Amnon Buchbinder

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Amnon Buchbinder (June 17, 1958 - November 30, 2019) was an American-born Canadian screenwriter and film director, [1] most noted for his feature films The Fishing Trip [2] and Whole New Thing . [3]

Born in Missouri, he moved to Canada with his family in childhood, before studying film at the California Institute of the Arts. [1] He was based in Vancouver in the early 1980s, where he was a board member of the Pacific Cinematheque [4] and a programmer for the Vancouver International Film Festival. [5] He made a number of short films, most notably 1983's Oroboros, before studying directing at the Canadian Film Centre. [6] He joined the faculty of York University as a professor of screenwriting in the film department in 1995, [7] and eventually became chair of the department. [8]

The Fishing Trip, his first feature film as a director, was written by Michelle Lovretta, one of his students at York. [9] In 2005 he published the screenwriting text The Way of the Screenwriter, [1] and released Whole New Thing as his second feature film. [3]

Following Whole New Thing he worked on Mortal Coil, a television pilot. [8] Although it was never picked up to series, he published a novel based on it in 2014. [8] In 2015 he released the film Traveling Medicine Show, a compilation of three short docufiction films in which he and his own family had played fictionalized versions of themselves. [8] The following year he released his final film, the interactive documentary Biology of Story. [8]

He died on November 30, 2019, of cancer. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Patricia Robertson, "Film stories feed the soul". Yukon News , March 4, 2006.
  2. ↑ Ray Conlogue, "Director doesn't rise to the bait of making a simple revenge film". The Globe and Mail , November 13, 1998.
  3. 1 2 Bill Rankin, "Believable characters keep Whole New Thing from getting old". Edmonton Journal , October 4, 2005.
  4. ↑ Marke Andrews, "Cinematheque members go for moderate board". Vancouver Sun , January 28, 1987.
  5. ↑ Marke Andrews, "Film festival gets a new look". Vancouver Sun , September 24, 1987.
  6. ↑ "Film centre selects residents for 1992". The Globe and Mail , June 3, 1992.
  7. ↑ Peter Goddard, "Unique festival's for those just mad about movies". Toronto Star , November 17, 1999.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Passings: Amnon Buchbinder, filmmaker, director and screenwriter". York University, December 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ Judy Gerstel, "Toronto teens get lost in their Fishing Trip roles". Toronto Star , November 13, 1988.
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