killer films
the film is produced by killer films ’ pamela koffler, number 9 films ’ elizabeth karlsen and stephen woolley, killer films’ christine vachon and bold films’ michel litvak and gary michael walters .
glassdoor gives you an inside look at what it' s like to work at killer films, including salaries, reviews, office photos, and more. this is the killer films company profile. all content is posted anonymously by employees working at killer films .
christine vachon and pamela koffler' s indie film production company killer films and ip incubator glass elevator media are merging to form killer content .
killer content, the parent company of killer films, has reorganized its operations into three divisions after teaming with the fledgling non - profit org two brass brads. killer films, headed by christine vachon and pamela koffler, remains an autonomous unit focusing on entertainment content. killer content now is the umbrella org for films, entertainment and branded content [ … ]
killer content, the parent company of killer films, has reorganized its operations into three divisions after teaming with the fledgling non - profit org two brass brads .
vachon and koffler' s killer films is one of the most recognized players in the indie space. over the past 15 years, killer films has produced over 70 films, including daniel radcliffe' s kill your darlings and the truman capote biopic infamous .
showtime presents in association with chicago public radio, killer films, inc. , left / right, inc .
christine vachon and david hinojosa of killer films are producing, along with gary hamilton and executive producer brian beckmann .
killer films, headed by christine vachon and pamela koffler, remains an autonomous unit focusing on entertainment content. killer content now is the umbrella org for films, entertainment and branded content while the newly created killer impact is dedicated to investing in media properties that promote or advocate for social issues and concerns .
pam koffler and christine vachon (“carol, ” “still alice”) produce for killer films and elizabeth karlsen and stephen woolley (“carol, ” “made in dagenham”) will produce for number 9 films. bold films’ chairman michel litvak will produce for bold films. ceo for bold films gary michael walters will executive produce .
killer films at present is developing the novel “only ever yours” as a film and tv property. the oakland - based yth org will be a beneficiary via killer impact of profits from “only ever yours. ”
i applied online. the process took 1 day. i interviewed at killer films (new york, ny) in april 2012 .
while we are always happy to hear from you, please note that killer content and its companies, including killer films, killer films media and killer impact, does not accept or consider unsolicited submissions. therefore, we ask that you refrain from sending any creative materials, including, but not limited to narrative scripts, articles, ideas, suggestions, treatments, stories, artwork or other materials. this is to avoid any misunderstandings if your ideas are similar to those we have developed independently. any communication or material you do transmit to the site by electronic mail or otherwise will be treated as non - confidential and non - proprietary and shall be deemed the property of and may be used by killer content and its companies, including killer films, killer films media and killer impact, for any purpose, including, but not limited to reproduction, disclosure, transmission, publication, broadcast and posting .
london — keira knightley is in talks to star in biopic “colette, ” which reunites the producers behind “carol, ” number 9 films and killer films. “still alice’s” wash westmoreland is directing the film .
bona fide productions will have a first look deal and killer films will have an exclusive first - look deal in both film and television for two years .
london — keira knightley is in talks to star in biopic “colette, ” which reunites the producers behind “carol, ” number 9 films and killer films. “still alice’s” wash westmoreland is directing the film. bold films will finance and co - produce the pic, with hanway films handling worldwide sales. the screenplay is by westmoreland and the late richard [ … ]
the launch of killer impact was announced sunday at san francisco’s yth live conference, a gathering of youth, health and technology advocates, by actress morgan saylor (“homeland”). saylor stars in killer films’ drama “white girl, ” which screened at sundance this year. killer impact said it will invest 25% of net revenues from various projects with relevant charitable orgs .
producers are christine vachon and david hinojosa for killer films along with page and mara. executive producers are robert halmi jr. and jim reeve through their great point media and karri o’reilly .
killer content is in the midst of developing branded content for banking giant ubs and conde nast, among others .
are the other films making waves this weekend (literally in one case) .
audience voting determines the winner of three awards from among the films in competition .
christine vachon and pamela koffler founded the indie powerhouse killer films in 1995. the company has produced a number of the most acclaimed american indpendent films over the past two decades including far from heaven (nominated for four academy awards), boys don’t cry (academy award winner), one hour photo, and i’m not there (academy award nominated). killer films executive produced mildred pierce, the emmy - award winning hbo series starring kate winslet. most recently, killer produced the oscar nominated still alice, for which julianne moore was awared a golden globe and an academy award, and carol. killer is also producing the new television series z: the beginning of everything for amazon .
pic is produced by christine vachon for killer films (“boys don’t cry”) and rose ganguzza. goldcrest ’s nick quested and pascal degove, together with jill samuels, are serving as executive producers .
becomes ceo of the new york - based killer content, while vachon and koffler will serve as co - presidents .
killer films credits include “still alice, ” “carol, ” “boys don’t cry” and “far from heaven. ” it had four films screen at sundance this year — “goat, ” “weiner dog, ” “frank & lola” and “white girl” — and just wrapped on todd haynes’ “wonderstruck” for amazon studios .
