William S. Davis

Film Studies Program
Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
Department of Communication Studies

Biography:

William S. Davis is a professor in the Film Studies Program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s in Art with a concentration in Photography and Film Studies Minor from UNC Charlotte in 2004, and his Master’s in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Film and Technology in 2009.

William is Creative Director of Small Creatures LLC, a film production company and arts accelerator + advocacy group based in Charlotte, NC. Their work supports Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, small businesses and artists locally and internationally, and includes a blend of new media, site-specific works, multifaceted organic marketing and traditional visual + aural storytelling.

William’s creative works have been screened internationally in film festivals and art galleries including the TS1 Gallery (Beijing, China), Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) and the KIT Museum (Düsseldorf, Germany). His film works have screened at Indie Grits, HollyShorts, NewFilmmakers NY, South London Shorts, Lisbon International, Hong Kong Arthouse, Bucharest ShortCut CineFest, Hell’s Half Mile, Cardiff Mini, Defy Film Festival and others.

William has guest lectured at Universities including Duke, Iowa, South Carolina, East Tennessee State, Glamorgan (Wales). He served as a board member for the Charlotte Film Society and Joedance Film Festival, Director / Co-Founder of the Charlotte Film Lab and Festival Director of the Joedance Film Festival. He has organized 40+ arts events including film festivals, artist screenings and creative camps + large-scale murals for underserved youth populations.

William is a Sundance Screenwriting Fellow, an Arts and Scieince Council Regional Artist Project Grantee and Emerging Creators Fellowship Grantee for Mecklenburg County, a UNC Charlotte College of Arts and Architecture Digital Making Grantee and a Knight Foundation Celebrate Charlotte Arts Fellow. He is a lifelong North Carolinian who grew up in the Appalachian foothills and resides with his wife, daughter and son in South Charlotte.

SELECT COURSES TAUGHT (*courses developed)

• *Acting and Directing for Film
• American Independent Film
• *Community-Based Film Production
• *Documentary Film Production
• European Cinema
• Film/Video Production (Fundamentals, *Intermediate, *Advanced)
• French Cinema
• German Cinema
• *Great American Directors First Films
• Introduction to Film
• *New American Documentary
• *New American Filmmakers
• *Production and Directing
• *Scandinavian Cinema
• Western History and Culture (Film)

William S. Davis has taught for the Film Studies Program since January 2008, and was the first full-time Film Studies hire in 2018. He worked as Director of the Certificate in Video Production starting May 2019, and accepted the Director of Film Studies Program position in July 2021.

His Curriculum Vitae is available here, and his professional film + creative community-based work can be found at smallcreatures.com , rasmusleon.tv and williamstephendavis.com.