Ben Russell | |
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Born | 1976 |
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Occupation | Filmmaker |
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Ben Russell (born 1976) is an American artist and experimental filmmaker. Russell developed his reputation over the numerous shorts he made throughout the 2000s, [1] many as part of his "Trypps" series, [2] [3] and as the curator of the Magic Lantern Cinema in Providence, Rhode Island. [4] In 2009, he made his acclaimed feature debut, Let Each One Go Where He May , shot in Suriname in a series of 13 long takes accomplished with a Steadicam. [5] [6] Both a Guggenheim Fellow and participating artist in documenta 14, [7] Russell's work has been described as drawing on elements of ethnography, psychedelia and Surrealism. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Russell attended Brown University from 1994 to 1998, where he received a BA in art and semiotics. [12] It was during his last year at Brown that Russell became interested in filmmaking, [13] and shot his first film on 16mm. Afterwards, Russell traveled to Suriname with the Peace Corps. [8] The experience inspired many of his films, and the country ended up as the setting for his first feature-length work, Let Each One Go Where He May , a film which premiered in the Tiger Awards competition at the 2010 Rotterdam International Film Festival and received the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize. [14]
Early in his career, Russell befriended the English filmmaker Ben Rivers and the two would later co-program a touring series of their work. [13] They have collaborated on two films together, the feature film A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness (2013) [15] and the experimental short The Rare Event (2018). [16]
Russell's third feature film, Good Luck (2017), [17] [18] [19] [20] premiered in the international competition at the 2017 Locarno Film Festival and was exhibited as a 4-channel video installation [21] at documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany. It was voted the "Best Experimental Film of 2017" by the National Society of Film Critics. [22]
Russell received an MFA in film and video from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003. [12] From 2006-2011 he was assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental filmmaking by showcasing emerging talents and established auteurs. The festival also places a focus on presenting cutting edge media art and arthouse film, with most of the participants in the short film program identified as artists or experimental filmmakers. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding. The IFFR logo is a stylized image of a tiger that is loosely based on Leo, the lion in the MGM logo.
The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Chuck Russell and produced by Bob Engelman from a screenplay by Mike Werb and a story by Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden. It is the first installment in the Mask franchise, based on the comic book series of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics. It stars Jim Carrey in the title role along with Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, an ordinary man who finds a magical wooden mask that transforms him into the titular green-faced troublemaker that has the ability to cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. Filming began on August 30, 1993, and concluded in October 1993.
Benjamin A. Foster is an American actor. His films include The Punisher (2004), X-Men: The Last Stand and Alpha Dog, 30 Days of Night (2007), The Messenger and Pandorum, The Mechanic (2011), Contraband (2012), Kill Your Darlings and Lone Survivor, The Program (2015), and Leave No Trace (2018). He was won an Independent Spirit Award for portraying Tanner Howard in Hell or High Water (2016). He also had a recurring role as Russell Corwin in the television series Six Feet Under (2003–2005).
The Luck of the Irish is a 2001 American Disney Channel original movie. The film, starring Ryan Merriman, Alexis Lopez, Timothy Omundson, and Henry Gibson, contains elements of fantasy and sports film combined with Irish culture. Conceived as a Saint Patrick's Day film, it was first broadcast on Disney Channel on March 9, 2001.
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Russell George Tovey is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama Being Human, Rudge in both the stage and film versions of The History Boys, Steve in the BBC Three sitcom Him & Her, Kevin Matheson in the HBO original series Looking and its subsequent series finale television film Looking: The Movie, and Patrick Read in American Horror Story: NYC.
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A Spell To Ward Off the Darkness is a 2013 experimental film directed by Ben Russell and Ben Rivers, starring Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. It was released to critical acclaim, winning two awards, including the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival New Vision Award, and having five nominations.
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Beny Wagner is an artist, filmmaker and author. He is known for his films Constant and A Demonstration.