Authors — Nick Dawson

Alexei Balabanov, Cargo 200

ALEKSEI POLUYAN IN DIRECTOR ALEXEI BALABANOV’S CARGO 200. COURTESY DISINFORMATION COMPANY. Though he only decided he wanted to be a filmmaker in his late twenties, Alexei Balabanov has made up for lost time by creating a body of work that has made him both Russia’s most interesting auteur and one of its most commercially successful directors. Born in Sverdlovsk in 1959, Balabanov studied translation at the Gorky Pedagogical University and then spent a few years working as an interpreter for the Russian Army in the Middle East and Africa. It was only at the age of 28 that he signed […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 2, 2009
John Walter, Theater Of War

MERYL STREEP IN DIRECTOR JOHN WALTER’S DOCUMENTARY THEATER OF WAR. COURTESY WHITE BUFFALO ENTERTAINMENT. In the field of documentary, John Walter has emerged as the medium’s most eloquent and entertaining cultural historian. The Detroit-born director, who is also an unpublished poet, began his career in the film industry as a boom operator and worked in that capacity on Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II. In the mid 90s, he became an editor, beginning with Norman Reedus’ Messenger (1994), and in 1995 he directed Edison’s Miracle of Light, an episode of PBS’ television series The American Experience. In 2002, Walter made his […]
by Nick Dawson on Dec 24, 2008
Rod Lurie, Nothing But The Truth

ALAN ALDA, KATE BECKINSALE AND MATT DILON IN DIRECTOR ROD LURIE’S NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. COURTESY YARI FILM GROUP. Rod Lurie has had remarkable success as a writer-director by focusing on his preoccupations with the worlds of politics and journalism. Born in Israel, but raised in Hawaii and Connecticut, Lurie is the son of esteemed syndicated political cartoonist turned foreign policy expert Ranan Lurie, and grew up with politics as a staple of everyday life. After attending West Point, Lurie served four years in Germany in the U.S. Army and then became a film critic, entertainment reporter and radio talk […]
by Nick Dawson on Dec 17, 2008
Nacho Vigalondo, Timecrimes

THE “PINK MUMMY” IN DIRECTOR NACHO VIGALONDO’S TIMECRIMES. COURTESY MAGNOLIA PICTURES. Nacho Vigalondo is part of an exciting new generation of Spanish filmmakers who are reinvigorating genre filmmaking with their creativity and invention. Born and raised in the insular town of Cabezón de la Sal, he grew up on 80s studio movies before discovering the work of cult directors like David Lynch and Peter Jackson, whose idiosyncratic visions inspired the teenage Vigalondo to eventually become a director himself. He studied Visual Communication at the University of the Basque Country, where he began making a series of playful and distinctive shorts […]
by Nick Dawson on Dec 12, 2008
Elissa Down, The Black Balloon

LUKE FORD AND RHYS WAKEFIELD IN WRITER-DIRECTOR ELISSA DOWN’S THE BLACK BALLOON. COURTESY NEOCLASSICS FILMS. Since she was very young, Elissa Down has been honing her skills as a director. Admittedly, it wasn’t strictly conscious when she was writing, acting in and masterminding little drama projects as a kid growing up in Australia, or bossing her parents around when they were reading her bedtime stories. However, her vocation as a filmmaker became ever clearer as she grew older and by the time she was a film and television student at Perth’s Curtin University, she had her eye on cinematic success. […]
by Nick Dawson on Dec 5, 2008
Avi Nesher, The Secret

ANIA BUKSTEIN AND MICHAL SHTAMLER IN DIRECTOR AVI NESHER’S THE SECRETS. COURTESY MONTEREY MEDIA. Avi Nesher seems to have had two careers as a filmmaker rather than just one. Nesher’s dual identity partly stems from the fact that the Israeli writer-director spent most of his childhood and teenage years in New York and only returned to the country of his birth after attending Columbia University. Once back, Nesher wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the brightest young figures in Israeli cinema with hits like The Troupe and Dizengoff 99 (both 1979). In 1985, Rage and Glory, Nesher’s […]
by Nick Dawson on Nov 26, 2008
Ellen Kuras, The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

THAVISOUK PHRASAVATH AND ORADY PHRASAVATH IN DIRECTOR ELLEN KURAS’ THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON). COURTESY CINEMA GUILD. Since she first came to prominence almost twenty years ago, Ellen Kuras has established herself as one of the most talented directors of photography working today. Film was not Kuras’ primary focus when she was younger; the New Jersey native initially attended Brown to study anthropology but became interested in photography after taking a class at the nearby Rhode Island School of Design. Though she won a Fulbright Scholarship to go to the esteemed Lodz Film Academy, Kuras instead began working in film, taking numerous […]
by Nick Dawson on Nov 21, 2008
Josh Koury, We Are Wizards

HOLDEN AND DARIUS WILKINS IN DIRECTOR JOSH KOURY’S WE ARE WIZARDS. COURTESY BROOKLYN UNDERGROUND FILMS. Despite his youth, 31-year-old Josh Koury has already carved out quite a reputation for himself within the world of independent film. Born and raised in upstate New York, Koury studied fine art at Munson Williams Proctor Institute in Utica and then film at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, where he also ran a weekly multimedia event. Following his graduation, Koury made his debut feature, Standing By Yourself, a documentary about problem teens in upstate New York, which premiered in competition at Slamdance in 2002 and was released […]
by Nick Dawson on Nov 14, 2008
Damian Harris, Gardens Of The Night

EVAN ROSS AND GILLIAN JACOBS IN DIRECTOR DAMIAN HARRIS’ GARDENS OF THE NIGHT. COURTESY CITY LIGHTS PICTURES. Coming from a family of actors, Damian Harris went against the grain when he chose to become a writer-director. Harris is the son of Richard Harris, the legendary British screen thespian, as well as the stepson of Rex Harrison and the brother of Jamie and Jared Harris, who are also actors. He got his first taste of the movie game when, at the age of 10, he acted alongside Tom Courtenay and Romy Schneider in the comedy Otley (1968). That experience, however, made […]
by Nick Dawson on Nov 7, 2008
Kurt Kuenne, Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father

DIRECTOR KURT KUENNE WITH ZACHARY BAGBY IN KUENNE’S DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER. COURTESY OSCILLOSCOPE PICTURES & MSNBC FILMS. Since he was a boy, making films has been at the very center of Kurt Kuenne’s life. He fell in love with the movies as a kid growing up in Silicon Valley in Southern California, and already at the age of seven began trying to emulate his heroes by shooting films on Super 8 and then later VHS cameras, using friends and family as actors. Kuenne studied film at USC’s prestigious School of Cinema-Television (where he […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 31, 2008

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