Emmy Wins and Nominations
I am very proud to have won a News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Sound for my work on Netflix’s Fire in Paradise. The film was also Emmy nominated for Outstanding Short Documentary.
In addition I was also Emmy Nominated for my work on The Legend of Cocaine Island. It was an incredible honor to have two nominations this year in the sound category, and I deeply love both of these films and the creative work our entire sound teams did on them.
In other Emmy news, American Factory was triple-Emmy nominated in the Primetime Emmy awards. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Directing, and was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography and Outstanding Picture Editing.
Feels Good Man Released on VOD and Nationwide on PBS
After winning awards at Sundance and Big Sky, Feels Good Man was slated to continue its festival run at SXSW before it was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, it was released on VOD to incredible reviews, kicked off PBS’s new season of Independent Lens, and was nominated for three Critics Choice awards.
Alabama Snake premiering on HBO
Coming in December to HBO is the true-crime documentary Alabama Snake. Directed by Theo Love and produced by Bryan Storkel, it was fun to reunite with them and the team behind The Legend of Cocaine Island for a new stylized and sound design heavy feature. Draped in imagery and sounds of southern gothic horror, this true-story revolves around a a pentecostal preacher accused of attempting to murder his wife with rattlesnakes. Documentary and horror don’t cross paths as often as other genres, and it was great to be able to dip into a stylized well for the sound design and mix of this one.
The film premieres Dec 9th, and the trailer can be watched here.
New Short Film Work and Other Updates
I had the privilege to work with Nancy Schwartzman on her short documentary film about hunters and guns called One Shot One Kill. Made for the Mother Jones website, the film takes a look at gun ownership, hunting, and the second amendment through the conversations of a family of deer hunters. While the subject matter was difficult, it was a pleasure to be able to craft and try and capture the feelings of stillness of the woods and the beautiful sounds of nature and wilderness, in addition to the accuracy, weight, and deadliness of modern rifles.
Despite the pandemic cancelling its Tribeca premiere, Jack and Jo Don’t Want to Die has continued to play virtually in festivals across the US, including Fantastic Fest, Montana, Heartland International Film Festival, and won the award for best sci-fi short at the Rhode Island International Film Festival .
After premiering at Sundance, Max Richter’s Sleep premiered theatrically in the UK to wonderful reviews. Richter also released the album Sleep that the film was centered around as a standalone app, which is a delightful way to experience the music. It is still waiting on US theatrical release, much like everything else during the pandemic. The trailer can be watched here.
After its Slamdance premiere, Jasper Mall was released on VOD nationwide. It also won multiple awards at the Sidewalk Film Festival.
And lastly, the Criterion Channel added some of my older work to the site, including the Ross Brothers Collection, including Tchoupitoulas, Western, and Contemporary Color, as well as the Robert Greene collection, which features Bisbee ’17. I love all of these films, and they are a testament to creative stylization within the nonfiction genre, and I’m thrilled that Criterion has been playing them as part of its lineup.
Work in the Time of Pandemic
This was certainly not the rest of the year that I was expecting having posted my last update back in February. Back then everything felt fresh and sky-is-the-limit coming off of Sundance and Academy Award wins, and looking ahead to Tribeca and SXSW and a bevy of exciting new projects. Hoo boy did I not prognosticate 2020 very accurately. I am very lucky and fortunate though, that post production (especially post-production for longform nonfiction) has continued to operate, and continue to thrive, even under difficult circumstances. I’m happy to still have worked on a variety of exciting projects (many of which I’m looking forward to sharing in future updates), and have an exciting slate ahead of me, even if everyone’s schedules and plans have been thrown around like calendar pages in a hurricane. And I’m grateful I have an independent studio that can still operate, even though I miss the presence of clients and collaborators in here with me greatly. It’s been a strange year, and it’s been exceptionally strange thinking that in a year with so many highs for work (such as projects with Oscar wins, Emmys, and Grammy nominations all within the same year), there are so many lows and hardships for life and humanity across the entire country and the globe. This year was not what I expected, and has included many more trials, obstacles and hurdles than I think anyone was expecting. But above all, when times get tough, I’m even more grateful for the good news, the little joys, and the deep satisfactions of still being able to make creative and meaningful work. I look forward to when this chapter of Covid is behind us all, but in the meantime I wish everyone the best of luck and heads held high even amid struggles, and I know there are brighter days ahead. In the meantime, I’m waving from my isolated little floating spaceship to yours. And sending sounds across the wires while we all wait for the world to let us get back together again.
