Shawn christensen, the writer, director and actor behind oscarwinning short film curfew, will release sofia so far, a fulllength version of the films central song, on april 23. Shawn christian biography affair, in relation, nationality, salary, net worth, height married biography who is shawn christian. Curfew by shawn christensen 2012 usa 19m written and directed by shawn christensen for himself to star in, curfew won the academy award for best short film in 20. Shawn christensen, director of the 20 academy award nominated live action short, curfew. Christensen s short film the year before, and finding the right guy to shoot curfew was paramount. With shawn christensen, fatima ptacek, kim allen, dana segal. Before i disappear, from shawn christensens academy award winning short film curfew 2012, tells the story of a suicidal, drugaddicted uncle richie christensen, his precocious, temperamental niece sophia fatima ptacek, and their kaleidoscopic, lifeaffirming odyssey through the nocturnal new york city underworld. After graduating, he formed indie rock band stellastarr and, while on tour, wrote and sold many screenplays, including sidney hall fox searchlight and karma coalition warner bros. In 20, he won the academy award for best live action short film. The short is the basis for a feature film which premiered at sxsw 2014 titled before i disappear. Life and neardeath in new york, in 19 incredible minutes. Apr 04, 20 shawn christensen, the writer, director and actor behind oscarwinning short film curfew, will release sofia so far, a fulllength version of the films central song, on april 23.
Meet shawn christensen, writerdirectorstar of oscar. Curfew, a short written and directed by shawn christensen. Shawn christensen on the inspiration and luck that led him to fatima ptacek, and curfew. Christensen was the frontman of the indie rock band stellastarr. Jeremy has been in love with his best friend, evelyn, since before he can remember. The only time i want to make short films is when im confident of the first minute, shawn christensen tells me just minutes after our own conversation began. The film won the oscar for best live action short film at the 85th academy awards. He formed the indie rock band stellastarr in 2002, signing with rca records.
Shawn christensen musician, filmmaker, procrastinator cineshawn dreamsick. I remember watching the short film and simply being captivated by its portrayal of ugly yet realistic characters in a seamy environment, so much so that i called it a wonderful exercise in style, emotion, human interaction, and existential purpose. Christensens short film the year before, and finding the right guy to shoot curfew was paramount. Shawn christensen graduated from pratt institute with a bfa in illustration and. Only 19 minutes long, curfew, a short film by writerdirectoractor shawn christensen, is a dark and redemptive tale about a junkie guy christensen charged with babysitting his 11yearold niece fatima ptacek over the course of one long chaotic evening. His talent is on display, but unfortunately the film is too uneven on the whole to truly find a wider audience beyond those who enjoyed the short film version of this story, curfew. Nov 04, 2018 this narrative twist inspired the ending of my own film when my two characters, lisa and phoebe, are revealed to have been best friends in the past. Shawn is best known for soap operas such as as the world turns and days of our lives. In 20, he won the academy award for best live action short film for. Shawn christensen, the writer, director and actor behind oscarwinning short film curfew, will release sophia so far, a fulllength version of. Before i disappear was birthed from director shawn christensens 20 short film curfew, which won best live action short film at the academy awards that year. Shawn christensen, curfew best live action short duration. Written and directed by shawn christensen for himself to star in, curfew won the academy award for best short film in 20.
Apr 10, 20 the full length version of sophia, so far featured in the oscar winning short curfew. Shawn christensen graduated from pratt institute with a bfa in illustration and graphic design. Apr 04, 20 shawn christensen, the writer, director and actor behind oscarwinning short film curfew, will release sophia so far, a fulllength version of the films central song, on april 23. The former of the two, i was fortunate enough to work on.
Starring, directed by, written by, and even partially composed by shawn christensen. Formerly, he was the frontman of the indie rock band stellastarr. The film won the oscar for best live action short film at the 85th academy awards the short is the basis for a feature film which premiered at sxsw 2014 titled before i disappear. Shawn christensen to write the man from nowhere redo for dimension films.
Christensen on the freedom he found with the oscarnominated short. Both films tell the story of the suicidal richie and his elevenyear old niece, sophia. Dec 15, 2019 shawn christensen is an american musician, filmmaker, and artist. In 20, he won the academy award for best live action short film for his 2012 short film curfew. Aug 31, 2019 shawn christensen biography affair, married, wife, nationality, net worth married biography who is shawn christensen. Shawn christensen is a filmmaker, musician and painter. Watch the trailer for directorwriter shawn christensen new film the vanishing of. Shawn christensen to write the man from nowhere redo for. After watching curfew, its easy to see why this won the academy award for best liveaction short film, as shawn christensens dramatic effort has terrific technical execution, clever writing, and great performances throughout. Before i disappear 2014 directed by shawn christensen. Leading the pack in the race for the best liveaction short oscar is hollywood screenwriter shawn christensens gritty 19minute curfew, which stars the multihyphenate as suicidal new yorker richie who babysits for his nineyearold neice sophia. Instead, each time a short film closes, i roll my eyes and say, here comes another anecdote about when he won the oscar, and then it breaks right into the next film.
