Biography
A graduate of art college, I learned the basics of cinema from an innovative 8th grade teacher. Since there was no film program at my university I borrowed an old 16mm camera from the communications department to learn cinematography. The foundation of art studio practice and chemical photography still inform my practice in the digital age.
I think what I try to do in cinema is best encapsulated by a quote from one of my favorite filmmakers Nicholas Roeg, who continues to inspire me :
“You make the movie through the cinematography – it sounds quite a simple idea, but it was like a huge revelation to me.â€
I remain a stickler for ‘show, don’t tell’—for me, the image guides the narrative, even in documentaries. With actors, I believe they are the only special effect that is ever required, and so I try to be objective and helpful. It’s not an easy job being an actor. I certainly respect their burden, not least because it provides the means for me to build a motion picture.
Films
The Nude (2018)
Role: Director
An experimental and cinematic meditation on the making of art and it’s inherent emotional demands. Conceived as a narrative fiction film using documentary techniques The Nude is anchored by a vivid and authentic performance by Natalia Carbullido, an experienced figure art model. Within it’s lyrical framework the film argues for the unique expressive art practiced by those who’s job it is to offer their own bodies laid bare in the service of Art. Like a dancer, Natalia expresses total control over her body. Aware of every muscle and it’s function she uses her training in Aikido and her keen eye for classical form to guide her movements, movements that echo the long history of artists collaborating with models to express the mysteries of the human form.
Produced on a micro-budget over eight days, and captured with the AJA Video Cion 4K camera, The Nude is a film that embraces cinematic form as a means of conveying the intimacy and loneliness that comes with making art. Unapologetically devoid of genre affectations or polemics, the film offers a distinct and beautiful communion between the figure and the camera.
Game For Motel Room (2018)
Role: Director
A feature length adaptation of a Fritz Leiber Jr. science-fiction short story. It stars Pierre Perrier ( from Sundance Channel’s ‘The Returned’) and Lucy Owen. Shot on location in Boston and Newton, Massachusetts.
Analogue (2016)
Role: Director
“Analogue” combines domestic melodrama, classical music, and science fiction in a tale about a former prodigy haunted by the death of a student during his experimentation with aural portraits, sound recordings using the electrical impulses of the human body. Part homage to Doctor Phibes and Orson Welles, it owes no small part to the influence of Pere Portabella and his fantastically surreal gems of cinema. Featuring Debra Cooke, Darcy Kuronen, and Suzana Mihajlica.
Sun Opener (2014)
Role: Director
A 2800 miles road movie with no script and a great soundtrack. Shot over six days between Great Barrington, MA and The Spiral Jetty in Utah.
The Whirlpool (2012)
Role: Director
Shot over two five-day blocks in France, Canada, and USA with a crew of three (including the director), The Whirlpool is a throwback to the vibrantly experimental period of late sixties cinema centered on the chance meeting between two people ready to break out of their routine. With influences derived from Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, Jack Cardiff’s The Girl on The Mototcycle, and Stanley Donen’s Two For The Road.
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