Steven Bernstein (filmmaker)

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Steven Bernstein
Steven-Bernstein-headshot crop.png
Born
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Cinematographer
Years active1986–present

Steven Bernstein, ASC, DGA, WGA is an American cinematographer, director, screenwriter and author. [1] In 1992 he won the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for Like Water for Chocolate alongside Emmanuel Lubezki. [2] He also won the Cannes Golden Lion for his work in commercials. His book Film Production (Focal Press) has been translated into several languages and at one time was the bestselling textbook about film making. Bernstein was a 2014 ASC nominee for the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series Award for his work on Magic City. Bernstein is a regular contributor to SonyCine Magazine where he writes articles on various aspects of filmmaking. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Bernstein is a regular subject matter expert for articles about screenwriting and filmmaking for Adobe creative hub. [8] [9] [10]

Contents

Bernstein has directed shorts, music videos and television commercials, and has lectured widely. He made his directing feature film debut with 2014's Decoding Annie Parker (Helen Hunt, Samantha Morton, Aaron Paul), for which he was awarded The Alfred P. Sloan Award at the Hampton's International Film Festival. Bernstein's second feature, Last Call was released theatrically in the US on 25 November 2020. It is a surrealistic biopic about the final day of Alcoholic poet Dylan Thomas's life, starring John Malkovich, Rhys Ifans, Rodrigo Santoro, Romola Garai, Zosia Mamet, and Tony Hale, and which Bernstein wrote, produced, and directed. [11] [12] Bernstein's recent script commissions include; A Perfect Place, Angela and Althea and Last Resort [13] [14] [15]

Since 2016 Bernstein has worked with members of the Greek government to expand the Greek film industry and attract international film and television production to Greece. Bernstein spearheaded an initiative to introduce a tax rebate as an incentive to film producers to shoot in Greece. The tax incentive bill was passed in August 2017 and became effective in February 2018. [16] [17] As part of his initiative, Bernstein is training 400 to 500 Greek film students a year and is building a state of the art film studio in Greece. [18]

Bernstein has been featured as the subject of articles in many publications including American Cinematographer Magazine, MovieMaker Magazine, People Magazine, Playboy Magazine and Mancode Magazine. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

Personal life

Bernstein was born in Buffalo, NY in 1958 to parents Charles Bernstein, M.D. and Sylvia Bernstein. [24] He has a son Adam from his first marriage to Elizabeth Bernstein and currently resides with his partner the designer and film producer Carolyn Rodney. [25] [26]

Filmography

YearFilm/TelevisionPositionNotes
1986 Smart AlecCinematographer
1988 Jade
1989 Conspiracy
1991 The Diamond Brothers Television
Deptford Graffiti
1992 Like Water for Chocolate AKA Como Agua Para Chocolate
No Head for HeightsDirector / CinematographerTelevision
1995 Kicking and Screaming Cinematographer
The Monroes Television
Moondance
"The Secretary"Television
1996 Curdled
Bulletproof
Underworld
Trade-OffTelevision
1997 Mr. Jealousy
Murder at 1600
Highball
1998 The Waterboy
Half Baked
1999 The Wood
2000 More Dogs Than Bones
Goodbye, Casanova
2001 Corky Romano
Scary Movie 2 AKA Scarier Movie
The Forsaken AKA Vampires of the Desert
Christmas in the Clouds
2002 Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus BookieTelevision
2003 Monster
2004 White Chicks
2005 Threshold (Television pilot): Trees Made of Glass
2006 One Night with the King
Little Man
The Jake Effect 5 episodes: Don't Mess with Sloppy / Flight School / Only Connect / Parent Teacher Conference/Pilot
Behind the SmileAppearance: British Reporter
2007 Crawl Space
2008 Tortured
2009 Love at First HiccupAppearance: Co-Host Cooking Show - voice on TV
Not Forgotten
2013 Decoding Annie Parker Director / Writer / Producer
Magic City Cinematographer/2nd Unit Director3 Episodes: Angels of Death / World in Changes / Sins of the Father
2016 Dominion Director / Writer / Producer
2020 Last Call
Walkaway Joe Cinematographer

Awards

YearFilmPositionAwardOrganization
1992 Like Water for Chocolate Cinematographer(Won) Best Artistic Contribution Award (Shared with Emmanuel Lubezki) Tokyo International Film Festival
2003 Monster (Won) Creative Ensemble Award AFI
2013 Decoding Annie Parker Director / Writer(Nominated) Golden Space Needle Award - Best Film Seattle International Film Festival
(Won) Alfred P. Sloan Award Foundation Feature Film Prize in Science and TechnologyHampton's International Film Festival
2014 Magic City Cinematographer(Nominated) ASC Award - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series American Society of Cinematographers
Decoding Annie Parker Director / Writer(Nominated) Leonardo's Horse - Best DirectingMilan International Film Festival
(Nominated) Leonardo's Horse - Best Screenwriting (Shared with Adam Bernstein and Mike Moss)

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References

  1. ↑ "STEVEN BERNSTEIN". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  2. ↑ "Tokyo International Film Festival (1992)". IMDb . Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  3. ↑ "Night Lighting - Part 1 - Tackling Large Night Exteriors".
  4. ↑ "Night Lighting - Part 2 - Lighting the City at Night". Sony Cine. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  5. ↑ "Making the Jump to Shooting Big Films - Big Scale and Spectacle - Part 1".
  6. ↑ "The Relationship Between the Director and the Cinematographer - Part 5 of a Series -- Collaboration on Set and During Post".
  7. ↑ "A Film Director's View of the Cinematographer – Part 1 - the Director's Agony".
  8. ↑ "How to write a screenplay | Adobe".
  9. ↑ "Green screen video shooting techniques | Adobe".
  10. ↑ "Special effects (SFX) and visual effects (VFX) | Adobe".
  11. ↑ "Steven Bernstein". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  12. ↑ "Last Call". IMDb . 25 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "A Perfect Place - IMDbPro". pro-labs.imdb.com. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  14. ↑ "Angela and Althea - IMDbPro". pro-labs.imdb.com. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  15. ↑ "Last Resort - IMDbPro". pro-labs.imdb.com. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  16. ↑ "High taxes, red tape put off foreign filmmakers from shooting in Greece, Stratos Karakasidis | Kathimerini".
  17. ↑ "Syros is set to become a location for shooting movies, Ioanna Fotiadi | Kathimerini".
  18. ↑ "Greece Launches New 25% Cash Rebate to Lure Productions". 2018-05-11.
  19. ↑ "ASC Close-Up: Steven Bernstein - the American Society of Cinematographers".
  20. ↑ "Bernstein on 'Decoding Annie Parker' - The American Society of Cinematographers". ascmag.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27.
  21. ↑ "One Night with O'Toole, Hollywood's Straight Man". 3 February 2007.
  22. ↑ "MANCODE | Adventure Edition ( Issue 14)".
  23. ↑ "Ο Steven Bernstein ονειρεύεται ένα νέο Hollywood στην Ελλάδα". 31 July 2018.
  24. ↑ "Charles Bernstein M.D. Obituary (2008) Buffalo News". Legacy.com .
  25. ↑ "U.S. Distributor K Street Pictures Boards Dylan Thomas Pic with Rhys Ifans & John Malkovich, Plans to Relaunch It in Market". 19 July 2019.
  26. ↑ "Director Steven Bernstein and Carolyn Rodney arrive at the Seattle".
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