Rodney Evans is a multifaceted creative force, boasting a impressive array of credits across the realms of fiction and documentary filmmaking. His notable works include the critically acclaimed Brother To Brother, which took home the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as Billy and Aaron, showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival, and Vision Portraits, which premiered at SXSW's Documentary Competition to widespread acclaim.
Evans' notable achievements include being the recipient of the IFP's Gordon Parks Award for Screenwriting for his fiction feature debut, Brother To Brother, which went on to garner four Film Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Debut Performance, and Best Supporting Actor. The film's European premiere took place at the esteemed Berlin International Film Festival.
His sophomore effort, The Happy Sad, made its theatrical debut at the IFC Center in New York City and the Sundance Sunset Cinema in Los Angeles in 2013. Fast-forward to 2019, Evans' latest feature-length documentary, Vision Portraits, received its world premiere in the Documentary Competition at SXSW, earning universal critical acclaim in the process.
The film went on to win the prize for Best Documentary at Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBT+ Film Festival, and was subsequently broadcast nationally on America Reframed, as well as being screened virtually at the Whitney Museum in July 2020 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Evans has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to the film industry, receiving the Frameline Award for Career Achievement and a 2020 Sundance Momentum Fellowship. Furthermore, he has been selected as a Ford/Mellon Disability Futures Fellow for 2021.
Prior to his illustrious career in filmmaking, Evans earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in Film/Video Production from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