“bona fide productions, killer films and le grisbi productions each have a long history of making critically acclaimed and award - winning films with accomplished filmmakers, ” said roy price, head of amazon studios in a statement. “we’re proud to be working with each of them and excited about our future creative collaborations. ”
the pic, which is sure to be a sought - after project at the european film market, is currently in pre - production. killer films’ christine vachon and david hinojosa will produce. caa is handling domestic rights .
david hinojosa david hinojosa is head of production & development at killer films. he has overseen production on over a dozen features, including all she wrote, wiener dog, kyra, goat, frank & lola, white girl, nasty baby and kill your darlings, as well as the upcoming beatriz at dinner from miguel arteta and mercy from tali shalom - ezer. prior to killer films, david worked at the weinstein company and focus features .
pamela koffler is an award - winning producer who in 1995 co - founded new york - based indie powerhouse killer films with partner christine vachon. since founding killer films, she has gone on to produce some of the most celebrated american indie films including, academy award® winning films far from heaven, boys don' t cry, one hour photo, hedwig and the angry inch, happiness, i shot andy warhol, dirty girl, then she found me, and savage grace. in television, koffler executive produced the emmy® nominated tv movie mrs. harris in 2005 and the golden globe winning miniseries, mildred pierce for hbo .
in february killer optioned the new york times’ multimedia feature “the displaced, ” about child refugees, for adaptation as a tv series .
the company has signed exclusive first - look deals with bona fide productions, killer films and le grisbi productions, variety has learned. the pacts put the streaming giant in business with the makers of such film classics as “birdman” and “far from heaven. ” they come just two weeks before the cannes film festival where amazon will be on hand to premiere todd haynes’ “wonderstruck, ” which killer films produced, and lynne ramsay’s “you were never really here. ”
burn later’s paul bernon, sam slater and david bernon produced with han west and houston king. killer films’ christine vachon and david hinojosa, bravo and gelman are exec producing, and rowan riley of burn later is co - producing .
a showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated narrative films of the coming year .
renowned filmmakers and films about far - reaching subjects comprise this section highlighting our ongoing commitment to documentaries .
koffler entered the picture around that time, working on two dark films that cemented killer films' reputation as the beating epicenter of' 90s alt - cinema: larry clark' s kids and mary harron' s i shot andy warhol .
we had a good partnership, good synergy and were making great stuff ,
says koffler ,
so we just called ourselves a company .
their company name came from the production company they had formed for 1997' s office killer .
killer content will focus on producing content for a variety of platforms, relying on longstanding relationships with established independent talent and emerging directors and stars .
ethan hawke and amanda seyfried will star in “first reformed, ” a new thriller from “raging bull’s” paul schrader. arclight films and killer films are teaming on the picture out of the toronto international film festival. the picture overflows with institutional intrigue and shadowy corporate forces. it follows an ex - military chaplain (hawke), who is wrecked by [ … ]
advising european producers on transatlantic co - production opportunities and working with killer films on its development slate. lenny' s recent investments included lynne ramsay' s we need to talk about kevin, paddy considine' s tyrannosaur and ben wheatley' s kill list .
christine vachon and david hinojosa of killer films will produce along with brian young of three six zero entertainment. filming will begin in february on the pic, which will be shot on 65mm film and exhibit in 70mm. wme global is repping the film’s worldwide rights. .
additionally, killer content announced that union editorial, a leading global creative editorial firm, is an investor in the company. advisory board members include union editorial president
christine vachon' s' a killer life' film producer christine vachon' s new book is a killer life: how an independent film producer survives deals and disasters in hollywood and beyond. she has produced more than 30 feature films, including infamous, far from heaven, one hour photo and boys don' t cry. this book is a follow - up to vachon' s best - selling first book, shooting to kill .
“we love doug’s extraordinary script and working with daniel is one of the rare treats in the business … this is thrilling for everyone at killer, ” vachon said .
arclight films and killer films are teaming on the picture out of the toronto international film festival. the picture overflows with institutional intrigue and shadowy corporate forces. it follows an ex - military chaplain (hawke), who is wrecked by grief over the death of his son. seyfried plays a member of his church whose husband, a radical environmentalist, commits suicide, setting the plot in motion .
killer films at present is shepherding the keira knightley starrer “colette, ” a biopic of the french author; a film adaptation of the brian selznick novel “wonderstruck” and a pilot for amazon, “z, ” based on the therese ann fowler book “z: a novel of zelda fitzgerald. ”
funny balloons and versatile films are jointly representing international rights and co - repping north american rights with the uta independent film group .
