Washington, DC

The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD) is pleased to honor Donna Brant, award-winning producer and founder of donnabrant productions LLC, as the November Filmmaker of the Month. Donna specializes in pushing video messaging to a new level by stirring and changing society through the visual medium. Her films, television specials, and web videos have sparked public action on a number of critical issues from raising millions for non-profit organizations, to keeping teens safe, to catching elusive serial killers. 

Donna is the former Supervising Producer of America’s Most Wanted (AMW), and was the only woman to serve in that position at the FOX television show. During her 20 years at AMW, she assisted law enforcement in the capture of nearly two hundred violent felons, including Carl Cooper, responsible for the Georgetown Starbucks triple homicide. As Senior Producer of Specials Projects, she directed an investigative unit instrumental in solving four cold case homicides.

In 2008, Donna founded donnabrant productions LLC to focus on making an impact on important social issues facing society today. Based in Washington, DC, Donna has assisted local and national clients in making a difference in our day to day lives.

In just a short time, Donna’s films have been honored for many prestigious awards. Most recently, she received a 2014 Silver Telly for the documentary Taken By Force, a first-hand account of a young girl's abduction by a serial child killer, produced for Investigation Discovery’s (ID) series FBI: Criminal Pursuit. Additionally, The Littlest Hero, an American Red Cross film on the dangers of home fires, won her two Telly and two Communicator awards in 2012. The film highlights the story of a heroic 12-year-old girl and her attempts to save her four siblings from a two alarm fire in their Kensington, MD home. The previous year, Donna was awarded a prestigious CINE Golden Eagle in 2011 for My Red Cross Story, a web series for the American Red Cross Annual Report. The series includes the inspirational story of a Katrina survivor whose surprising journey ends with a message of hope.

Donna produced her breakout film Cheating Death, which depicts the dangers of teens playing “chicken” on the rails, and also received multiple Telly and Communicator awards in 2011. The film was shot primarily in the DC area and was produced for Amtrak.  Other Amtrak safety films Donna produced can currently be seen on television monitors at Union Station in Washington, DC and Amtrak stations nationwide.

Donna recently completed a training film for Amtrak employees on what to do in the event of a bio-terrorism attack. She is currently working on a documentary film for the American Red Cross and is in the development stages for a documentary on the deadly epidemic of domestic violence.

Donna currently resides in Ward 2 of the District of Columbia.

MPTD launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital. The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of MPTD’s mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include The New “N” Word web series creator SowandeTichawonna, Goldenbear production company founder Chris Keener, The Cake Lady Diaries creator Michon Boston, and Stone Soup Films Founder Liz Norton.

You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Donna and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.