IRVINGTON, NJ — Irvington native Damon “Abwon” Clindinin is continuing his slow climb to the top of the media and film industry, dominating the field as a media producer and personality. Now, through his media company and award-winning short films, Clindinin is reaping the benefits of seeds he has sown through dedication and out-of-the-box creativity.
After his time as a recording producer, Clindinin grew his audience through video production, with his most popular video raking in 3.5 million views.
“I was in a group, and we started doing Top 10 videos based around pop culture and trending topics, such as the Top 10 worst songs in hip-hop, Top 10 best shows at the time. This was before Worldstar, Shade Room and the other popular blog sites of today,” Clindinin said on Sept. 10. “Our videos used to go viral, where the largest one was almost 4 million in almost a day and a half. We began posting them on larger sites, where I began doing more video production. I started the series called ‘The Face to Face,’ where I would just talk into the camera about random topics and noticed more people gravitating more towards me.
“A gentleman saw one of my YouTube videos and asked if I was interested in doing a reality show with Fetty Wap and his family, who have a car wash establishment with a lot of celebrity clientele, and I agreed,” he continued. “My business partner and I bought a bunch of equipment, met up with them, and the rest is history. The show is still in production. Just being on set and filming with that family opened up more doors for us. We eventually connected with someone who had us doing celebrity interviews with DJ Ramo from Power 105.5, which opened more doors.”
From there, Clindinin began interviewing celebrities such as Johnell Young from “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” and Vina Love from “Growing Up Hip Hop” as a way to cross-promote his brand, which, to Clindinin, means everything. This then birthed the launch of his own media company, Moonlight Media LLC, and a co-production deal for the upcoming TV show “Only at Jay’s,” a short film called “Pressure” with Fetty Wap and five-time Grammy-nominated songwriter Shanell Red, and his own show, “The Cinematics,” which is featured on HallMills Network on Roku.
The decision to create a media company wasn’t a difficult one, as Clindinin comes from a family of business owners. Additionally, Clindinin was able to use his business as a gateway into becoming a filmmaker.
Short films such as “Errands” and his newest project, “Feed,” have catapulted Clindinin as a filmmaker and have brought him awards, such as the Award of Recognition from the Accolade Global Film Competition, for “Errands.”
“‘Errands’ was nominated for four awards, and it won one for Best in Show in the Accolade Global Film competition,” Clindinin said. “‘Feed’ is my newest film and isn’t released yet. It’s in the festival circuit now but it just won Best N.J. Short Film in the New Jersey Film Festival. ‘Feed’ is about a woman that becomes indoctrinated by a media outlet. Both films will be on DH-One TV Network. On Sept. 29, we’re looking to have a live premiere. It’ll be myself, the writer, the co-director and a cast member. We’re planning a Q&A, some giveaways and then we’ll show the film. ‘Feed’ speaks a lot about what’s going on in the world today with people from all walks of life, but there’s a spin on it.”
Clindinin also spoke about upcoming short films “Daily Bread” and “Rent Money,” and said he hopes to have his work shown in movie theaters sometime next year. With so much work still on the horizon, Clindinin said he needs to take time to acknowledge his current successes.
“Sometimes I do have to sit down and really celebrate the small victories, because, someone like me whose so driven and ambitious, I can lose focus on the small victories,” he said, saying he often focuses too much on goals he has not yet reached, such as “being at Spike Lee’s level or Jordan Peele’s level.”
“I still have work to do, but I find myself in a lot of situations with a lot of different people that I never thought I would be around,” he continued. “I just have to bask in the ambiance.”
Photos Courtesy of Damon Clindinin
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