Joel Potrykus | |
|---|---|
 Joel Potrykus at the 2012 Belfort Entrevues Film Festival | |
| Born | Ossineke, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Website | www |
Joel Potrykus is an American film director and screenwriter. His feature film debut Ape won the Best New Director prize at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival, [1] while his follow-up feature Buzzard won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2014 Ljubljana International Film Festival. [2]
Potrykus was born and raised in Ossineke, Michigan, [3] then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to study film at Grand Valley State University. Later, he earned his MFA in screenwriting from Emerson College. [4]
A stint as a stand-up comedian in New York City led to the inspiration for his first feature film, Ape . [5] While spending a year as a temp at a Michigan mortgage company led to the inspiration of his second feature film, Buzzard . [6] The book Walden by Henry David Thoreau was the influence for Potrykus' 2016 feature The Alchemist Cookbook , which builds on his themes of slackers and loneliness. [7] [8] His fourth feature film Relaxer , is a modern interpretation of Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel. [9] He's been the subject of retrospectives at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2015 [10] and at the 2016 Valdivia Film Festival. [11]
He currently teaches filmmaking at Grand Valley State University. [12]
In 2016, Vimooz called Potrykus "The New King of Underground Cinema". [13] Vague Visages credits him as the originator of the new genre, "metal slackerism". [14]
Potrykus has cited the following directors and films as having an influence on his work; Alan Clarke's Made in Britain , Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man!, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver , Vincent Gallo's Buffalo ’66, Rick Alverson's The Comedy , Luis Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie , Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead , F. W. Murnau's Faust and James Nguyen's Birdemic; [15] as well as the films of Michael Haneke, Kelly Reichardt, Jean-Luc Godard and Quentin Tarantino. [16] [17]
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Buñuel’s works were known for their avant-garde surrealism which were also infused with political commentary.
Slacker is a 1990 American comedy drama film written, produced, and directed by Richard Linklater, who also stars in it. Filmed around Austin, Texas on a budget of $23,000, the film follows an ensemble cast of eccentric and misfit locals throughout a single day. Each character is on screen for only a few minutes before the film picks up someone else in the scene and follows them.
Richard Stuart Linklater is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies Slacker (1990) and Dazed and Confused (1993); the Before trilogy of romance films: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013); the music-themed comedy School of Rock (2003); the adult animated films Waking Life (2001), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (2022); the coming-of-age drama Boyhood (2014); and the comedy film Everybody Wants Some!! (2016).
Andrei Sergeyevich KonchalovskyOZO is a Russian filmmaker. He has worked in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian cinema. He is a laureate of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", a National Order of the Legion of Honour, an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, a Cavalier of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and a People's Artist of the RSFSR. He is the son of writer Sergey Mikhalkov, and the brother of filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov.
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in Brussels, Belgium. It has members in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Vanaprastham: The Last Dance is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced by Mohanlal. The screenplay was written by Karun and Raghunath Paleri based on a story by Assouline. It features Mohanlal in the lead role, with Suhasini Maniratnam, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi, Venmani Haridas, and Kukku Parameshwaram in supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Zakir Hussain.
Swoon is a 1992 American crime drama film written, directed, and edited by Tom Kalin in his feature directorial debut. It stars Craig Chester and Daniel Schlachet, with Michael Kirby, Michael Stumm, and Ron Vawter in supporting roles. It recounts the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case, focusing more on the homosexuality of the killers than other films based on the case. Swoon is considered an integral part of the New Queer Cinema movement.
The 11th Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 18 May 1958. The Palme d'Or went to The Cranes are Flying by Mikhail Kalatozov.
The 12th Cannes Film Festival was held from 30 April to 15 May 1959. The Palme d'Or went to the Orfeu Negro by Marcel Camus. The festival opened with Les Quatre Cents Coups, directed by François Truffaut and closed with The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by George Stevens.
The 14th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 18 May 1961. The Palme d'Or went to the Une aussi longue absence, directed by Henri Colpi and Viridiana, directed by Luis Buñuel. The festival opened with Che gioia vivere, directed by René Clément.
The 38th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 20 May 1985. The Palme d'Or went to the When Father Was Away on Business by Emir Kusturica.
Ape is a 2012 American independent black comedy film written and directed by Joel Potrykus, starring Joshua Burge as Trevor Newandyke. The film was a precursor to Potrykus's later film, Buzzard, which also starred Burge.
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Buzzard is a 2014 American independent black comedy film written and directed by Joel Potrykus, starring Joshua Burge as Marty Jackitansky.
Geoff Marslett is an American film director, writer, producer, animator and actor. His early career started with the animated short Monkey vs. Robot which was distributed internationally by Spike and Mike's Classic Festival of Animation on video and Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in theatres. More recently he directed several successful narrative feature films including MARS, as well as producing and acting in the experimental documentary Yakona. He appears onscreen in Josephine Decker's Thou Wast Mild and Lovely which was released theatrically in 2014. He currently resides in Austin, Texas and splits his time between filmmaking and teaching at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Radu Jude is a Romanian film director and screenwriter.
Relaxer is a 2018 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Potrykus. It stars Joshua Burge, David Dastmalchian, Andre Hyland, Amari Cheatom, and Adina Howard. Set in 1999, it tells the story of a man playing Pac-Man in a living room. The film premiered at the South by Southwest on March 9, 2018. At the 2018 Fantasia International Film Festival, Joshua Burge won the Best Actor award for his work in the film. It was released in the United States on March 22, 2019.
The Alchemist Cookbook is a 2016 American horror film directed by Joel Potrykus. The film was released on the 7th of October 2016 in New York City. The film stars Ty Hickson as "Sean" and Amari Cheatom as "Cortez". The film was produced by Oscilloscope Laboratories and by producers Andrew D. Corkin, Bryan Reisberg and Ashley Young. "Sean" is an outcast who isolates himself from society to practice alchemy, accompanied by only his cat. As his mental condition deteriorates the line of what is real and what is not becomes blurred, and as his chemistry turns to black magic, he instead summons a demon. The film breaks the conventional boundaries of genre, as elements of a black comedy, horror and a psychological thriller are all incorporated and intertwined. The Alchemist Cookbook was released on an alternate release strategy, as a pay what you want film, in both theatres and on BitTorrent bundle. The film was an official selection at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival.
Duane Graves is an American film director, writer, producer, cinematographer and editor who has produced a body of work spanning multiple genres. In 2023, Deadline Hollywood announced he was named one of Coverfly's best up and coming screenwriters. His career began with the documentary Up Syndrome, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2001. A portrait of his childhood friend born with Down syndrome, Up Syndrome won numerous awards, including the National Media Award from the National Down Syndrome Congress in 2002, and the Grand Prize at the 2006 Movies Askew Film Festival hosted by Clerks (film) director Kevin Smith. He formed Greeks Films with film school peer, actor and filmmaking partner Justin Meeks in 2001.