaries lead him to the realm of television, where he lent his skills to two one-hour TV specials for AMC’s highly-praised series “Into The Badlands”. Returning to AMC, he produced two documentary specials for the popular show “The Walking Dead” before filming the docu-series “Cooper’s Treasure”, which aired on The Discovery Channel. He then delved into the captivating realm of acupuncture with two compelling documentaries, “Return To Life” and “Acupuncture Fever: The History of Acupuncture in California.”

Doug made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed documentary “9000 Needles”, “Under The Knife Abroad”, a one-hour documentary for Current TV. Then expanded his directorial horizons to the big screen with the release of the feature film “Underdogs” followed by “Odd Man Rus

Doug made his directorial debut in 2009 with the award winning documentary, “9000 Needles,” which was picked up for distribution and released in the fall of 2011. Shortly thereafter, he produced and directed “Under The Knife Abroad,” a one-hour documentary for the critically acclaimed Vanguard Documentary Series on Current TV. His most resent documentaries are “Inspired To Ride” and “The DR Diaries,” both of which he produced and directed.

Doug went on to direct the feature film “Underdogs,” which was released theatrically in the fall of 2013. Following that, he completed two one-hour TV specials for AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” which aired in July of 2014 . He then returned to AMC in 2015, to direct and produce a behind-the-scenes special for their new TV series “Into The Badlands.”

Currently, Doug is slated to direct the upcoming feature “Last Day” and is in development on “Three Dog Night,” a film in which he also serves as writer.

Doug is a mentor at the International Academy of Film and Television where he teaches a course in documentary filmmaking.

Documentary section