Derek Knowles

Roles: Director

Derek Knowles is an independent documentary filmmaker and a freelance cinematographer for outlets like The New York Times, PBS Frontline, and The Washington Post. His film work has been featured on PBS, The New Yorker, the NY Times, The Atlantic, and as a Vimeo Staff Pick. His most recent film, Last Days at Paradise High, tells the story of high school seniors coming of age after the most destructive fire in American history. The film received support from the Berkeley Film Foundation, screened at festivals like San Francisco International and DocLands, and was published on The New Yorker. It will be broadcast on KQED later in summer 2021. His work has also received support from the Tribeca Film Institute, Kartemquin Films, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Derek graduated from Stanford University in 2011 and continues to work with his professor, Clayborne Carson, who heads the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. Institute.