[solitary]

Derek Pastuszek is an award-winning filmmaker whose stories live on the border of the literary and the cinematic. He holds both a BS in Film & Television and a BA in English Literature from Boston University -- and an MFA from the AFI Conservatory. He is composed of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.

His first film, [solitary], a narrative exploration of a prison inmate’s psychological descent while held in solitary confinement, garnered high acclaim on its festival run -- winning numerous awards, including Grand Prize at the Cine Gear Expo Film Series Competition (at Paramount Studios) and Grand Prize at the March on Washington Film Festival. The film is currently featured on the streaming service, kweliTV. The film also had the distinct honor of being screened at the White House in July of 2016.

Pastuszek also co-wrote an award-winning AFI Thesis film, The Duke: Based on the Memoir ‘I’m The Duke’ by J.P. Duke, which won and played at a number of film festivals, including Tribeca, Reykjavik Int’l Film Festival, Hamptons, and Santa Barbara. After a run on United Airlines, it is now available online via Short of the Week.

Most recently, Pastuszek has signed on to direct multiple music videos for LA-based record label Chain Letter Collective -- three to be released this year –- beginning with a video for Vicious Cousins. In addition, his six-part interview film series Fearless Fashion: An Oral History of Rudi Gernreich (which he produced, directed, and edited) is now featured in the Skirball Museum's ‘Fearless Fashion’ exhibit (scheduled to travel worldwide).

His next short film, ISLANDER, is in post-production and will hit the 2020 festival circuit.