michael simmonds michael simmonds is a cinematographer with a long history of credits including killer films’ deep powder and at any price, the civil war on drugs, project nim, plastic bag, goodbye solo, chop shop, and anna nicole and at least four projects in post including the last of robin hood .
christine said,' i want to produce your next film,'
recalls haynes, now 54 .
it meant a great deal to me because i respected her so much .
that led to the experimental poison (1991) — one of the films that launched the new queer cinema movement with which killer films would become synonymous. a string of lgbt films followed: swoon, go fish, 1995' s stonewall .
people were really starved for [ gay ] content then, which is obviously not the case today ,
says vachon .
bold films will finance and co - produce the pic, with hanway films handling worldwide sales. the screenplay is by westmoreland and the late richard glatzer, who co - wrote and co - directed “still alice. ” filming will start in may in budapest .
steven raphael with over 20 years in the film industry, raphael had been passionately devoted to bringing quality films to the us marketplace. prior to founding required viewing, raphael was senior vice president of acquisitions and co - productions at usa films (now focus features. during that period he was involved in the theatrical campaigns for such films as: being john malkovich, gosford park, and traffic .
through cinetic media, sloss has facilitated the sale and / or financing of well over 400 films including before midnight, prince avalanche, ai weiwei: never sorry, safety not guaranteed, friends with kids, we need to talk about kevin, red state, the kids are all right, precious, i’m not there, napoleon dynamite, little miss sunshine, and super size me. sloss has executive produced over 60 films including before midnight, bernie, and the academy award® - winning the fog of war and boys don’t cry. his law clients include killer films, richard linklater, kevin smith, bob dylan, john hamburg, justin lin, jake kasdan, the isle of man’s cinemanx and big beach films .
from horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour .
it' s a good week / bad week on the home market. the good news is there are four films coming out this week that earned some level of awards season buzz. the bad news... there are four films coming out this week that earned some level of awards season buzz and they scared away the competition. two of those four films are strong enough to be contenders for pick of the week ,
carol almost didn' t happen. producer elizabeth karlsen had spent years developing it, with blanchett attached, when previous director john crowley fell out. she was commiserating with vachon when haynes' schedule suddenly opened up (killer films has produced all of haynes' films), and the two producers decided to take the picture to him. within months, the rest of the financing on the $ 11. 8 million project fell into place, and cameras were rolling in cincinnati by january 2014 .
london — daniel radcliffe is to star in “brooklyn bridge, ” which will be scripted and directed by douglas mcgrath (“emma”). goldcrest will finance and sell international rights to the pic, which will be introduced to distributors at the european film market in berlin. pic is produced by christine vachon for killer films (“boys don’t cry”) [ … ]
amazon studios is bringing three award - winning indie production companies into the fold. the company has signed exclusive first - look deals with bona fide productions, killer films and le grisbi productions, variety has learned. the pacts put the streaming giant in business with the makers of such film classics as “birdman” and “far from heaven. ” they come [ … ]
killer impact will be headed by ceo crystal wald, a founding board member of two brass brads. the new york - based outfit launched last year with the goal of investing in and nurturing socially relevant content .
the midrash st. louis film award celebrates st. louis - related films of honesty and artistry that portray the need or the hope for reconciliation or redemption. these are among the most powerful and worthy themes that films should explore. eligible work for the midrash st. louis film award includes feature and short films largely shot in st. louis or directed by filmmakers with strong local ties. the award comes with a cash prize of $ 500 .
few films are as deserving of the label “masterpiece” as rocco and his brothers, which finally gets a blu - ray release worthy of its tragic depths .
a jury gives interfaith awards to both a documentary and a narrative, choosing from among 10 competition films (five in each category), which were selected for their artistic merit; contribution to the understanding of the human condition; and recognition of ethical, social, and spiritual values. the selected films :
annette handley chandler has produced films for paramount pictures, disney, pbs, abc and cbs. in 2002, she won an emmy as executive producer of
christine vachon’s killer films produces alongside bron studios. this is the type of upmarket yet accessible fare that vachon has excelled at in the past, including last year’s critically acclaimed carol with cate blanchett and rooney mara. number 9 films’ elizabeth karlsen and stephen wooley were the lead producers on that terrific picture and shepherded the project through its development phase onto the screen. vachon has reunited with that film’s director todd haynes on wonderstruck, with julianne moore, which amazon is financing. the script for wonderstruck is said to have wowed buyers .
he will next be seen starring opposite zoe kazan in cbs films and eones’s romantic comedy “the f word, ” as well as starring opposite juno temple in the horror - thriller “horns, ” which is based on joe hill’s best - selling book. all three films screened at the toronto film festival last year .
film producer christine vachon' s new book is a killer life: how an independent film producer survives deals and disasters in hollywood and beyond. she has produced more than 30 feature films, including infamous, far from heaven, one hour photo and boys don' t cry. this book is a follow - up to vachon' s best - selling first book, shooting to kill .
