North Dakota Filmmaker Shares his Story

North Dakota Filmmaker Justin Deegan takes part in an interview with Mystic Media, discussing his creative career and lifelong passion for film.

North Dakota is known for its plains and farms, but there are also many film lovers and aspiring directors in the state. Justin Deegan is a filmmaker from Bismarck who has worked on eight TV shows and films, including the Hulu docuseries “Vow Of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae.” Justin has been working with film for years, but working in the field was not his plan. 

“I started out as an actor,” Justin said. “When I moved to New York, the director that I worked with, Larry Schwartz, would send me casting calls for films when I was living in New York, and I would never go. And so he would always hit me up, ‘when are you going to go to these auditions? I'm sending you these opportunities.’ And I told him, ‘I'm not an actor for film, I'm a theater actor.’”

One of these auditions Deegan read for would eventually be a turning point in his career. Justin went to the audition and got the part, but when he went to the production companies offices, he found no signs of the company that was once there. 

“Like, everything was gone. It was like, chop, chop, you know, like, overnight,” Deegan said. “And so when I talked to the doorman, he told me that the production company sold everything they had to make their first film. And so I figured that they put all their resources into making that movie, and they had to cut corners, which meant my part was cut.”

From there, Justin went into filmmaking. He thought that if he wanted to be in films, he should make his own films. He soon started work on his short film, Concrete 49, a short about a man going to an audition in New York City. On the way he runs into Native American street performers. This was at the time he was teaching himself to make films.

“…Between that time period is when I was teaching myself how to make my own film. I was doing a lot of research from self-proclaimed and self-made filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino,” Justin said. “They had this knack for storytelling, but they just put their investment in themselves in order to make that happen. And that's basically what I did.”

One of Justin’s inspirations is his mom. Darline Perkins is a fashion designer from the Fort Berthold Reservation who will soon be heading to New York for the 5th Ave Fashion Show. While many young filmmakers do it on their own, Justin said it is encouraging to have someone like his mom. 

“That was the biggest part, is having somebody to support me through getting started.” Justin said. “And so because of that support that I was receiving from her, that was something that just kind of encouraged me to keep going.”

Today, Justin continues to build a career in film. Shaped by both unexpected setbacks and support from his mom, he is accomplishing his goals in the industry. With determination, creativity, and support, Justin is bringing his vision to life.