Meet Dominique Draper

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dominique Draper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dominique below.

Hi Dominique, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Good question. I’ve been raised by some strong-thinking GOD-fearing people. I’m also the oldest of nine siblings so naturally I’ve always felt the need to lead and protect. As a child I did not talk much, instead I used my eyes and ears to pay attention to my surroundings. Because of that, I was able to soak up knowledge from my father and other elders as they conducted business. Since I wasn’t a problem child, most adults would allow me to hang around because they knew “Nique is going to just be chillen”. Watching my father grow his business has taught me how someone can work hard to turn their dreams into reality. Most people have celebrities to look up to but I have my father, a man who is an honorable man. When I began to start my journey as a filmmaker, I would remember how my father would put the pieces to the puzzle together from a cell phone. So I copied and pasted. After many years of practicing the craft of filmmaking and going through the ups and downs, I have been able to find my voice as a filmmaker.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m preparing to finish my senior year at USC School of Cinematic Arts. It’s been a BOLD journey for me indeed after the decision to go back to college after ten years of being out of college. The move from Texas to California was one I made after I decided to challenge myself to “What’s the best thing that could happen?”. After many years of practicing gorilla filmmaking, I learned what I enjoyed best about the filmmaking process. As a true visionary, I enjoy or aspect of filmmaking but directing, writing, and producing are my thing. Since a child, I would listen to music or folktales and see the picture in my head. I went on to direct a indie feature and some shorts but I didn’t feel as if I was pushing the envelope. I began my research on the best university where I could join a community of filmmakers and sharpen my skills.

I was accepted into USC as a transfer student in 2022 and it has been a blessing in itself. As a first-generation high school grad and college-to-be, to say the least, it’s been an eventful journey. During my first semester at USC, I had the opportunity to direct and documentary based on the life of my mentor Mr. John Singleton, and the making of his iconic film ‘Boyz N The Hood’. For the junior thesis project, I wrote and directed a film called, ‘Hell of a Child’, which is a story based on the life of Robert “Yummy” Sandifer. A child facing the inevitable defeat on the South Side of Chicago. The film has gone on to win several awards including “Programmers Prize” at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival and “Best Cinematography” at the Trinity Film Festival. I’m very proud of this project because it highlights a child some would blink twice about and I was able to shine a light for the world to see.

Now I’m gearing up for my senior thesis, and this is going to be a good one! Much need and oh so timely!! “The Day You Find Your Name” is to illuminate Afeni Shakur’s untold story, a powerful Black woman of the Civil Rights era. By spotlighting her journey, we honor overlooked women of the Black Panther movement and inspire them with themes of identity, empowerment, and resilience. We just launched our crowdfunding campaign on Seed&Spark and hope to continue to grow the community so we can get this film fully funded and out to the world to see. I’ve teamed up with an amazing crew of talented women to help bring the vision to life, Qingyi Song and Allison Waite as Producers and Sika Stanton as Cinematographer.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three qualities/skills that were most impactful during my journey were the skills to be patience. Patience with others and most importantly with yourself. Faith in the higher powers and faith in self! Discipline. Without discipline, it’s nearly impossible to achieve and sustain anything.

Like Nike, “Just Do It”. It’s not rocket science on how successful people become successful. They get up early and put in the hours just like the next human. My advice is to remember, life is what you make it, so give it your best shot.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

My skills as a writer have improved over the last 12 months. I’ve been able to craft original concepts in my mind and now transform them into visual masterpieces. I can’t wait for the world to see what’s coming in the next 12 months.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

B/W Images: Joren Reville
Studio Images: Ramon Lyons

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What would your closest friends say really matters to you?

If you asked your best friends what really drives you—what they think matters most in

Highlighter Series
When do you feel most at peace?

In a culture that often celebrates hustle and noise, peace can feel rare. Yet, peace

Highlighter Series
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?

Almost everything is multisided – including the occurrences that give us pain. So, we asked