Before Brian DeRozan was a filmmaker, he was a college athlete—grinding it out on the football field at Kansas State. Today, that same discipline and structure are the foundation of his approach to storytelling, both in front of and behind the camera.
“The parallels are that sports can also be broken down into 3 acts,” DeRozan says. “They have desired outcomes, conflicts, and then adjustments that lead to a resolution. My sports career has helped me as an actor because I learned the value of hard work, having a process to achieve an outcome and being able to manage loss/rejection.”
After completing his BFA in graphic design, DeRozan transitioned into acting and eventually into writing, directing, and producing. In 2017, he launched his own production company, Videohead Films, with a vision to create meaningful work on his own terms.
“The vision was to produce and tell stories that were important to me, to employ my friends in the industry and progress toward feature opportunities,” he explains. “The mission has evolved in that I have written the feature script for Celebrityand will begin pitching it later this year.”
DeRozan’s breakout moment as a filmmaker came with Pure, a short film he wrote, produced, and starred in. “Pure was my first—as a writer, producer and lead actor. The experience of taking an idea and grinding through the process of getting it made, then seeing it on the big screen was something I’ll never forget,” he says. “My confidence grew because I’d completed something that at times felt impossible, but I was also humbled because I realized how much I had to learn. Through it all, I couldn’t wait to do it again.”
That mix of humility and ambition is a hallmark of DeRozan’s creative process. On shorts like The Color Happy and Hillside Avenue, he wore multiple hats—actor, director, writer, casting director—and embraced the challenges that come with doing it all.
“When you self-produce you have to do so much of the work yourself, so I had to learn new skills and rely on help from others,” he says. “But I love the process of filmmaking, so although wearing all those hats was challenging, I was learning and enjoying the process. Each one of these hats inform the others in different ways. I learned so much about auditioning when I had to cast my film. I learned about working with actors when I was directing and writing helped me understand storytelling more deeply, and so on.”
His creative versatility extends to genre as well. DeRozan has worked in comedy (Dirty White), horror (Very Frightening Tales), and social drama (Black Face), while keeping a consistent emotional core. “Comedy, drama and horror are all part of the human experience. As a storyteller, I want to embrace it all,” he says. “Comedy makes me feel the best, drama challenges and inspires me, and horror probably excites me the most. I believe my voice is maintained because the heart of the story and characters is consistent, regardless of the genre.”
Raised in the Midwest and born in Oakland, DeRozan identifies as biracial—an identity that shows up frequently in the themes he explores. “I believe these roots keep me grounded and humble,” he reflects. “Nothing was easy about where I came from or how I grew up, so my characters often reflect that in some ways. They usually face big challenges, often within, that they try to overcome. For me, that includes identity. It’s something I used to shy away from when I was younger. Now, I embrace it. It’s one of my superpowers for sure.”
DeRozan has representation from Aqua Talent and Storm Management, and is currently pitching several feature scripts. “For me, taking that leap is about timing and experience, and the time is now,” he says. “I’m currently pitching Magic, my first feature script, and have another one right behind it. The latest is the feature script for Celebrity, a short film that we shot in Amsterdam.”
Brian DeRozan’s evolution from football player to filmmaker is more than a personal journey. It’s a testament to the power of reinvention—and to the stories that come from the grit, structure, and emotional honesty he’s carried with him every step of the way.