Matthew Lessner
Matthew Lessner at the Sundance 2014 Awards Ceremony
Born
Walnut Creek, California
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFilmmaker
Notable workChapel Perilous, The Woods, By Modern Measure, Darling Darling, Automatic at Sea

Matthew Lessner is an American artist[1] and independent filmmaker.[2]

Biography

Born in Walnut Creek, California,[3] Lessner was raised in Roseburg, Oregon, where he attended Roseburg High School.[2][4] He graduated in 2005 from Chapman University, where he studied film.[5]

Short films

Lessner's directorial debut was the 2005 short film Darling Darling starring Michael Cera, which screened at over 30 film festivals worldwide[6] including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Comedia, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival where Lessner won the Tom Berman Most Promising Filmmaker Award.[7] The film is included on the sixth issue of Wholphin DVD magazine with alternate audio versions by John Cleese and Daniel Handler.[8] Darling Darling was included the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival's Retrospective 2014: the twenty-first century American short films.[9]

Lessner's second short film, By Modern Measure, premiered at South by Southwest[10] and screened at 30 film festivals[11] including the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.[12] In January 2011 the Sundance Institute released "By Modern Measure" on The YouTube Screening room as part of its Sundance Film Festival Classics series.[13]

His third short film, Chapel Perilous featuring Sun Araw was an official selection at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival[14] where it won the Short Film Audience Award.[15] The film premiered internationally at the Stockholm Film Festival.[16] In March 2014, Chapel Perilous was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick.[17]

Feature films

In August 2008, Lessner began work on his first feature film The Woods, which was filmed in the woods around Lookingglass, Oregon.[2][4] The Woods was invited to world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.[18] The film made history as the first film to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival that used Kickstarter for production financing.[19] The Woods premiered in New York at the BAMcinemaFest held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[20] The Woods premiered internationally at the Cologne Conference in Cologne, Germany.[21]

In August 2011, Lessner was awarded a San Francisco Film Society and Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant for screenwriting in support of feature film tentatively titled Terror Tuesday.[22] In May 2012, Lessner was awarded an additional San Francisco Film Society and Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant for development of the feature tentatively titled Terror Tuesday.[14][23]

In 2017, Lessner released his second feature film Automatic at Sea], which became embroiled in the Pizzagate conspiracy theory prior to its release, resulting in Lessner receiving death threats and being accused of creating coded propaganda for the Clinton Foundation.[24] Werner Herzog called the film "unusual and courageous".[25] Automatic at Sea screened at festivals and theaters worldwide including at the Slamdance Film Festival, the ArcLight Hollywood, the American Film Festival, and the New Hampshire Film Festival where the film won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize.[26][27]

Episodic

In March 2021, the pilot for Lessner's metaphysical comedy series The Position, world premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the Episodic Pilot Competition.[28]

Fine art

In April 2016, Champis Solutions, a solo installation by Lessner opened at Nevven Gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden. Champis Solutions was Phase Two in the ongoing Seven Phase project titled in Anticipation of the Unexpected.[29]

In late 2018, Lessner was awarded a grant from the Swedish art council Kulturbryggan for the development of an interactive film exhibition entitled SAINT Y2K.[30]

In June 2020, years 3 and 4 of Lessner's ongoing interactive seven year film project In Anticipation of the Unexpected were exhibited at Nevven Gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden.[31]

In the fall of 2020 Lessner's immersive, interactive experience SAINT Y2K opened as a solo exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden.[32]

Music videos

Lessner has directed over a dozen music videos including for the Dirty Projectors' single "Stillness is the Move" which was ranked one of the best music videos of 2009 by Stereogum.[33][34] He also directed the video Fool's Gold's "Surprise Hotel".[35]

Web

Lessner directed and produced several videos for BBC Collective with bands including Black Dice and The Fiery Furnaces.[36][37][38]

In 2011, Lessner created and directed the web series "Make a Friend" for the French website Konbini.[39][40][41]

