FILMCRASH

Michael Harris in "This Close to Nothing."

Isabel Robayo and Roberto DeLaPe?a in "The Headhunter's Sister."

Rini Stahl and Bob McGrath in "The Lost Words."

Michael Kemmerling in "Welcome to Willieworld."

Few movies in recent years catch the special feel and atmosphere of Manhattan's modern Lower East Side as well as Scott Saunders' "The Headhunter's Sister"... It's a marvelous ultra-low-budget film, so well written, acted, directed and shot it puts to shame pictures made for a hundred times its obviously modest cost. The filmmakers...have wrought a little miracle." - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Scott Saunders has directed, co-written, and co-produced two feature films and over 20 shorts. His second feature, The Headhunter's Sister, premiered at the 1997 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Since then it has won the Grand Jury Prize at the Florida Film Festival, a Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival, a Special Jury Prize at the Bangkok International Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Long Island Film Festival. It will air on the Independent Film Channel later this year.

His first feature, The Lost Words, was distributed theatrically in the US by Headliner Releasing, and aired on television in Europe. The film won a Silver Medal at the International Film Festival in Portugal and the First Feature Award at the Suffolk Film Festival.

Saunders was recently selected by Variety as one of 10 Digital Video Directors to Watch. He was awarded the Someone to Watch Award at the 1998 Independent Spirit Awards. He has been a Fellow at the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab and was a resident at the MacDowell Colony in February 2000.

Saunders' most recent short, This Close to Nothing, premiered at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in April. He recently directed a short titled "Welcome to Willieworld," which is currently in post production. He is also in pre-production on a new feature called The Technical Writer, which he co-wrote and will direct in the fall.

He is a founding member of New York's Film Crash group (with Matthew Harrison and Karl Nussbaum), an organization that has presented the work of over 100 filmmakers in screenings in New York, Los Angeles and in Europe. Raised in Southern California, Saunders has lived in New York City since 1984.

The Technical Writer, 90 min. Sundance Film Festival 2003, Dramatic Competition
Welcome to Willieworld (DV, work in progress, approx 12 mins.)
This Close to Nothing (DV, 2000, 14 mins.)
     Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival. The Headhunter's Sister (BetaSP, DigiBeta, 35mm, 1996, 96 mins.)
     Premiered at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Awards: Grand Jury Prize Ð Florida Film Festival, Jury Prize Ð Seattle International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize Ð Bangkok International Film Festival, Audience Award Ð Long Island Film Festival.
The Lost Words (Hi8, BetaSP, 16mm, 1993, 87 mins.)
     Distributed Theatrically in the US by Headliner Releasing. Aired on German Television in April 1995. Silver Medal Award, International Festival of Cinema, Portugal, First Feature Award, Suffolk Film Festival, Munich Film Festival.
The Beating Chamber (Hi8 Video, 16mm, 1991, 7 min.)
     Bucks County Film Festival Award Winner. Aired on German TV in 1995.
Fast Food (Hi8 Video, 1990, 22 min.)
     Athens Film and Video Festival
McGarrett's Aesthetics of Murder (16mm Film, 1990, 2 min.)
     Commissioned for Ridge Theater's Opera "The Manson Family," performed at Lincoln Center in July 1990.
Where I'm Coming From (Hi8 Video, 1990, 5 min.)
Dedicated Underground (Hi8 Video, 1989, 9 min.)
Missing Home (Video, 1989, 11 min.)
Political Spots (Video, 1989, 3 min.)
     Six piece series made with Chris Burke. Part of the "Raiding the Archives" video release.
The Man Who Invented the Twinkie (16mm, 1989, 30 min.)
     Made with Karl Nussbaum. Sao Paulo Short Film Festival. Hirschhorn Museum.
The Next Modern World (Video, 1988, 12 min.)
     Hamburg No-Budget Film Festival . Part of "Raiding the Archives"
The Jack Benny Program (Video and 16mm film, 12 min, 1988)
     Made for the Ridge Theater opera "The Jack Benny Program."
The Thunder of Airplanes (Video, 1988, 11 min.)
     Part of "Raiding the Archives"
Coney Island (Super 8, 1988, 3 min.)
Falls (Super 8, 1988, 3 min.)
The Williamsburg Bridge (Super 8, 1988, 3 min.)
The Walls (Super 8, 1988, 3 min.)
Love and Industry (16mm, 1987, 16 min.)
     Honorable Mention in the Kenyon Film Festival.

Variety's Ten Digital Directors to Watch List Ð April 2000
Creative Capital Foundation GrantÐ January 2000
MacDowell Colony Fellow Ð Jan-Feb 2000
Sundance Institute Fellow Ð 1999 Sundance Screenwriters Lab
Someone to Watch Award Ð 1998 Independent Spirit Awards

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