Derek Pastuszek is an award-winning writer and director – and an alumnus of the AFI Conservatory. His first film, [solitary], ended its worldwide festival run with a special screening at the White House (Obama admin., July 2016). While at AFI, he co-wrote The Duke: Based on the Memoir ‘I’m The Duke’ by J.P. Duke, playing most notably at Tribeca, LA ShortsFest, Hamptons, and Santa Barbara film festivals, also winning RIFF’s Golden Egg, and now featured on Short of the Week. His latest film, Islander, finished its global run at Reykjavik International Film Festival, where Pastuszek was selected to participate in the RIFF Talent Lab. Most recently, he was a writer on the Peacock series The Resort. He is currently in development on projects in feature film, television, and video games.