Joseph Swanberg is an American independent film director, producer, writer, and actor. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film movement. His films often focus on relationships, sex, technology, and the filmmaking process, and he is credited with launching the careers of Lena Dunham, Greta Gerwig, and the Duplass Brothers.
TiWest is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, and occasional actor, best known for his work in horror films. He directed the horror films The Roost (2005), The House of the Devil (2009), The Innkeepers (2011), The Sacrament (2013), X (2022), and the Western In a Valley of Violence (2016). He has also acted in a number of films, mostly in those directed by either himself or Joe Swanberg.
Kris Swanberg is an American businesswoman, filmmaker, actress and former high school teacher living in Chicago, Illinois. She has been credited at various times as Kris Williams, Kris Swanberg and Kris Rey. Her works as a director include the short documentary Bathwater (2006), the Nerve.com documentary web series Boys and Girls and the feature films It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home (2009), Empire Builder (2012), Unexpected (2015) and I Used to Go Here (2020). She has also had small roles in a number of films, including First Man (2018).
Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent film characterized by naturalistic acting and dialogue, low-budget film production, an emphasis on dialogue over plot, and a focus on the personal relationships of people in their 20s and 30s. Filmmakers associated with the genre include Andrew Bujalski, Lynn Shelton, Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, Greta Gerwig, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, and Ry Russo-Young. In many cases, though, these directors reject the term.
Aaron Katz is an American independent filmmaker from Portland, Oregon.
Hannah Takes the Stairs is a 2007 American independent mumblecore film by Joe Swanberg.
Nights and Weekends is a 2008 American mumblecore film co-directed, co-written, co-produced by and co-starring Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig. The film follows a long-distance relationship and its aftermath.
Alexander the Last is a 2009 American drama film written and directed by Joe Swanberg and starring Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, Barlow Jacobs, and Amy Seimetz. The film is about a married actress and her sister. The film premiered in 2009 and was released on DVD in 2010.
Uncle Kent is a 2011 American film directed by Joe Swanberg and written by Kent Osborne and Swanberg. The film stars Osborne in the titular role of Kent, and Jennifer Prediger, Josephine Decker, Kevin Bewersdof, and Swanberg. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released through video on demand, the same day on January 21, 2011.
Kissing on the Mouth is a 2005 American film directed by Joe Swanberg. The small cast served as the only crew, with the film featuring real interviews with recent college graduates and a documentary approach to the graphic sex and conversations. It is considered one of the original films of the mumblecore movement.
Drinking Buddies is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written, directed and edited by Joe Swanberg, and starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston. The film is about two co-workers at a craft brewery in Chicago.
Happy Christmas is a 2014 American comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Joe Swanberg. It stars Swanberg, Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, and Lena Dunham. Like most of Swanberg's previous features, the film's dialogue was entirely improvised.
Dia Sokol Savage is an American film and television producer, director and writer. She is best known as the executive producer of MTV’s hit series 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom franchise and as a producer on Andrew Bujalski’s films “Mutual Appreciation” and “Beeswax.” She currently runs 11th Street Productions with her producing partner Morgan J. Freeman.
24 Exposures is a 2013 erotic thriller film written and directed by Joe Swanberg and starring Adam Wingard as a fetish photographer who becomes involved in a murder mystery and Simon Barrett as the detective who investigates the crime. The film was released on January 24, 2014 in a limited release and through video on demand by IFC Midnight.
Autoerotic is a 2011 comedy-drama film directed by Joe Swanberg and Adam Wingard, written by Swanberg, Wingard, and Simon Barrett, and starring Kate Lyn Sheil, Amy Seimetz, Lane Hughes, Kris Swanberg, Ti West, and Frank V. Ross. IFC Midnight released it to video on demand on July 22, 2011.
Art History is a 2011 American drama film directed by Joe Swanberg, written by Swanberg, Josephine Decker, and Kent Osborne. It stars Decker, Swanberg, Osborne, Adam Wingard, and Kris Swanberg as filmmakers whose lives are complicated by a graphic sex scene in an arthouse film.
The Zone is a 2011 American drama film written, produced, and edited by Joe Swanberg. It stars Sophia Takal, Lawrence Michael Levine, Kate Lyn Sheil, Kentucker Audley, Swanberg, Adam Wingard, Kris Swanberg, and Dustin Guy Defa. Swanberg and several of his regulars play themselves in a film within a film.
Easy is an American comedy-drama anthology series written, directed, edited and produced by Joe Swanberg. It consists of 25 half-hour episodes. The series is set in Chicago.
Audrey the Trainwreck is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Frank V. Ross and starring Joe Swanberg, Kurt Naebig, Nick Offerman, Jess Weixler and Rebecca Spence.
Depraved is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Larry Fessenden and starring David Call and Joshua Leonard. It is a modern version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