i don' t think there' s a quintessential killer film ,
says koffler .
we stand for a certain level of quality, hopefully intelligence, a daring in terms of themes — but always respectful of the marketplace .
killer films is the label of veteran producers christine vachon (pictured) and pamela koffler. in addition to “wonderstruck, ” which stars julianne moore, the company has produced “still alice, ” “carol, ” and “wiener - dog” (an amazon acquisition out of 2016’s sundance film festival). the company also produced “z: the beginning of everything, ” a biography series about zelda fitzgerald, for amazon’s original series arm .
the success of boys don' t cry led killer films into an unlikely partnership with someone with deep hollywood connections: er and west wing showrunner john wells. through his production deal with warner bros. , wells was instrumental in ushering the next decade of killer films projects, including a trio of haynes titles: 2002' s douglas sirk - ian melo­drama far from heaven (nominated for four oscars), 2007 bob dylan biopic i' m not there (featuring blanchett in a gender - bending turn as the folk hero) and mildred pierce, a 2011 hbo miniseries that received five emmys. the producers appreciated the luxury of hbo' s deep pockets, koffler says, while remaining true to their art house roots :
we would never say no to making a huge - budget movie. i think it would be fun. so never say never .
“great storytelling always has some social impact. what’s different now is that we have a formal structure to give back through campaigns, community building and contributions to organizations who are already out there tackling important issues, ” added adrienne becker, ceo of killer content .
the result was a brave and compelling creative in the form of ‘silent killer movie’ promoted through a digital advertising campaign and non - skippable pre - roll on youtube which directed students to a urltoken microsite where they could view the what seemed to be the trailer for a horror movie which was in fact a public safety awareness film. as a primary audience of horror films, attracting students through the movie trailer was the ideal platform to engage them .
, directed by ric burns. a former literary agent, ms. handley chandler was also a programming executive for abc entertainment in los angeles, overseeing development and the production of 20 films
indeed, over the past two dec­ades (killer films celebrates its 20th birthday this year), vachon, 52, and her professional partner, pamela koffler, 49, have earned a reputation for unmatched resilience and resourcefulness in the rough - and - tumble indie film world. but there' s nothing remotely roach - like about their output. and their latest, todd haynes' carol, could mark the company' s biggest commercial and critical success yet .
brett gelman is toplining lemon, an indie drama he co - wrote with janicza bravo, who made her feature helming debut on the project. burn later productions and killer films are producing and the pic just wrapped principal photography. the cast includes gelman’s married co - star judy greer, michael cera, nia long, fred melamed, shiri appleby, rhea perlman, david paymer, gillian jacobs, megan mullally, martin starr, jeff garlin and marla gibbs .
perry has edited two award - winning feature films, days of grey by ani simon - kennedy, and karaoke girl, by visra vichit - vadakan, and several award - winning shorts, including daughters by chloe zhao. together these went on to play at 100 + festivals and win dozens of awards internationally. he has served as consultants on films that premiered at sundance, tribeca, berlin, & cannes and were nominated for independent spirit awards. before feature films, perry directed short films, documentaries, commercials, and digital content, including the momentarily # 1 video in the world. in his capacity as one of the founding members of huge studio in brooklyn, perry has worked with clients such nike, google, apple, samsung, audi and the white house .
nowadays, killer films is focused on keeping things spry enough to stay relevant and innovative in a volatile media landscape. case in point: the company merged last year with digital - media company glass elevator and rebranded itself as the more versatile - sounding killer content. the company runs an mfa program at the state university of new york at stony brook, where vachon urges students to banish the word
filmmaker
from their vocabularies .
we have to call ourselves storytellers, content - makers ,
she says, echoing a central talking point from her south by southwest keynote talk in march .
if you want to go into the business today, you have to be prepared to make your stories work on all different kinds of platforms .
ask killer films co - founder christine vachon — the workhorse producer behind such oscar - decorated art house gems as boys don' t cry, far from heaven and last year' s still alice — for the secret to the longevity of her new york city - based production company, and she offers a very new york city metaphor :
we' re like cockroaches after the nuclear blast. we just, like, eat plaster. we do whatever it takes .
christine vachon (
boys don' t cry
) will produce
nasty baby
through her killer film banner along with david hinojosa and charlie dibe (
damsels in distress
). pablo larrain and juan de dios larrain' s chilean company fabula is also producing .
one - of - a - kind moments highlighting new independent works that add to the unique festival experience. an evolving section, this year includes episodic work, short films and live post - screening discussions .
the new filmmakers forum (nff) annually presents the emerging director award. five works by first - time feature filmmakers compete for the prize, which includes a $ 500 cash award. the selected films :
marco williams — whose films have been nominated three times for the sundance film festival grand jury prize — is an award - winning documentary filmmaker and professor of film production at new york university’s tisch school of the arts .
