Biography

Agazi Desta is a first generation Ethiopian-American filmmaker and writer from the city of Boston. Coming from a humble background, he has a deeply innate interest in drawing vision from the communities that surround him. As a published author and award winning director (The Bread Winner, 2017) , he derives his passion in filmmaking from a literary discipline, gaining inspiration in the genres of drama, fantasy, and mystery. He started his filmmaking career by creating short documentaries with his peers, which ranged from displaying the unseen effects that incarceration has on Los Angeles families to identifying the issues of race and ethnicity across a spectrum of students. Since graduating in 2015, he has transcended his love for art to the global realm of humanities, having traveled to Israel that same year where he sustained an interest in the religious philosophy, politics, and historical narrative of the Israeli and Palestinian people. He has recently co-written and co-directed his first feature film "Voodoo Macbeth," which narrates the controversial success story of a young Orson Welles directing an all black-cast of Macbeth during the 1930's Harlem Depression Era. He enjoys listening to rap music, soulful and alternative instrumentals, photography, and reading contemporary novels. He is a George Lucas Scholar for Diversity and Inclusion at USC.