Dorian Weinzimmer’s directorial career showed signs of nascence when, during his second semester as a student at Tribeca Flashpoint College in Chicago, he came in second place in a viral video contest held by McDonald’s for his Evil Dead 2 meets Quarter Pounder pastiche, Evil Bread 2. Thankfully, through his continued education, diverse freelance work, and insatiable self-motivation, the quality of both Dorian’s work and his titling ideas have improved considerably since those auspicious beginnings.

This early taste of encouragement only spurred the ineluctable, genetic predisposition towards filmmaking he could already feel gaining momentum. The singular focus born from this intertwining of passion and purpose was quickly recognized, and Dorian was soon tapped for a myriad of projects, including interviews with former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and culinary icon Charlie Trotter, a series of wildlife videos displayed at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, as well as videos for the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) and Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture (CCULC). Shooting and editing most of these projects himself elucidated for Dorian how to quickly identify solutions, envision how they will need to be shot and cut, and then execute with limited time and a restrictive budget without compromising the original intent.

However, this breadth of experiences, while enormously edifying, was merely background to Dorian’s true pursuits as a writer and director. Understanding how to quickly and effectively problem solve on set became invaluable when Dorian left behind any semblance of gainful employment to throw himself completely into Chicago Rot - his first feature-length effort as director/co-writer, and, with five and a half years spent meticulously bringing every element of the ambitious script to life, the epitome of a passion project. Chicago Rot had its world premiere at FilmQuest on June 24th, 2016, where it was nominated for 8 awards, including Best Feature, Best Director, and Acting nods for all three of the film’s central characters.

Dorian’s core motivation - the dream of contributing as much innovative, uncompromising cinema as he can to the world - has currently found him working as a director for the Grammy Award-nominated musician Pretty Lights in a truly unique collaboration that will, by virtue of a very intimidating NDA, continue to remain a secret. For now.