David Dawkins began his film career at Pennebaker Associates shooting and editing the following films over a twelve year period: The War Room (Academy Award Nominee), Delorean, Jimi Plays Monterey, Otis at Monterey, Woodstock Journals, Depeche Mode 101, Dance Black America, and Rockaby. He was on the two-man crew that shot the Academy Award winning Feature Documentary I Am A Promise, and Doing Time: Life Inside the Big House (Academy Award Nominee), both directed by Alan Raymond. He edited two award winning documentary series for ABC News, Johns Hopkins 24/7 and NYPD 24/7.

Founder of Radical Avid in NYC, David was associated with the editing of hundreds of feature documentaries. During this time, he produced and edited Power Struggle, a documentary feature profiling communities in Africa, Inner Mongolia, and the U.S. in their efforts to install renewable energy sources, and The Wedding Contract, a personal narrative set in Indonesia, produced by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. Prior to editing the feature documentary, Medicating Normal, he edited Hate Rising, a co-production of HBO and Univision, directed by Catherine Tambini.