Filmmaker and former St. Louis resident Daniel Lawrence Wilson returned to the Gateway City for his directorial debut, “A Brush of Violence.” The film tells the suspense-filled story of how an anonymous painter carefully orchestrates the way his identity will be revealed.
Wilson said that the decision to film in St. Louis came first — and that he wrote the script to fit the city.
“I had the advantage of pulling up inspiration with the scenes that I wanted,” Wilson said. “When [Akila is] walking into the museum, I was like, ‘this has to be Pulitzer.’”
Filming in places like the Pulitzer meant that the images won’t immediately be familiar to the audience — unlike films that are made in places like Los Angeles, where Wilson currently lives.
The nonprofit St. Louis Filmworks — whose mission is to train and support emerging filmmakers — was integral to the film’s production, Wilson said, because they scouted, secured and scheduled several settings for “A Brush of Violence."
“It's kind of a big ask to say, ‘Hey, can I take over your property for a couple of days?’” Wilson said. “There's no way that this film would have been completed or made without the support of the St. Louis Filmworks.”
“A Brush of Violence” is one of five scripts Wilson wrote with St. Louis in mind for production — so he will be back to make more movies.
“The city has a lot of character and a lot of variety,” he said. “With the visuals that you can get in the city, the support of the local community, and the logistics and tools that are available, I feel like it's a great city to film in.”
“A Brush of Violence” will be available for public streaming on Wilson’s YouTube page in April. More updates about the film’s public release will be announced on Instagram.
See if your favorite place in St. Louis is featured in the film by listening to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