arclight films will finance the film and handle global rights. buyers will get a crack on nabbing territories at toronto. financing was also arranged by david gonzales of northside, which represents schrader with johnnie planco of parseghian planco .
burns continues to write, direct, star in and produce his films, including the paramount classics relationship comedy sidewalks of new york, purple violets, nice guy johnny and newlyweds. in a groundbreaking deal, purple violets was the first feature film to premiere exclusively on itunes. burns expanded on this new model of digital distribution to include cable video on demand to reach even wider audiences and successfully released two films, nice guy johnny and newlyweds via these platforms in 2010 and 2011 .
hawke appeared in “the magnificent seven, ” which kicked off this year’s toronto international film festival. his other credits include “boyhood” and “training day. ” seyfried’s work includes the hbo series “big love” and the films “dear john” and “mama mia. ”
his first feature, swoon, was awarded berlin’s caligari prize, stockholm’s fipresci prize, best cinematography at sundance and the open palm at the gotham awards. it was named one of the top 100 american independent films by the bfi. his film savage grace premiered in cannes, played opening night in zurich and screened at festivals including sundance, stockholm, london and tribeca. it was nominated for a spirit award and named one of the top ten films of 2008 by the los angeles times, artforum and paper. as a producer his features include i shot andy warhol and go fish. he was a writer of cindy sherman’s office killer. he has also created shorts and installations including they are lost to vision altogether, geoffrey beene 30, plain pleasures, third known nest, every wandering cloud, tigers, hurricane and from silence .
midrash st. louis engages myriad aspects of american culture — hot topics, deep subjects, music, arts, and film — and seeks to give and receive commentary on the subjects and issues that matter to people in st. louis and that form and shape our views and lives. the midrash st. louis film award celebrates st. louis - related films of honesty and artistry that portray the need or the hope for reconciliation or redemption. these are among the most powerful and worthy themes that films should explore. eligible work for the midrash st. louis film award includes feature and short films largely shot in st. louis or directed by filmmakers with strong local ties. the award comes with a cash prize of $ 500 .
a u. s. documentary special jury award for storytelling was presented to: strong island (director: yance ford) — examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re - imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change .
among the many films in which steinman has been involved are zero dark thirty, killing them softly, the ides of march, the wrestler, the hurt locker, little miss sunshine, and an education. steinman holds ba and jd degrees from harvard university .
it’s called “happy end. ” we shot that film in the north of france, and it’s about a family. it’s very, very critical and very political, but it’s also very funny. it has all the qualities of the best films of michael haneke .
as stated in variety, effie t. brown “is a case study of what it takes to get independent films off the ground in today’s marketplace: large doses of private equity, some location incentives and a little help from fests and script labs... ”
motion picture film stills or motion picture footage from films in moma' s film collection cannot be licensed by moma / scala. for licensing motion picture film footage it is advised to apply directly to the copyright holders. for access to motion picture film stills please contact the
complete with behind - the - scenes diary entries from the sets of vachon' s best - known films, shooting to kill offers all the satisfactions of an intimate memoir from the frontlines of independent filmmaking, from one of its most successful agent provocateurs - and survivors .
but for the company behind velvet goldmine and hedwig and the angry inch, the glittery allure of indie filmmaking remains .
christine is like a chinese acrobat, with 12 sticks spinning many, many plates ,
says koffler, who herself prefers to work on
one project at a time .
among the dishes currently in heavy rotation are todd solondz' s wiener - dog, a sort - of sequel to the director' s 1995 welcome to the dollhouse (killer films pro­duced his 1998 film happiness), and a kind of murder, another adaptation of a highsmith thriller, starring jessica biel and patrick wilson. both are slated for release in 2016 .
juries gives interfaith awards to both a documentary and a narrative, choosing from among 10 competition films (five in each category), which were selected for their artistic merit; contribution to the understanding of the human condition; and recognition of ethical, social, and spiritual values .
adrienne becker, ceo, killer films media and killer content, inc. adrienne becker is currently producing properties for film, television, digital and live entertainment. formerly, adrienne was an entrepreneur - in - residence at creative artists agency, partner at the media farm, and ceo of dailycandy, inc. she has also served as senior vice president at the nielsen company and interactive corp. adrienne got her start on an airport tarmac in philadelphia, where she held her first critically important position holding a rope line for then governor bill clinton. she then went on to hold positions at the department of labor and as a press secretary on the ’96 campaign. she holds an m. a. in communications from the annenberg school, university of pennsylvania, and a b. a. with honors in political science from washington university in st. louis. adrienne regularly writes for the huffington post and sits on the boards of the made in new york media center, youth + tech + health, the story pirates and the b - stem project with women in technology .