Music

Lessner contributed lyrics to six of the eight tracks on Lydia Ainsworth's debut album, Right From Real, including "Hologram" which was named Best New Track by Pitchfork[42][43] The Album was released on Arbutus Records in 2014 and was a shortlist nominee for the Juno Award for the Electronic Album of the Year.[44][45] Additionally he directed the music video for Ainsworth's single Malachite, which Stereogum voted video of the week in June 2014.[46][47][42][48]

Lessner has collaborated with Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw who contributed a cover of Neil Young's 'Thrasher' to the soundtrack for The Woods.[49] In 2009 they released Sun Araw featuring Matthew Lessner – In Orbit through Stunned Records.[50]

Lessner and his younger sister Sophia Lessner have collaborated on a musical project called Masons . They released their first tape In the Basement of the Temple through Stunned Records in 2008.[51]

Other work

Lessner directed the trailer for Ottessa Moshfegh's 2022 novel Lapvona.[52]

Lessner starred as an actor in the Mia Hansen-Løve film Bergman Island which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.[53]

Lessner published an article in Filmmaker (magazine) recounting his experiences with online conspiracy theorists in the lead up to the release of his feature film Automatic at Sea.[54]

Lessner's photographs have been featured in multiple publications including The Sun Magazine and The Wire (magazine).[55][56]

In the spring of 2008 Lessner worked as an intern for syndicated news program Democracy Now![57]

Filmography

Year Title Format
2005 Darling Darling Short Film
2007 By Modern Measure Short Film
2011 The Woods Feature Film
2013 Chapel Perilous Short Film
2017 Automatic at Sea Feature Film
(unknown) Terror Tuesday Feature Film
2020 SAINT Y2K Fine Art (Interactive)
2021 The Position Episodic (Pilot)

Music videos

Year Song Title Band Label
2009 "Set in Stone" Fires of Rome The Hours Records
2009 "Set in Stone" M83 Remix Fires of Rome The Hours Records
2009 "Stillness is the Move" Dirty Projectors Domino Records
2009 "Surprise Hotel" Fool's Gold IAMSOUND Records
2009 "Last Dance" The Raveonettes Vice Records
2009 "Early Warnings" Foreign Born Secretly Canadian
2010 "Forgive Me" Le Loup Hardly Art
2010 "World News" Local Natives Frenchkiss Records
2010 "Neverest" Hey Champ Townie Records
2012 "Marathon Runner" Yellow Ostrich Barsuk Records
2014 "Solo Wallet Shuffle" Sun Araw Drag City
2014 "Malachite" Lydia Ainsworth Arbutus

Other

Year Subject Title Format
2010 Dirty Projectors + Björk Mount Wittenberg Orca I, II, III, V VI Album Trailers
2011 Explosions in the Sky "Last Known Surroundings" Video Installation

