Produced at: American Film Institute (AFI)
Role: Writer/Director
Starring Tony Todd (Candyman), Dockweiler is a dramatic thriller about The Duke, an ex-con who runs a beach-maintenance crew and sees himself as a savior to the men he hires fresh out of prison. When a volatile new employee threatens the fragile kingdom he’s built, The Duke is forced to confront his own demons and the past he’s tried to leave behind.
Created as my thesis project as a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute, Dockweiler grew out of my own experience performing community service on Los Angeles beaches, where I found myself working alongside men paying their debts to society and county employees—many of them former inmates themselves—trying to rebuild their lives. What initially seemed like miserable work revealed itself as a strange, insular world of second chances, dignity and redemption. That experience became the foundation for The Duke: a tragic hero who turns an ordinary job into something almost sacred, only to discover how fragile that faith can be.
Awards & Festivals
BAFTA/LA Student Film Awards — Nominee, Best Student Short
Method Fest — Winner, Best Student Short
Cinequest Film Festival — Official Selection
Aspen Shortsfest — Official Selection
Sonoma International Film Festival — Official Selection
San Diego Film Festival — Official Selection
Nick Palmer 