Bill and Turner Ross | |
|---|---|
 Turner (left) and Bill on set in 2011 | |
| Born | Bill Ross IV Turner Ross Sidney, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Website | www |
Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross, collectively known as the Ross Brothers are an American independent filmmaking duo. They are known for the feature films 45365 , Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets and Contemporary Color .
Bill and Turner were born in Sidney, Ohio, in 1980 and 1982 respectively. [1] The pair eventually moved to New Orleans and began making films as a duo, shooting, editing, directing and conceiving of their projects in tandem.
The first film by The Ross Brothers was their 2009 feature 45365 , which explores a day in the life of their hometown, Sidney, Ohio. The title is derived from the zip code of the town. Captured in a stream of consciousness, vérité style, the film functions as a portrait of a city and its people. Roger Ebert called it "an achingly beautiful film". [2] The film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW and an Independent Spirit Award. [3]
Their sophomore effort was 2012's Tchoupitoulas, which follows a street in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Set over the course of a night, the film shows New Orleans from the street level, luxuriating in the idiosyncrasies of the vibrant, complex city as three young brothers wander around after missing the final ferry home. [4] The film was the recipipient of the True Vision Award from the True/False Film Festival. [5]
Western is the story of two towns beside one another, on either side of the US/Mexico border along the Rio Grande River; Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Niegras, Mexico. [6] The film primarily documents the daily activities of Chad Foster, a former mayor and strong opponent to the federal border fence, and Martín Wall, a cattle broker whose business is halted by the government sanctions responding to narco-violence across the border.
In 2015, David Byrne organized a new show titled Contemporary Color. It consisted of two arena concerts in Brooklyn and Toronto, and featured ten musical acts, including Nelly Furtado, Devonte Hynes, Ad-Rock and St. Vincent who teamed up with ten color guard groups from across America. The Ross Brothers came aboard and made a concert documentary about the event. [7]
Their most formalistically ambitious film to date, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is the tale of a Las Vegas dive bar called the Roaring 20s during its final night before shutting down. In reality, the bar used as a set was actually filmed inside a bar in Terrytown, Louisiana. [8] [9] The film features both actors and real people, filmed together in improvised situations.
The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. [10]
Premiering at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, Gasoline Rainbow is The Ross Brothers' first fully acknowledged, pure fiction film. Utilizing their observational, unscripted style, the film follows five Gen-z teenagers from a small town in Oregon who set out on a great American road trip, in search of "The Party at the End of the World". [11]
The Ross Brothers have referenced the films of Les Blank, Touki Bouki by Djibril Diop Mambéty and the works of Robert Altman as being major influences in style and storytelling. On Les Blank they've stated "When you watch a Les Blank film, you’re watching him see the world. You see his humanity, and it’s sloppy and messy and sweaty and loving." [12]
Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog and Errol Morris, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."
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Owning Mahowny is a 2003 Canadian film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin and John Hurt. The film is based on the true story of Brian Molony, a Toronto bank employee who embezzled more than $10 million to feed his gambling addiction. Owning Mahowny was named one of the ten best films of the year by critic Roger Ebert.
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Color of Night is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures. Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Willis and Jane March.
Allen Garfield was an American film and television actor.
The Grey Fox is a 1982 Canadian biographical Western film directed by Phillip Borsos and written by John Hunter. It is based on the true story of Bill Miner, an American stagecoach robber who staged his first Canadian train robbery on 10 September 1904. The film stars Richard Farnsworth as Miner. The cast also features Jackie Burroughs, Ken Pogue, Wayne Robson, Gary Reineke and Timothy Webber.
Broken Rainbow is a 1985 American documentary film by Victoria Mudd and Maria Florio.
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45365 is a 2009 American documentary film made by first-time directors the Ross brothers, Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross. The film is about the everyday life of the small town Sidney, Ohio, and the people living in it; the title comes from the town's ZIP Code.
Lee Richardson was an American character actor who frequently appeared in Sidney Lumet's films.
Panos Cosmatos is an Italian-Canadian film director and screenwriter. He is known for Beyond the Black Rainbow and Mandy.
Joel Silberg was a film, television and stage director and screenwriter in Israel and the United States. He made films in Israel including so-called Bourekas films. He then directed films in the U.S. during the 1980s, including Breakin' and Lambada. Both have been described as exploitation films. In 2008 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israel Film Academy.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is an American documentary film by the Ross brothers that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
XTR is an American independent film production company founded in 2019 by Bryn Mooser. The company is best known for producing films Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020), Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020), The Fight (2020), 76 Days (2020), and Ascension (2021).