Dan Overholt – To do good, work well, and lie low is the way of the blessing.

I’m Dan Overholt: a filmmaker, photographer, musician, and educator who finds joy in seeking all that is beautiful.

Film

My work as a filmmaker is inextricably linked with my work as an educator. My filmmaking mentor, Bryan McManus, was an incredible teacher and dedicated himself to offering the tools of collaborative filmmaking to other artists, including myself. I made my first serious film with him, the short A Place We Call Home, in 2010. Below you’ll find some of the work I’ve made since then: commercial work for local nonprofits, short films, and the recent short feature Bird Girl, made at the Wichita Creative Co summer film camps.

BIRD GIRL [2025]

Bird Girl was produced in a two-week intensive summer camp with Wichita Creative Co. I wrote the script and devised the project, hired staff and recruited campers, then transitioned to the role of cinematographer and teacher. This was the largest project I’ve ever D.P.’d, and it was a great experience bringing along a student camera department with very little experience in such an ambitious piece of work. It was a labor of love from all involved and it premiered to a sold-out crowd of 250 people at the Boulevard theatres in oldtown Wichita in August 2025.

DONKEY JOTE [2024]

Donkey Jote was our first effort making a camp film with Wichita Creative Co. it was written, and shot entirely during a 3-week summer camp. I directed the camp and produced the film, and helmed the crew as teacher and co-director, bringing the students along in their roles in the camera, art, sound, and acting departments. As such, this is both student work and my own, and I love the contrasts of this short: heartfelt yet silly, grandiose yet intimate. This project was also a love-letter to Downtown Wichita, where we shot the majority of the film.

BUILD A LEGACY [2025]

This 2025 short documentary for LegacyWorks ICT was a solo project on behalf of their ongoing efforts to serve the youth of Wichita through employment programs. I conducted the interviews, shot, edited, and scored the piece. I was honored to get the chance to tell these youth’s stories and help a worthy cause build their brand and communicate about the important work they are doing.

S.A.M.M. [2019]

S.A.M.M. was made for the 2019 Down to the Wire film race in just 24 hours with a crew of artists who would later go on to help found Wichita Creative Co. Our team won the coveted Audience Award and tickets to the New Orleans Film Festival! This short still makes me laugh to this day.

DEMO REEL [2017]

This demo reel from 2017 features footage from several unreleased projects that are still near and dear to my heart! These shots are test footage from a documentary/ad for a local nonprofit, a short film about gum and television, and a “video poem” on Wichita at night.

Photography

As a photographer, I’m interested in the interaction between the human and the natural. I started taking photos on a Pentax K1000 that my parents bought from Moler’s Camera for me on my twelfth birthday. My specialization is atmospheric portraiture and filmic still life/landscapes that evoke wonder and contemplation of humanity’s place in and effect on the world.

Music Production

“All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now.”

-Rick Rubin, the Creative Act: A Way of Being

Starting with DIY bands and records made in my mom’s basement as a kid, I’ve been trying to get the sounds in my head out and into the ears of others. Since those beginnings I’ve worked on many projects as a musician, producer, engineer, and everything in between.

Work with Emily Judson

This is some recent production work – the single “It’s My Farm,” and the album “Riverside” by Emily Judson, produced and engineered by yours truly. The album garnered Emily a “Rising Star” award at the International Singer-Songwriter Association awards in 2023, and “It’s My Farm” was nominated for a Josie Award, Hollywood Independent Music Award, and is currently in first ballot consideration for a Grammy Award.

Radio Soul and Jayber Crows

These two albums are passion projects of mine from years past, showcasing my passion for eclectic indie rock and folk music. All the Feel You Can Feel by the radio soul was a DIY effort produced, recorded, and mixed by me and the rest of the band, and the Jayber Crows Hollow Body, Hollow Mind is a celebration of modern introspective folk.

Wichita Creative Co.

In 2024, I founded Wichita Creative Co, a collaborative focused on bring high quality filmmaking education to Wichita, and building up the next generation of filmmakers. This is a lofty goal, and I have been quickly and consistently humbled by the pursuit of it. Nevertheless, we’ve made some great things together with local filmmakers and area highschoolers! If you’d like to learn more, check out the main site here, or watch this somewhat silly video about our philosophy.