In my last post, I wrote about my discovery of Megan Griffiths, an up-and-coming director in the Seattle film scene. As we all know, you aren’t really a serious filmmaker unless you have an IMDb page(!), so here’s hers: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341722/
She has five titles for Director:
2012/I Eden
2011 The Off Hours
2009 Eros (short)
2008 Moving (short)
2003 First Aid for Choking
Megan also has an impressive list of titles for other crucial roles she has played in film:
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director (16 titles)
Cinematographer (6 titles)
Writer (5 titles)
Producer (5 titles)
Camera and Electrical Department (3 titles)
Editor (3 titles)
Casting Director (1 title)
Production Manager (1 title)
Thanks (2 titles)
I chose Megan for several reasons, the main one being that I think her career path probably more closely resembles something a Media Arts student at the UofM might realize, as compared to a big blockbuster filmmaker like Ridley Scott. She’s an independent filmmaker, like we are, and she uses digital technology, like we do. She works in Seattle, not so far from us. I also like her spunk! She was determined to make her film, The Off Hours, even though it took seven years! It turned out to be the right decision, since it appears to have led to the opportunity to make her most recent film, Eden, which has won numerous awards on the film festival circuit.
All artists hope their work will speak for itself, but we also like it when we can get some acknowledgement from others in our field! Megan recently won the 2012 Genius Award Winner for Film. See: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/megan-griffiths/Content?oid=14840065
Megan was signed by WME and Caliber Media in April, 2012. William Morris Endeavor is (according to them) the largest and oldest global talent agency, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami.
Here are links and other tidbits about these films, both of which have received critical acclaim:
Eden (2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62XWDjRD9o
• Best Female Direction—Indie Spirit Award Nominee
Eden won the audience award March 2012 at SXSW (The South by Southwest Conferences & Festival in Austin, TX).
The Off Hours (2011)
• Sundance 2011, NEXT Category
• Cinematography—Indie Spirit Award Nominee
• First-ever film to receive the SSF Tag, the Sustainable Style Foundation’s stamp of approval.
• Official site: http://www.theoffhoursfilm.com/
For anyone interested in more information, keep reading! There are actually millions of pages with info about Megan on the net. Better yet, go to Netflix and watch The Off Hours! If you are a Netflix subscriber, the full movie may be seen here: The Off Hours
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I found these stats on Megan’s LinkedIn page:
Education:
Ohio University
MFA, Film Production
1997 – 2000
University of Idaho
BA, Visual Communications
1993 – 1997
Here are some salient quotes about her, followed by their attribution:
“Megan Griffiths has been a member of the independent film community for a decade. As a Seattle-based freelancer, she has been a much sought-after assistant director, cinematographer and editor, working on such projects as The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (Sundance ’09), Humpday (Sundance ’09) and Zoo (Sundance ’07). In 2002, Megan made her debut feature First Aid for Choking, which screened at festivals around the U.S. In the past few years, Megan has directed three projects commissioned by the Seattle International Film Festival, the Northwest Film Forum and MTV.com. The resulting films were the narrative shorts Moving and Eros, and the short documentary KEXP: The B-Side. Before relocating to Seattle, Megan received her MFA in Film Production from Ohio University School of Film. Her second feature film, The Off Hours, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and her third film, Eden, earned her the Independent Spirit Award for best female direction.”
http://nwfilmforum.org/live/page/board
“Megan Griffiths has worked as a writer, director and producer in the independent film world for over a decade. Her latest feature, EDEN, stars Jamie Chung, Matt O’Leary and Beau Bridges and premiered at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival. The film received the SXSW Audience Award and Megan was awarded with the Chicken & Egg Pictures Emergent Female Directing prize. Megan’s previous feature THE OFF HOURS premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals around the globe and secure distribution through Film Movement. Megan won the Carlos Velo Award for Best Director at the Ourense Film Festival in Spain, where the film also took home a Special Jury Prize. THE OFF HOURS also received a 2012 Independent Spirit Award nomination for cinematography. Megan has worked as a producer on Todd Rohal’sTHE CATECHISM CATACLYSM (Sundance ’11) and THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE (Slamdance ’06 Special Jury Prize), and as a co-producer on Robinson Devor’s ZOO (Sundance ’07) and Lynn Shelton’s YOUR SISTER’S SISTER (Toronto ’11, Sundance ’12). Megan has previously directed nine short films, including NOT WAVING BUT DROWNING, nominated for a Student Academy Award in 2000. Megan is on the board of the Northwest Film Forum and the Sustainable Style Foundation and is an advocate for sustainable production.” http://www.seattle.gov/council/licata/films/20120523.pdf
“For twelve years Megan has worked in the Seattle indie film scene since graduating from Ohio State with a masters in film. While working a day job at Alpha Cine, a film lab, she volunteered for four years to work on various film productions, making friends along the way.”
http://blog.zooppa.com/indie-filmmaking-success-the-story-of-megan-griffiths/
Here are some interviews; one written and one on YouTube:
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2011/01/the-off-hours-director-megan-griffiths/