“we couldn’t be happier that the silent killer movie film is gaining the creative recognition it deserves. a creative, brave idea and a professionally created movie, cast with up and coming actors; it’s a creative asset which delivers a lifesaving message in a clear, powerful and truly effective manner. we’d like to thank our client gas safe register for being brave enough to embrace the agency idea. ”
a few years later, a grad student at columbia university' s film program named kimberly peirce was so deeply in debt, she couldn' t afford to retrieve the dailies of her thesis project from the lab. a mutual friend introduced her to vachon .
she said,' why don' t i pay to get them out and we take a look at them?'
peirce recalls. that short became the basis for 1999' s boys don' t cry, a film, decades ahead of its time, about the murder of transgender teen brandon teena. the part earned hilary swank an oscar and in doing so lifted killer films' profile to unprecedented heights .
pollard’s feature career as an editor started in the mid - 1970s with films such as “body and soul” and “style wars. ” during the 1980s, he also edited for the highly acclaimed children’s television programs “vegetable soup” and “3 - 2 - 1 - contact, ” receiving two emmys .
degove, managing director of goldcrest films, said: “having daniel’s involvement is a massive coup for the film, not only is he perfect for the role, but he’s consistently proved himself to be one of the very few actors who is genuinely a massive draw for audiences of all ages. ”
flying the flag as we have for past sundances, deadline co - editor - in - chief, film mike fleming jr. and myself will lead our coverage out of park city, salt lake and more with breaking news on the deals, the films, the panels, and the scene .
made in cuba — we are proud to present these three cinematic and affecting cuban short documentaries, reflecting sundance institute’s longstanding commitment to international artists. these films were guided by the institute’s documentary film program in collaboration with la escuela internacional de cine y tv (eictv) and the guardian multimedia program .
a u. s. documentary special jury award for storytelling was presented by robert greene to: strong island / u. s. a. , denmark (director: yance ford) — examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re - imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change .
amazon has only been releasing movies theatrically for a little over a year, but it’s already made a splash, picking up three oscars this year for “manchester by the sea” and “the salesman, ” as well as releasing movies from the likes of woody allen and spike lee. the deals are a sign that amazon is increasingly interested in getting involved in films from their inception as opposed to simply acquiring completed films on the festival circuit. it’s also a signal of the company’s big ambitions. like major studios, which routinely hand out production deals, it wants to forge enduring business relationships with top talent .
greta schiller is an independent director and producer of documentaries for television, festivals, theatrical and educational distribution. all movie guide writes “director greta schiller has traveled the world making extensively researched and highly informative films”. her career was launched in 1984 with the theatrical release and pbs broadcast of her first feature documentary film, before stonewall. a classic, before stonewall won two emmy awards and continues to dazzle. time out, london, called it: “a near perfect blend of personal story and historical archive”. she continues to make cutting edge films on a wide variety of topics - from human rights to environmental rights .
she shot martin scorsese’s documentary no direction home: bob dylan and was then a camera operator on the director’s concert film shine a light. she has been the cinematographer on several concert films, including jonathan demme’s neil young: heart of gold; julian schnabel’s lou reed’s berlin; and michel gondry’s dave chappelle’s block party .
rachel fleit, creative director, killer films media. rachel fleit is writer, director and producer based in brooklyn, ny and was the co - founder and chief creative officer at honor, a designer luxury womenswear brand from 2009 - 2015. at honor, rachel directed and produced all creative content for 17 collections. prior to launching honor, from 2002 - 2009, rachel was a chief fundraiser and producer at chashama, anita durst’s prolific arts institution which transformed vacant commercial real estate into arts spaces. throughout her career, rachel has developed, directed and produced films, live performances and public art on behalf of fashion, lifestyle and luxury brands. rachel is also a proud advocate for women with alopecia and has been featured on vogue. com, wmagazine. com, elle. com, wsj. com, harpersbazaar. com, teenvogue. com, stylelikeu. com and refinery29. com, in the new york times and new york magazine. she was the recipient of the susan b. anthony award from the national organization of women in 2008 and serves on the advisory board of the point series .
scott was a writer on the nbc one hour drama smash and has developed and written projects for cbs studios, universal tv and flower films. he is currently developing several shows and casting his feature film directing debut, slipstream. his scripts have been finalists in the nicholl screenwriting competition, slamdance screenplay competition and the austin film festival .
