David Lawson

David’s love of film started at an early age while living in Baltimore, MD. Once he graduated high school, he enlisted in the US Air Force. He served for over 4 years as an Airborne Radio Operator aboard the AWACS E-3 Sentry deploying for both Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). There he not only met many people with the same affinity for cinema, but also took to heart their core values: integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all you do. After completing his term of service in the Air Force, he attended Michigan State University where he continued his personal growth. He has since brought the values and friendships he made along the way to Los Angeles, where since 2005, he has been working his way up the commercial and feature film ranks. After years of working as an independent producer, David joined Snowfort Pictures, as their Head of Production, from 2015 until 2017. Then, along with long time collaborators Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, he formed RUSTIC FILMS. His features include SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, BREATHING HAPPY, SYNCHRONIC, THE ENDLESS, AFTER MIDNIGHT, TRASH FIRE, 68 KILL, 24X36: A MOVIE ABOUT MOVIE POSTERS, SPRING, and RESOLUTION.

Every semester, he guest lectures at USC Film School and AFI’s Master programs. He is currently an advisor for Sundance’s Collab Producing Class and on the Program Advisory Committee at Full Sail University, in addition to being a mentor for the Startwith8 program.