Craig Detweiler

American academic and filmmaker

Craig Detweiler (born 1964) is a writer, filmmaker, and cultural commentator. He is dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Detweiler grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Davidson College with a B. A. in English. He went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema/TV. Later he received a Masters of Divinity and PhD in theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. While at Fuller, he co founded the Windrider Forum, a "vehicle to promote the presentation and exploration of the human story through film and visual media". He served as associate professor and chair of the Mass Communication Department at Biola University in La Mirada, California. Detweiler also served as professor of communication at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. In 2016, Variety recognized Detweiler as the Mentor of the Year.

As a screenwriter, he has written over ten feature length screenplays, including The Duke (1999) for Buena Vista and the road trip comedy Extreme Days (2001). In 1996, he directed a documentary, Williams Syndrome: A Highly Musical Species, which premiered at the Boston Film Festival.

In 2008, Detweiler produced and directed a documentary, Purple State of Mind which explores the blue state/red state tension in the United States. In 2013, Detweiler produced and directed a documentary, unCommon Sounds which brought musicians to Lebanon and Indonesia to build sustainable peace through music. It premiered on ABC's "Visions and Values" series.