almost out of necessity, white finds a particularly prominent motif throughout haynes’s work: a fascination with the out - of - line family. with the exception of dottie gets spanked (1993), all of his films deal with marital breakdown. most notably, safe (1995), which gets heavily aligned with jeanne dielman (1975) for its many allusions to akerman’s film. in fact, white goes so far as to parallel the films, asking: “does carol (julianne moore) live the same kind of alienated existence that drives jeanne (delphine seyrig) to murder? if so, does carol enact a nonviolent form of resistance to the domestic torpor? ” while this serves as more of a rhetorical gesture (white does not actually seek exact solutions), it solidifies how haynes is being psychologized in this particular study—as a filmmaker that must begin with cinema before anything else. that is, his films seem to come from previous films, but, to return to his alteration of the b. ruby rich claim, haynes finds a certain pathos that allows his films to not only avoid being derivative (pinpointing the sensibility of influence is often difficult, which makes white’s work all the more essential), but stake out territory as something more than pastiche for the melodrama set. white’s only significant misstep is in his discussion of far from heaven, stating that haynes is “like a dj remixing a dozen tracks. ” while the assertion is meant to be complimentary, the “filmmaker as dj” line is not only tired, but pejorative at this point. in fact, it serves to reinforce the “homo - pomo” line that the bulk of white’s book seeks to revise .
prior to usa films, raphael was sr. vice president of publicity and marketing at gramercy pictures / polygram where he was responsible for national campaigns on four weddings and a funeral, priscilla queen of the desert, dead man walking, elizabeth, fargo, the usual suspects, shallow grave, bound, the big lebowski and cold comfort farm .
the awards ceremony marked the culmination of the 2017 festival, where 119 feature - length and 68 short films — selected from 13, 782 submissions — were showcased in park city, salt lake city and sundance, utah, alongside new episodic work, panels, music and new frontier. the ceremony was live - streamed; video is available at urltoken .
prior to joining caa in 2007, steinman was a partner in sloss law office, a boutique entertainment law firm where he represented producers, financiers, writers and directors, and negotiated the sales of finished films. steinman began his career representing banks, private equity firms, entertainment conglomerates and other companies as a corporate lawyer at simpson thacher & bartlett, in new york .
crooks has a strong reputation for supporting filmmakers and his instinct has taken him from backing andrew and kevin macdonald and john hodge whose shallow grave became a spectacular international film debut for director danny boyle, to gilles mackinnon with small faces, writer paul laverty with ken loach' s carla' s song, peter mullan with orphans, and saul metzstein and jack lothian with late night shopping. he also supported the co - production partnership between gillian berrie' s glasgow - based sigma films and peter aalbeck jensen' s and lars von trier' s danish production house, zentropa films and bankrolled the advance party slate which led to the production of andrea arnold' s red road, winner of the prix du jury at the 2006 cannes film festival .
dan steinman dan steinman is an agent in the film finance group of creative artists agency (caa), an entertainment and sports agency based in los angeles with offices in nashville, new york city, london, and beijing. steinman works in the new york office, where he specializes in packaging and arranging financing for motion picture projects and handling the sales of finished films .
in conjunction with the st. louis film critics organization, sliff holds juried competitions for documentary and narrative features. the awards are named in honor of the late st. louis post - dispatch critics joe pollack (narrative) and joe williams (documentary). the winners are picked by two juries of st. louis film critics. sliff chose eight films to compete in each category :
in conjunction with the st. louis film critics organization, sliff holds juried competitions for documentary and narrative features. the awards are named in honor of the late st. louis post - dispatch critics joe pollack (narrative) and joe williams (documentary). the winners are picked by two juries composed of st. louis film critics. sliff chose eight films to compete in each category .
tom kalin tom kalin’s award winning, critically acclaimed work traverses diverse forms, from experimental video installations to narrative feature films. in his experimental work, kalin often takes inspiration from literary sources and addresses contemporary issues such as displacement, urban isolation and homophobia. in these works and as a part of the aids activist collective gran fury, kalin has done significant work to change public opinion of aids .
congrats to all of 2017' s winners! it' s another great year at sundance, with a bunch of outstanding films that deserve all the recognition. i' ve seen most of the winners this year, including three of the audience award winners: chasing coral, crown heights, and joshua: teenager vs superpower. i was expecting step to win the audience award for u. s. documentary (because it' s so inspiring and exciting), but i' m very happy to see chasing coral win because it' s such a wonderful doc (read my review). i highly recommend seeking out any film mentioned above - they' re worth seeing. as always, these are only sundance awards and not the only good films to see from the fest. review last year' s winners here. recap all of our sundance 2017 coverage .
le grisbi productions is the shingle of john lesher. its credits include “fury, ” “black mass, ” and “birdman. ” upcoming releases include scott cooper’s “hostiles, ” a western with christian bale and rosamund pike, and “white boy rick, ” a crime drama with matthew mcconaughey and jennifer jason leigh. the company will have an exclusive first - look deal for any “indie - sized” films it is making. the pact runs for two years .
but of course there was the combination of this film and the other film last year, “things to come, ” and i got many awards for both films in this country. i have nothing much more to say. i was very, very happy that it got all this recognition because the movie was successful in america — i mean, as successful as a french film can be successful, you know? i’m not saying it’s a major blockbuster .
marc schiller marc schiller, founder and ceo of bond strategy and influence, known, until recently, as electric artists, is an accomplished advertising and marketing executive with decades of industry and entrepreneurial knowledge, in the areas of brand strategy, creative corporate consulting, cultural curation and public relations. marc and bond create innovative influencer strategy campaigns that deliver success for a diverse client base, from independent films and media companies to hospitality giants and fortune 500 corporations .
