SPEAKING
Bio
Dan Parris is an award-winning filmmaker, entrepreneur and speaker. He is the co-founder of Speak Up Studios, a St. Louis based video production company specializing in non-profit storytelling. Their past clients include Parents as Teachers, St. Louis Public Radio, St. Louis Aquarium Foundation, Alive & Well Communities, SLU, The Salvation Army, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, and Deaconess Foundation, to name a few. Speak Up Studios has helped nonprofits raise millions through the use of video and storytelling and are passionate about the collective impact happening in the St. Louis region.
Through Dan's other company, Speak Up Productions, he's also directed the feature-length documentaries Show Me Democracy, When the Saints and What Matters? His documentaries have been distributed nationwide, played at dozens of film festivals and screened at hundreds of universities and community venues. As a keynote speaker, Dan's spoken to audiences throughout the country on the ability regular people have to make a huge difference in the world. Dan's spoken at TEDx, SXSW EDU, NCAN & NSPA National Conferences, and 10 NACA Lecture Showcases. In 2014, he co-founded the non-profit, Continuity, whose mission is to expand diversity in media production and in 2019 Dan founded the In Motion Filmmaking Conference. Dan lives in South City St. Louis with his wife and 4 kids.
Dan Parris, founder of Speak Up Productions, has spoken to hundreds of colleges, churches and community organizations.
Topics include:
Screening + Q&A with all Speak Up Productions films
All of Speak Up Productions films are available for community screenings & Q&A with the filmmakers and/or subjects of the films. Dan and team are represented by Contemporary Issues Agency for What Matters? and Show Me Democracy film presentations.
How can I make a difference?
How to Turn Apathy into Action
In his talk, Dan Parris explains that we can make a difference in the world through our time, talents, and treasure. The reasons we should make a difference is because something about this world breaks our heart, and how we should make a difference is by doing what makes us come alive. These create your Y2Q (Your 2 Questions) and by intersecting those answers, there you will find how you should make a difference in this world. However, he ends by warning us what can keep us from making that difference by taking us through the "5 Stages of Activist Grief."
Filmmaking
Dan has given talks at film classes across the country on all aspects of filmmaking with a particular emphasis on documentary, distribution and how to make an impact with your film. You can see other topics that can be covered in presentations or in consulting here. Dan is a frequently requested speaker for the VLAA.
Faith & Film
Dan’s personal testimony that touches on his radical conversion to Christianity, his journey as an activist filmmaker, being a plane crash survivor and now a family man and business owner.