Dee Annette Domination Theater Showcase

The Lindsay’s latest Emerging Filmmakers Showcase features four short films created by a local filmmaker with a singular mission.

Dr. Deonna Dykes is the founder and executive director of Dee Annette Domination Theater Co., a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit arts organization dedicated to creating opportunities for youth, young adults, and underrepresented voices through theater and film.

She wrote and directed the four shorts that will play at The Lindsay on Thursday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Dykes will lead an in-person Q&A immediately following the screening. Tickets are free, but RSVPing via the sign-up form on this page is recommended due to space limitations.

“These aren’t just films, they’re conversations,” says Dr. Dykes. “These stories reflect real issues affecting families, children and communities every day. By supporting this showcase, audiences are also supporting local youth, local artists, and a nonprofit organization committed to using the arts as a vehicle for education, advocacy and change.”

Dr. Dykes is a Penn State University alumnus with a Master of Fine Arts degree and Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Administration from Point Park University. She established Dee Annette in 2017 and has since made sure that the youths they serve are are involved in every step of the creative process. Some act alongside her and other adults, while others remain behind the camera.

“Regardless of their role, they are active participants in bringing these stories to life and finding their own voices through the arts,” says she says.

The four shorts screening during this showcase explore difficult subject matter and contain messages designed to educate, inspire and encourage healing. They are:

• Shadowed Lies (14min): An unfaithful husband’s plan to eliminate his family takes an unexpected turn. Dr. Dykes says this film was designed to remind young people who “struggle to identify safe and trustworthy relationships” that “there are also people who genuinely care and want to help.”

• Tinsel and Terror (8min): A mother is attacked by her boyfriend, forcing her children into a desperate race against time to save her. This film “addresses domestic violence and the impact it has on children,” says Dr. Dykes.