“la la land, ” a throwback musical set in present - day los angeles, received seven honors, the most of any film, including best picture, actress (emma stone), actor (ryan gosling) and director (damien chazelle). the world war ii - set “hacksaw ridge, ” a career comeback for director mel gibson, and the modern - day western “hell or high water, ” released with cbs films, each nabbed three .
sam morrill sam morrill is senior curator at vimeo where he has worked since 2009. in fall 2010, sam began curating the celebrated vimeo staff picks channel and has since shifted his focus primarily toward video curation. he currently lives in his hometown of brooklyn, ny following a few detours in vermont and havana, cuba. in addition to his work at vimeo, sam has produced several short films and music videos and is also the co - founder of rockabus .
for the latter director, she was also the cinematographer on the award - winning eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and be kind rewind. ms. kuras has additionally been the director of photography on such features as ted demme’s blow, mary harron’s i shot andy warhol, and harold ramis’ analyze that. her earlier films include steve mclean’s postcards from america, jill godmilow’s roy cohn / jack smith, douglas keeve’s unzipped, richard wenk’s just the ticket, and scott silver’s the mod squad .
sundance institute | amazon studios producers awards anish savjani and neil kopp (producers, i don’t feel at home in this world anymore .) and joslyn barnes (producer, strong island) received the 2017 sundance institute | amazon studios producers awards. the award recognizes bold vision and a commitment to continuing work as a creative producer in the independent space, and grants money (via the sundance institute feature film program and documentary film program) to emerging producers of films at the sundance film festival .
simone pero producer, visiting faculty simone pero is president and founder of for impact productions, a strategic marketing and production firm specializing in the confluence of content and social action. simone is currently a producer on the tale, starring laura dern, ellen burstyn and common. she led film impact and outreach campaigns for the c word, executive produced by morgan freeman, and the emmy - nominated documentary hit escape fire: the fight to rescue american healthcare, directed by matthew heineman & susan froemke. she co - produced the pbs award - winning short body & soul: diana & kathy and advised on last year' s sxsw award - winner a woman like me, starring lili taylor. in addition to her producing work, simone is part of the leadership team creating suny' s first - ever mfa in film at stony brook in association with killer films. a former corporate executive in cable television, ms. pero was vice president, corporate communications at mtv and director of communication and marketing at rainbow media / cablevision, and she began her career serving in the u. s. government. ms. pero is the new incoming president of new york women in film and television and is an alumna of stony brook university.
killer films is a new york city-based independent film production company founded by movie producers christine vachon and pamela koffler in 1995 . the company has produced a number of the most acclaimed american independent films over the past two decades including far from heaven ( nominated for four academy awards ) , boys do n't cry ( academy award winner ) , one hour photo , kids , hedwig and the angry inch , happiness , velvet goldmine , safe , i shot andy warhol , swoon , i 'm not there ( academy award nominated ) , kill your darlings , still alice ( academy award winner ) and carol ( nominated for six academy awards ) . killer films executive produced todd haynes ' five episode hbo miniseries mildred pierce featuring kate winslet and guy pearce , which went on to win five emmys , a golden globe and a screen actors guild award . in 2014 , killer films merged with glass elevator media to form killer content , inc .
killer films is a new york city-based independent film production company founded by movie producers christine vachon and pamela koffler in 1995. the company has produced a number of the most acclaimed american independent films over the past two decades including far from heaven (nominated for four academy awards), boys don't cry (academy award winner), one hour photo, kids, hedwig and the angry inch, happiness, velvet goldmine, safe, i shot andy warhol, swoon, i'm not there (academy award nominated), kill your darlings, still alice (academy award winner) and carol (nominated for six academy awards). killer films executive produced todd haynes' five episode hbo miniseries mildred pierce featuring kate winslet and guy pearce, which went on to win five emmys, a golden globe and a screen actors guild award. in 2014, killer films merged with glass elevator media to form killer content, inc.
killer films is a new york city-based independent film production company founded by movie producers christine vachon and pamela koffler in 1995. the company has produced a number of the most acclaimed american independent films over the past two decades including far from heaven (nominated for four academy awards), boys don't cry (academy award winner), one hour photo, kids, hedwig and the angry inch, happiness, velvet goldmine, safe, i shot andy warhol, swoon, i'm not there (academy award nominated), kill your darlings, still alice (academy award winner) and carol (nominated for six academy awards). killer films executive produced todd haynes' five episode hbo miniseries mildred pierce featuring kate winslet and guy pearce, which went on to win five emmys, a golden globe and a screen actors guild award. in 2014, killer films merged with glass elevator media to form killer content, inc.