Dwayne LeBlanc: Cinema of Stillness and Migration

Dwayne LeBlanc (‘25) is a Los Angeles–based, first-generation Caribbean American filmmaker whose work explores migration, visibility, and the quiet distances that shape identity. A self-taught artist, he has emerged as a singular voice in contemporary cinema—one attentive to stillness, portraiture, and the charged spaces between speech and silence.

His debut narrative short, Civic, was named one of the Best Movies of 2023 by The New Yorker. His sophomore film, Now, Hear Me Good, premiered in the Tiger Shorts Competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam and continues to screen internationally. Together with the forthcoming You Do Not Exist, these works form a trilogy examining migration, dual identity, and belonging.

Civic

Booker returns to South Central L.A. after several years away. Confined to the interior of his car, we watch as he interacts with the people and places he once knew—floating between moments of nostalgia and the subtle realities of a subconscious search for identity.

LeBlanc completed You Do Not Exist during his 2025 fellowship at MacDowell, where he also continued writing and developing an untitled debut feature film project. Reflecting on his time there, he writes:

“My time at MacDowell was transformative in ways that are hard to put into plain words. It was a period of rest and deep reflection, but also of discovery, like stepping into the night and realizing how alive it is. Conversations and friendships continue to reverberate, feeding into my practice every day. What I carry most is the sense of stillness MacDowell makes possible—a place where darkness itself can become a magnifying glass, a cloak, a mirror. That grounding continues to guide my work forward.”

Dwayne LeBlanc at MacDowell during his 2025 residency.

Collectively, his films have been presented at institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, New York University, and California Institute of the Arts. He has been recognized as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” is a 2024 Dolby Institute Fellow, a Berlinale Talents alum, a Zurich Film Festival Academy alum, and a 2025 MacDowell Fellow.

LeBlanc is currently developing his untitled debut feature film, continuing his exploration of diasporic histories, interiority, and the resonance of time. Across forms and venues, his cinema lingers like memory—open, elusive, and deeply felt.

Upcoming Screenings & Events

You Do Not Exist @ True False Film Festival - the short film precedes the feature doc, TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing.
Friday, March 6 / 9:15 pm / Picturehouse
Saturday, March 7 / 9:00 am / Windsor Auditorium

You Do Not Exist @ Westlab Gallery - NYC: "Pushing the Frame: Willful Transgressions" - Opening March 8 and runs till April 26.

You Do Not Exist @ West Virginia Mountaineering Short Film Festival - March 7 at West Virginia University College of Arts

You Do Not Exist @ Wide Open Experimental Film Festival - April 24 at Oklahoma Museum City of Art

Civic @ University of Houston "Resounding Spaces: Global Approach to Music and Sound in Urban Spaces" + panel with me

Civic + Now, Hear Me Good - Criterion Channel (available in North America)