References

  1. ↑ "CHAMPIS SOLUTIONS IN ANTICIPATION OF THE UNEXPECTED – PHASE TWO". Nevvengallery.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Pallone, Cara (July 31, 2008). "RHS Grad to film locally". The News-Review. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Matthew Lessner". IMDb.
  4. 1 2 "Utopia Unplugged". Film Stew. August 1, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Dodge College alumni make Sundance debut". Ftv.chapman.edu. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Darling Darling (2005) - IMDb". IMDb.
  7. ↑ Everleth, Mike (August 16, 2007). "Darling Darling". Underground Film Journal. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Wolphin No. 6". Wolphin: A DVD Magazine of Unseen Films. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  9. ↑ "39e Festival International du Court Métrage". Clermont-filmfest.com.
  10. ↑ "Film Screening – By Modern Measure". South By Southwest. March 2007. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  11. ↑ "By Modern Measure (2006) - IMDb". IMDb.
  12. ↑ "Film Screening – By Modern Measure". Sundance Film Festival. January 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Sundance Institute, YouTube and Acura to Make 12 Short Films from 2011 Sundance Film Festival Available for Free on YouTube Screening Room". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  14. 1 2
  15. ↑ "Sundance Festival Award Winners | Sundance Film Festival". Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Chapel Perilous | Stockholm Film Festival". Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Chapel Perilous". Vimeo.com.
  18. ↑ "Film Screening – The Woods". Sundance Film Festival. December 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  19. ↑ Miller, Daniel. "SUNDANCE: How 'The Woods' ' Unique Financing Model Could Shake Up the Festival". The Hollywood Reporter.
  20. ↑ "The Woods". Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  21. ↑ "The Woods - Cologne Conference 2011". Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  22. ↑
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ "Secret Pizza, #pizzagate and Hyperreality: How My Film About Alternate Realities Was Swept into One". Filmmakermagazine.com. January 17, 2017.
  25. ↑ "'Automatic at Sea' Trailer: A Vacation Turns Sinister [Exclusive]". Theplaylist.net.
  26. ↑ "MEMORY Presents: Matthew Lessner's AUTOMATIC AT SEA". Memory.is.
  27. ↑ "MovieMaker Magazine: The Art and Craft of Making Movies". Moviemaker.com. January 26, 2023.
  28. ↑ "2022 SXSW Film Festival Lineup". Sxsw.com.
  29. ↑ "Nevven Gallery". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Beviljade projekt 2018:2" (PDF). Konstnarsnamnden.se. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Dimensions / Of Possibility". Nevvengallery.com.
  32. ↑ "Saint Y2K". C-print.se. January 18, 2021.
  33. ↑ Breihan, Tom (July 16, 2009). "Director's Cut: Dirty Projectors: "Stillness is the Move"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  34. ↑ "Best Music Video 2009". Stereogum.com. December 7, 2009.
  35. ↑ Breihan, Tom (September 24, 2009). "Video Premiere: Fool's Gold: "Surprise Hotel" (New Version)". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  36. ↑ "BBC - Home". BBC. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  37. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Black Dice studio tour for BBC Collective – via YouTube.
  38. ↑ "BBC - Home". BBC. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Make a friend - Michaeln". Konbini.bom. June 2012.
  40. ↑ "Make a friend - Ethan". Konbini.bom. June 2012.
  41. ↑ "Make a friend – Vivian". Konbini.com. June 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  42. 1 2 "Right from Real - Lydia Ainsworth | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  43. ↑ "Listen to "Hologram" by Lydia Ainsworth". Pitchfork.
  44. ↑ "2015 Juno Nominees Announced". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  45. ↑ "Winners + Nominees". Junoawards.ca. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  46. ↑ "Lydia Ainsworth". Pitchfork.
  47. ↑ "Album of the Week: Lydia Ainsworth Right from Real". Stereogum.com. September 30, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Lydia Ainsworth – "Malachite" Video". Stereogum.com. June 10, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Exclusive: Listen to Sun Araw's Neil Young Cover 'Thrasher' from Sundance Film 'The Woods' | the Playlist". Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  50. ↑ "Sun Araw featuring Matthew Lessner – in Orbit (2009, C30, Cassette)". Discogs.
  51. ↑ "Stunned records". Stunnedrecords.blogspot.de. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  52. ↑ "The evolution of Ottessa Moshfegh". ew.com. June 13, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  53. ↑ "Bergman Island (2021) - IMDb". IMDb.
  54. ↑ "Secret Pizza, #pizzagate and Hyperreality: How My Film About Alternate Realities Was Swept Into One |". Filmmakermagazine.com. January 17, 2017.
  55. ↑ "The Sun Magazine | Issue 372 | Contributors". Thesunmagazine.org.
  56. ↑ "Listen: Sun Araw's "Roomboe"". Thewire.co.uk.
  57. ↑ "Sundance '11: Matthew Lessner Talks About His Edgy, Ambitious Debut Feature 'The Woods' > the Playlist". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
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