Dan Sickles (director)

Last updated
Dan Sickles
Born
Occupations
  • Director
  • writer
  • actor
  • producer
Years active2011 – present

Dan Sickles is an American documentary film director, writer, actor and producer. [1] He is best known for his documentaries, Mala Mala and Dina . [2] [3] In 2015, he was named in Out magazine's OUT100. [4]

Contents

Life and career

Sickles was born in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. [5] He earned his BFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2010. [6]

Sickles directed, wrote and produced his debut documentary, Mala Mala , along with Antonio Santini, about nine trans-identifying individuals in Puerto Rico, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the runner-up audience award at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. [7] In 2015, he directed a short film, I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast, based on the Melissa Studdard poetry collection I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast. [8]

In 2017, Sickles directed and produced his second documentary, Dina , along with Antonio Santini, about a love story between a suburban woman and a Walmart door greeter, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. [9]

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNote
2014 Mala Mala YesYesYesDocumentary
2015I Ate the Cosmos for BreakfastYesYesShort film
2017 Dina YesYesDocumentary

As actor

Awards and nominations

YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.
2014Nominated Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Mala Mala [10]
NominatedAudience Award [11]
2015Won Philadelphia QFest First Time Director Documentary [12]
WonBest Documentary
WonBest Director Documentary
2017Won Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Dina [13]
Won International Documentary Association Best Feature Documentary [14]
Nominated Sheffield Doc/Fest Grand Jury Award [15]

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References

  1. "Meet the 2014 Tribeca Filmmakers #24: Dan Sickles Stays Up All Night for Drag Shows in 'Mala Mala'". indiewire.com. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  2. Gold, Daniel M. (30 June 2015). "Review: 'Mala Mala' Shares Experiences of Being Transgender in Puerto Rico". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  3. "Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini's documentary film 'Dina'". broadstreetreview.com. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  4. "Out100: Parvez Sharma, Dan Sickles & Antonio Santini". out.com. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  5. "A Letter from DINA Director Dan Sickles". medium.com. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  6. "Five NYU Alumni Are Big Winners at Sundance 2017". nyu.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  7. "New Yorkers: If You Don't See MALA MALA This Week, You Might As Well Not See Anything". tribecafilm.com. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  8. "I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast". pw.org. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  9. "'Dina' Comes to Sundance: "She's a Movie Star, and We Are Her Paparazzi"". sundance.org. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  10. "Here Are the 12 Films in the World Documentary Competition". tribecafilm.com. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  11. "DOC NYC ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL "40 UNDER 40" LIST". docnyc.net. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  12. "qFLIX Philadelphia 2015 Awards Announced". phillymag.com. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  13. "2017 Sundance Film Festival Awards: Global Independent Creativity Reaches New Heights". sundance.org. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  14. "33rd Annual IDA Documentary Awards Honorees". documentary.org. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  15. "Sheffield Doc/Fest Announces Full Lineup, Including Laura Poitras' 'Risk'". yahoo.com. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 2021-10-28.