Elegance Bratton

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Elegance Bratton
Elegance Bratton 2022 (cropped).jpg
Bratton at the 2022 Montclair Film Festival
Born (1979-05-03) May 3, 1979 (age 45)
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater Columbia University (BA)
New York University (MFA)
Occupation(s)Director, writer, producer, photographer
Years active2014–present
SpouseChester Algernal Gordon

Elegance Bratton (born May 3, 1979) is an American filmmaker and photographer. [1] [2] [3] He began his career in the 2010s, writing, directing, and producing a variety of projects including the short film Walk for Me, the reality television series My House , and the documentary film Pier Kids . [4]

Contents

Bratton's feature film directorial debut, The Inspection , premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and was released by A24 that November. [5] [6]

Early life

Elegance was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. At age 16, he was kicked out of his home for being gay and spent 10 years being homeless before joining the Marines. [7] After completing his boot camp, he served as a combat camera production specialist in Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii, shooting videos and taking photographs for the Marines [8] [9] and after serving for six years was honorably discharged. He went on to graduate from Columbia University with a degree in African American studies, and received his MFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts for directing and writing. [10] [11]

Career

Bratton has worked as a director, writer, producer, and photographer since the early 2010s. His photographic compilation Bound by Night was shortlisted for the Kassel 2014 photo-book award. [12] [13]

In 2016, he directed a short film, Walk for Me, as an assignment in his second year in the filmmaking program at Tisch. [14] The film is about trans motherhood in ballroom culture. [14] [15] Walk for Me was released on the Criterion Channel years later. [15]

In 2018, Bratton directed the documentary film, Pier Kids , about three LGBTQ homeless youths in New York City; the film was released in 2019, [16] and has been featured in various media outlets, such as the VICE, ABC News, The Huffington Post , OUT Magazine , and GLAAD. [17] [18] [19]

Bratton's feature film directorial debut, titled The Inspection , was announced in April 2021 with a cast that includes Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine, and Raúl Castillo, with Gamechanger Films set to produce, and A24 set to produce and distribute. [6] Bratton also wrote the screenplay. [20] The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2022. [5] It also screened at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2022, [21] the Austin Film Festival on October 29, 2022, [22] before being released theatrically in the United States on November 18, 2022 by A24. [23]

In 2025, Bratton directed Move Ya Body: The Birth of House a documentary revolving around Disco Demolition Night and the beginnings of House music, which will have its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. [24] [25]

Filmography

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2016Walk for MeYesYesYes
2017Life AfterNoNoYes
2018Ina nyoNoNoYes
Fran This SummerNoNoYes
TadpoleNoNoYes
2020BuckYesYesYes

Documentary

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2025 Move Ya Body: The Birth of House YesNoNo
2019 Pier Kids YesYesYes
2018 My House YesYesYesTV series

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorWriter
2022 The Inspection YesYes

Accolades

In 2022, Bratton was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow. [26] On October 22, 2022, he received the Breakthrough Director & Writer Award at the Montclair Film Festival. [27] [28] On January 27, 2023, Bratton was the inaugural recipient of the Coolidge Breakthrough Artist Award from Coolidge Corner Theatre. [29]

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References

  1. ↑ Hawgood, Alex (June 26, 2018). "Category Is … Filmmaker Realness". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  2. ↑ "ELEGANCE BRATTON & HIS UNIQUE JOURNEY TOWARD FILMMAKING". nhfilmfestival.com. July 24, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  3. ↑ "'Pier Kids:The Life,' Elegance Bratton Film, Evidences The Struggles Of LGBT Homeless Youth". huffingtonpost.in. September 3, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Preview Documentary 'Pier Kids: The Life' on Homeless LGBT Youth of Color". indiewire.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  5. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 4, 2022). "Toronto Unveils Discovery & Wavelengths Sections; Midnight Madness Opening Includes Roku's 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Hipes, Patrick (June 7, 2021). "Jeremy Pope & Gabrielle Union To Star In A24's 'The Inspection'; Elegance Bratton To Write & Direct Autobiographical Tale". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Gay Marine's Amazing Journey From Homeless Shelter to Ivy League". ABC News. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  8. ↑ "The Incredible Story of a Homeless Teenager Who Went On To Become A Star Marine". businessinsider.in. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  9. ↑ "For Elegance Bratton, a destiny realized in 'The Inspection'". November 21, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Elegance Bratton's Amazing Journey From Homeless Shelter to Ivy League". gs.columbia.edu. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  11. ↑ "ON YOUR RADAR: ELEGANCE BRATTON". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Elegance Bratton: Bound by Night". anothermag.com. March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  13. ↑ "32 Books selected". fotobookfestival.org. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Elegance Bratton's Walk For Me Spotlights Trans Motherhood in Ballroom". out.com. July 13, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "Walk for Me". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  16. ↑ "This Documentary Shines A Light On NYC's Homeless LBGTQ Youth". thefader.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Life for Homeless Gay and Trans Teens in New York City". vice.com. June 29, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  18. ↑ "WATCH: Pier Kids". out.com. August 30, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Watch the trailer for Pier Kids: The Life, and help fund the film". glaad.org. November 4, 2013. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  20. ↑ Kroll, Justin (June 16, 2021). "Bokeem Woodbine And Raúl Castillo Join Jeremy Pope And Gabrielle Union In A24's 'The Inspection'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  21. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (August 8, 2022). "New York Film Festival Sets Elegance Bratton's 'The Inspection' With Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union As Closing Night Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  22. ↑ Boehmer, Aaron. "'The Inspection' shows at Austin Film Festival, centers Black queer man as film's hero". The Daily Texan. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  23. ↑ Chapman, Wilson (August 23, 2022). "TIFF Premiere 'The Inspection' Receives First Trailer From A24, Sets November Release Date". Variety. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  24. ↑ Ravindran, Manori (June 29, 2023). "Hillary Clinton's HiddenLight Teams With Roger Ross Williams' One Story Up, Elegance Bratton for Disco Demolition Night Documentary (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  25. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 11, 2024). "Sundance 2025: JLo, Sly Stone, Putin, Ayo Edebiri, André Holland, & Ex-NZ PM Jacinda Ardern Films Among Park City Festival Offerings". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  26. ↑ "United States Artists » Elegance Bratton" . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  27. ↑ "The Inspection | Montclair Film". montclairfilm.org. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  28. ↑ Kuperinsky, Amy (September 23, 2022). "Montclair Film Festival will honor Eddie Redmayne and Elegance Bratton, welcome Brendan Fraser". NJ.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Announcing the first ever Coolidge Breakthrough Artist Award". Coolidge Corner Theater. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
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