Meet Dan Brenkert: Video Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Brenkert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, what matters most to you?
Selflessness. I’m of the first generation born to my immigrant mother from Egypt and her story is a big basis of why I always try to turn to selflessness and humility in most situations. She grew up in a predominantly Christian family, in a Country where having such beliefs meant some people perceived you as less or treated you poorly.

The American Dream was something that appealed to my family as they saw it as a land of opportunity for them to freely practice their beliefs and have better opportunities while doing so. Arriving in New York in the late 1960’s they unfortunately were faced with the outward racism that still existed following the Civil Rights Movement.

My Mother, having darker skin/facial features, curly hair and a bigger woman unfortunately became the target of hurtful words and other vile actions. Despite all of her hardships, she’s always managed to be loving, nurturing and forgiving to those around her. I always thought “this woman has been through so much, how is she not bitter towards those who’ve hurt her?” without thinking about how she internally handles things. Her faith/value in something, loving, forgiving and bigger than her is how she approaches each day.

While her experience is unique to her, I can’t lie and say that it doesn’t impact me in some way. Whenever I see someone being attacked for their beliefs, race/appearance and lifestyle, It’s hard for me to turn away because I can’t help but think about my mothers experience.

While I personally don’t have the same experience with practicing religion like she does, I still have found my selflessness as a result of her journey with her faith. My group of people closest to me is largely made up of those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, recovering addicts and those diagnosed with mental illnesses. An overwhelming amount of these people have been by and large disenfranchised from society for no reason other than people’s selfishness, bigotry and unwillingness to change. Like any friendship, some have hurt me in the past, but I know that these people never intentionally meant to cause harm to me and the most I can do is give them love and support even when it’s not convenient for me. ‘

“… Actions have reactions, don’t be quick to judge
You may not know the hardships people don’t speak of
It’s best to step back, and observe with couth
For we all must meet our moment of truth… ” – Guru

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Getting to where I am now definitely wasn’t easy. Definitely wasn’t conventional either. I knew I always wanted to pursue something in the arts. The first thing that ever got me hooked on this idea of creating something artistic, was Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was so taken back by the fact that it was a musical animated film with a Halloween/Gothic backdrop. Being interested in how this movie came together I watched the bonus features and had a whole new appreciation for it. This got me interested in playing with cameras, taking videos, and editing them on Windows movie maker. I just loved something about the surreal nature and sought this out in anything I created or consumed. I kept up this guerilla weekend filmmaking all the way throughout high school when I had another roadblock which was what to do after graduation. It seemed like everybody else had it figured out except for me. I wasn’t the best student in high school so I didn’t have the grades to go to a four-year university right away, and I definitely did not have the funds to go to film school. I also struggled a lot with my mental health throughout high school and into college. I knew I had this passion for creating, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with it. In a depressive state of mind, I turned to my best friend in high school which was Family Guy reruns on Netflix. Little did I know I was in for a life changing experience. The episode Stewie and Brian starts out light hearted but quickly takes a dark turn where Brian questions his existence and purpose as a dog. Stewie says to him “You give my life purpose, and maybe, maybe that’s enough. Because that’s just about the greatest gift one friend can give another.” That has been my motive ever since then, to create something that helps someone in the same way this episode helped me. To help someone find a sense of purpose or belonging.

I was so stressed out about being behind all of my friends who were in film classes while I was taking gen-eds. feeling like I had some odds stacked against me, I decided to make my own creative pursuits and ended up producing my first full length documentary on local artists just a few months after graduation from high school. I also met a good friend of mine Sam Miller through this documentary and together we collaborated and co founded Vidjam, A nonprofit filmmaking organization in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. This led me to meeting so many other like-minded creative individuals who were just as passionate as I was about making films.

This was only 2015 and I still had so much to learn. I continued my community college courses while working on projects with people and learned what I could. The hardest part came when I had to decide where to go next. I still felt like I was going to be behind if I didn’t go to film school despite the fact that I was already collaborating with others in that same kind of setting. My Family wanted me to finish school at Penn States main campus but my anxiety and ADHD wanted me to jump ship to a major city to work. I was so focused on the what if’s that I tanked when taking creative leads on projects.

I thought my mental health and career would be better if I just moved. This wasn’t the case as I ended up going to Penn State and due to a number of factors ended up returning home to York the following semester. Something was telling me that this was just how I was supposed to get my foot in the door, by sticking with and trusting the people I spent so much time creating with already. It’s been just about 2 1/2 years since I really started to take my mental health and art seriously. In that time I graduated from Penn State Harrisburg, sought therapy and medication and I’ve managed work on over 30 different productions with some of the biggest names and networks. In my own work, I pull a lot from that which inspires me. If the reaction makes you think about something new or feel something emotionally, then I know I did it right. Right now I’m in the midst of my 3rd self produced doc (which will hopefully see the light of day) planning some music videos and gearing up to AC my second feature length film. Progress doesn’t happen overnight but you’d be amazed at what you can accomplish in just a few years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Roburritos… Thats it. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Douglas Henderson and Matt Nease of Everything is Fire/Bold Creative Media. These two have been some of the biggest mentors that I have had in navigating my craft and given me so many opportunities to activity make a living creatively. Their passion for making films in York Pennsylvania and surrounding areas is truly inspiring. I still have yet to work with another company that’s as dedicated and streamed line as just these two.

I also want to shoutout Sam Miller, founder of Vidjam for being so ambitious about the idea of creating a living film organization in Harrisburg. Every time Sam and I work together it’s an absolute blessing, as he draws a lot of inspiration from independent filmmakers like Kevin Smith. DIY filmmaking fun at its finest!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_brenkert/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dan_Brenkert

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBL1OL_EiXblYM0hNVXPmPg

Image Credits
@HuntiSexi