Nolan Dean is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary filmmaker based in the Arkansas Delta who has centered his practice on producing compelling narrative and documentaries in the Delta that promote cross-cultural empathy and human welfare. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Dean fell in love with the Delta the day he visited his future wife, Jackie, a former classmate from Texas who had moved to Helena, Arkansas to teach. Jackie was kind, honest, and beautiful. The Delta was authentic, community minded, and rich in story.

Together, the Deans chose to stay in the Delta, where they are raising two children. Jackie continues to teach humanities at a public high school, while Nolan runs Cherry Street Productions, a production studio that seeks to empower Mississippi River communities through quality storytelling, and inspire the world with the stories that are still coming from - and being lived out - in the Delta.

Dean's 2020 productions include Rap Squad, a feature-length intimate, verité documentary about student hip hop artists who seek healing for themselves and justice for their community through their music, Of Concrete and Skin: The Story of the Elaine Massacre Memorial, a short architectural documentary about the construction of a memorial dedicated to the United States' worst racial massacre, as well as Nighthawks, a short suspense drama set in the Mississippi Delta about an Arab immigrant who appears to stalk a diner waitress home after her late night shift - but looks can be deceiving.

In addition to narrative and documentary work, Dean has supported numerous businesses, political candidates, musicians and organizations with visual storytelling and brand consultation.

Dean is an alumni of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the Little Rock Film Festival, and more. His film Nighthawks won the Mississippi Film Alliance's Emerging Filmmaker grant in 2019. He has been submitted for appointment to the advisory board for the Arkansas Department of Heritage's Delta Cultural Center and is a former board member of Arkansas Delta Arts Partnership.

Of Concrete and Skin: The Story of the Elaine Massacre Memorial

See photos of celebrities before they hit the big-time.

Nolan Dean

Director

Writer

Producer

Cinematographer

Editor

Production Designer