SPRUCE FILMS is award winning and internationally screened filmmaker Don Swanson. Officially founded in August of 2000, Swanson burst onto the legitimate independent film scene in 2004 with Suddenly Shay, a short film that would screen internationally and earn an award having been produced on a micro-budget of approximately $300.
With over 30 projects to his credit, other notable titles include Gallows Hollow, a horror short that was a pillar of the micro-cinema movement centered on Undergroundfilm.org in the early 2000’s and featured Jennifer Lynn Warren (American Horror Story: Coven); Wilson’s Woodworkers, a 16mm film that was featured in a symposium on media and violence at the 2009 Three Rivers Film Festival, where Swanson was also a panel member; Rosie Girl, a horror short from the original Dare-2-Direct contest presented by Chiller-TV; Ethel: A Country Girl, a documentary subject that chronicled an 81-year-old woman making a professional recording of her original Appalachian Folk Music, and What Was Lost, a dramatic short film featuring John-Patrick Driscoll (Law & Order: SVU, The Following, The Black List, House of Cards) that premiered at the 2014 Manhattan Film Festival.
Don’s most recent feature film project, Occurrence at Mills Creek, featured Betsy Lynn George, best known as Devon from the David Fincher directed music video for Billy Idol’s Cradle of Love, and Lynda Maroni, a seasoned actress who worked with legendary horror filmmaker George Romero on Season of the Witch and The Crazies. Occurrence at Mills Creek began as short film that was used to generate momentum and expanded into the completed feature film that was picked up for distribution by Indie Rights in November 2020.
Swanson’s partners on projects range from New York City to Pittsburgh, Chicago and Los Angeles. Swanson holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications-Media, with a Minor in Theater, as well as Master of Arts in Communications Technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, Don earned a NASAD Certificate in Film Production from Pittsburgh Filmmakers School of Film, Photography & Digital Media and also holds a Master of Arts in English. Several of his past projects are streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Don has worked professionally in video production for over 20 years. He has done work for the Pennsylvania State System of High Education, Aptec Micro-systems and various community and local government agencies. Don also co-created a local educational TV show, Education Today, that aired to over 80,000 homes where he directed over 100 episodes as the Armstrong School District’s Multimedia Technician. Swanson also designed and oversaw the construction of a collegiate-level TV Studio during his tenure.
Mr. Swanson teaches Media Literacy, Intro to TV/Video Production, TV-Production/Broadcasting, Film Studies & Filmmaking, Photography and British Literature at Armstrong High School in Kittanning, PA where he wrote the current theory and production curriculum for his media-related courses. Currently, Don is in pre-production with Joe Fishel on a new feature film, The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro.