Jennifer M. Kroot

Last updated
Jennifer Kroot
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFilmmaker

Jennifer Kroot is an American filmmaker whose films include the documentaries It Came From Kuchar (2009) and To Be Takei (2014).

Contents

Career

Kroot studied filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she met George Kuchar. [1] Kuchar's "influence helped shape her films, such as the campy sci-fi satire Sirens of the 23rd Century." [1] Her follow up to Sirens was the film It Came From Kuchar, a documentary feature about twin underground filmmakers George and Mike Kuchar. Featuring interviews from Guy Maddin, John Waters, Atom Egoyan, Wane Wang and Buck Henry, It Came from Kuchar "crams a true cornucopia of excerpts from the prolific brothers’ output," which includes their early 8mm films from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as their 16mm classic, The Corruption of the Damned. [2] It Came from Kuchar premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival and was later broadcast on KQED's Truly CA. [3]

For her next project, Kroot decided to follow celebrity and activist, George Takei. To Be Takei premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival [4] and was later sold to Starz Digital Media. [5] The film screened at a number of other film festivals worldwide, including Hot Docs [6] and IDFA. [7]

Kroot's 2017 film, The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, is a portrait of renowned novelist Armistead Maupin, author of the Tales of The City series of novels that were later adapted for PBS and Netflix. [8] Featuring interviews with Laura Linney, Ian McKellen, Olympia Dukakis, Jonathan Groff, Neil Gaiman, Amy Tan, and Jewell Gomez, The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin premiered at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award in the Documentary Spotlight section. [9] It premiered on PBS's Independent Lens on January 1, 2018, [10] and is currently streaming on Netflix. [11]

In 2018, Kroot was invited to membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [12] She also co-writes a column for the San Francisco Bay Times about politics and culture in San Francisco. [13]

Filmography

YearTitleFestival PremiereCitation
2005Sirens of the 23rd Century Frameline [14]
2009 It Came from Kuchar South by Southwest [15]
2014 To Be Takei Sundance Film Festival [16]
2017The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin South by Southwest [17]

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References

  1. 1 2 Vance, Kelly (14 April 2010). "Brothers from Another Planet". East Bay Express. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  2. ↑ Scheib, Ronnie (2009-06-17). "It Came From Kuchar". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  3. ↑ "It Came from Kuchar". KQED. April 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Takei film trekking to Sundance". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  5. ↑ "Starz Digital Beams Up George Takei Docu". Deadline. 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  6. ↑ "George Takei shows surprising sides of Sulu in Hot Docs film". thestar.com. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  7. ↑ www.oberon.nl, Oberon Amsterdam, To Be Takei | IDFA , retrieved 2020-05-17
  8. ↑ Ruediger, Ross (2019-06-28). "Get to Know Tales of the City's First Chapter". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  9. ↑ Kelley, Seth (2017-03-18). "SXSW Announces 2017 Audience Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  10. ↑ "The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin | ITVS". itvs.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  11. ↑ "The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, 2017 documentary about 'Tales of the City' creator". Boing Boing. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  12. ↑ "ACADEMY INVITES 928 TO MEMBERSHIP". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  13. ↑ "Mitch McConnell's Neighborhood". San Francisco Bay Times. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  14. ↑ "27th San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival". Issuu. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  15. ↑ "2009 SXSW Film Festival Announces Complete Line-Up". /Film. 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  16. ↑ Scheib, Ronnie (2014-01-19). "Sundance Film Review: 'To Be Takei'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  17. ↑ Quigley, Emily. "Meth, Muppets and music: Five of our favorite documentaries from SXSW". Austin 360. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
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