bruxa’s bestiary
Dakota Evans
Dakota Evans is a Chicago-based filmmaker hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Born in 1995, he spent his childhood making skate edits and sketch videos during the dawn of YouTube. He is a graduate of Minneapolis Community and Technical College’s directing program and recently debuted his memory-inspired feature film, Orange Torches.
Orange Torches Premiere: A Filmmaker’s Journey
the Davis Theatre, Chicago, illinois — October 2, 2025.
The Davis Theatre was packed — not just with moviegoers, but with a palpable sense of pride. Orange Torches didn’t just feel like a film premiere, it felt like a homecoming. The story, anchored in childhood, parenthood, and the quiet complexities between the two, mirrors its creator’s own journey: a decade-long climb to artistic arrival. Director Dakota Evans shared with Bruxa Magazine what it means to bring this deeply personal story to the screen.
What first inspired you to pursue filmmaking, and how has that journey led you to creating Orange Torches?
Dakota: It waterfalled over the course of my childhood. At eleven, I just wanted to own a camcorder and make my family laugh with goofy character sketches and stop motion LEGO videos. Then in high school I made more structured skate montages, sketches, and short films. Once I reached film school at twenty, that’s when it clicked. I knew that I wanted to eventually make a feature film. Now I’m thirty — and through life experience, honing my voice, and trusting that my childhood was both unique and universal — I channeled all of that into a 73-minute linear movie.
As a director, what do you hope audiences experience uniquely in a theater when they watch this film?
Dakota: I hope they feel how big the subtleties are. How impactful a single line of dialogue can be. And ultimately, I hope they connect — in their own way — to the intricacies of childhood and parenthood depicted on screen.
How do you see your own style or voice as a filmmaker emerging through this project?
Dakota: My continual love of “less is more” comes through in Orange Torches. It’s shot simply, yet effectively. I’ve always been an artist who fears boredom or wasting an audience’s time. This movie is lean, to the point, and tender-hearted — much like the person I am.
Filmmaking often requires vulnerability. What role did that play for you and your team in making Orange Torches?
Dakota: The biggest part was reflecting on the neglect I experienced as a kid, and allowing myself to paint my parents as the flawed, loving humans they are. I remember feeling horribly naked sending out the script at first — like, what if they tease me? But no one did. The more scared you are, the closer you are to something worthwhile. The more specific you get, the more universal it becomes. The two leads, Zach and Noah, brought their own emotional wells to the film. The tension-filled scenes between father and son had the crew completely silent on set. Nothing was more vulnerable or pure than that.
Looking ahead, what’s next for you and your team?
Dakota: The production connected me with an incredible skeleton crew I’d rehire in a heartbeat. We bonded swimmingly and hope to collaborate again. Personally, I’m organizing images for a photo book and writing another feature — this one about the dissolution of a friendship. I also really want to act more; acting keeps me loose and takes me away from the intensity of directing. Artistry looks like a million different things — journaling, filmmaking, drawing — and I love bouncing between boxes instead of locking myself into one.
“orange torches”
Orange Torches — Written and directed by Dakota Evans — is an independent coming-of-age drama following a twelve-year-old boy who unexpectedly spends a week with his eccentric, underachieving father.
Set against the quiet backdrop of an already divided family, the film reflects on memory, vulnerability, and the imperfect bonds that endure between parent and child.
“My continual love of ‘less is more’ comes through in Orange Torches. It’s shot simply, yet effectively. I’ve always been an artist who fears boredom or wasting an audience's time.”
- dakota evans
Experiencing this film premiere felt like witnessing the summit after years of climbing. It was more than a screening — it was a moment of catharsis. A son standing before us, honoring his father through film. The night reminded everyone in attendance that sometimes, creating art isn’t about escaping where we come from, but about finally seeing it clearly enough to share.
“I believe the more scared you are, the closer you are to something worthwhile. And the more specific you get with your lived experience, the more universal it becomes.”
dakota evans
Writer and Photographer: Baitul Javid
October 6, 2025.
filmmakers
Species: Human (usually)
Class: Bard
Habitat: Shadows, storyboards, city streets, editing caves
Disposition: Obsessed, sleepless, visionary
The filmmaker is a creature of obsession, forever chasing light, story, and meaning through a lens. They trap reality in frames and stitch it into stories—sometimes truth, sometimes illusion. A master manipulator of time and sound, they are capable of shaping minds and even entire identities. The filmmaker weaves spells called scenes, ensnaring the emotions of even the most guarded observer.
Recognizable by their thousand-yard stare and mutterings about “the shot,” they are most active at dusk or in dimly lit rooms filled with cables and caffeine. Approach gently—disrupting their workflow may provoke a lengthy monologue about aspect ratios or funding.
They are both archivists and alchemists, conjuring futures from footage and dreams from dust.