Absolutely loved the symbolism of the oldschool landline red rotarydial telephone. This narrative twist inspired the ending of my own film when my two characters, lisa and phoebe, are revealed to have been best friends in the past. Sophia, so far full song from curfew short film hd youtube. Now he is going the filmmaker path, creating short film gems such as this one, and selling feature screenplays. He won the oscar award for the best short film in the live action. Shawn christensen biography affair, married, wife, nationality, net worth married biography who is shawn christensen. Jamie foxx and kerry washington presenting shawn christensen with the oscar for best live action short for curfew at the 20 oscars. Today, were running an interview with live action short film nominee shawn christensen of curfew shawn christensen writes, directs and stars in the oscarnominated short film curfew. The full length version of sophia, so far featured in the oscar winning short curfew. Hes filled a bathtub with water, written a suicide note to his exgirlfriend, vista, and is in the process of slitting his wrists with a razor. Shawn christensen directs a fulllength version of the 2012 oscar winning short film curfew with his latest offering called before i disappear serving as the writer, director, and star of the film, shawn christensen is front and center playing a petty criminal and junky named richie. In less than a quarter of an hour, shawn christensen tells this tale of despair, love, forgiveness and redemption, all juxtaposed against the background a toofast, disconnected and jaded world. An interview with shawn christensen movie mezzanine.
In 20, he won the oscar for best live action short film for his short film, curfew. Curfew shawn christensen, 2012 is easily my favourite of the exam board short films i have watched so far and equally the most relevant to my coursework due to stylistic and thematic choices. Art department mark register charles breton sonia mandelbaum. You can do it that way, but people will turn it offtheir attention span becomes shorter just by. Feb 15, 20 leading the pack in the race for the best liveaction short oscar is hollywood screenwriter shawn christensens gritty 19minute curfew, which stars the multihyphenate as suicidal new. Before i disappear is the feature length version of the academy award winning short film curfew.
He attended pratt institute and earned his bachelor of fine arts in illustration and graphic design. Filmmaker shawn christensen adapts his oscarwinning short film curfew into the featurelength before i disappear, in which he also stars. Vimeo sat down with brink and curfew filmmaker shawn christensen to dig into all things filmmaking, from exploring the nuances of writing. Age, family, siblings, parents, ethnicity, nationality shawn was born. Focus shawn christensen in lexus short films on vimeo. Actor with short films, you have to grab people immediately. Not only the cameras, but also the settings make this short flim worth watching. Shawn christensen is an american filmmaker, musician, and artist.
The short film that arguably had the biggest impact on my own is curfew shawn christensen, 2012 as my presentation of two. He is famous as the frontman of the indie rock and stellastarr and an academy award winner age year, parents, siblings, family, ethnicity christensen was born in poughkeepsie, new york, united states. Why produce a 120minute movie, when a riveting tale could be told in 19minutes. A look at the fulllength version of the 2012 oscar winning film curfew. Shawn christensen is an american musician, filmmaker, and artist. Curfew is an atypical representation of not only a male protagonist but a companionship between a child and an adult who are not direct family.
Again, the films in this selection are amazing, but the host through no fault of his own is a real distraction from them. Shawn christensen director, writer, actor, wrote a song for the movie is what drew me to the. After graduating from ferris state university in big rapids, michigan in 1989 with a degree in marketing, he moved to chicago to pursue an acting career. Christensen is a musician, actor, screenwriter he wrote the script for the taylor lautner vehicle abduction, and graphic designer. Shawn christensen is a musician, filmmaker, and artist.
Nov 14, 2019 shawn christensen is an american filmmaker, musician, and artist. Age, family, siblings, parents, ethnicity, nationality shawn was born in. Richie is at a low point in his life when he gets a call from his estranged sister asking him to look. Shawn graduated from pratt institute for illustration and graphic design before opting for the rockstar path, forming the band stellastar. I remember watching the short film and simply being captivated by its portrayal of ugly yet realistic characters in a seamy environment, so much so that i called it a wonderful. He started writing screenplays while simultaneously fronting the successful indie rock band stellarstarr. That move into screenwriting landed shawn a number of. Production assistants brenden hubbard albert irizarry. Shawn christensen on the inspiration and luck that led him to. Jul 16, 2019 curfew shawn christensen, 2012 is easily my favourite of the exam board short films i have watched so far and equally the most relevant to my coursework due to stylistic and thematic choices. Employed an unusual post production technique known as a film intermediate. In a feature film, you can hang around for 20 minutes and seduce people into your film.
Shawn christensen to release song from oscarwinning short. Produced by damon russell mara kassin andrew napier. Feb 16, 20 today, were running an interview with live action short film nominee shawn christensen of curfew shawn christensen writes, directs and stars in the oscarnominated short film curfew. If i can come up with something thats really intriguing in the first minute of the film, then i feel like ill have my bearings to continue on after that. He won the oscar awar for the best short film, live action category in 20. Age, parents, siblings, family, ethnicity, nationality, and education reflecting on his.
Shawn christensen on the inspiration and luck that led him. Winner of the 20 academy award, curfew tells the story of richie, who at the lowest point of his life gets a call from his estranged sister asking him to look after his nineyear old niece, sophia, for a few hours. This stylish and poignantly uplifting tragicomedy, which was hailed by. Stream both curfew short film and culdesac short film on amazon today. Curfew is a 2012 short film directed by shawn christensen.
Nov 28, 2014 before i disappear was birthed from director shawn christensen s 20 short film curfew, which won best live action short film at the academy awards that year. Dec 12, 2014 before i disappear is a solid entry from shawn christensen, and hell be someone to watch in the coming years to see if he breaks into more mainstream fare. Shawn christensen to release song from curfew hollywood. Curfew is an atypical representation of not only a male protagonist but a companionship between a child and an adult who are. I also recommend before i disappear, the featurelength indie film this spawned. Shawn christensen the oscarwinning writerdirector shawn christensen says that it is the craft that holds him back in the film industry. Dec 16, 2019 shawn christensen is an american filmmaker. In 2011, his short film, brink, was an official selection at the tribeca film festival. Get your team aligned with all the tools you need on one secure, reliable video platform. Leading the pack in the race for the best liveaction short oscar is hollywood screenwriter shawn christensens gritty 19minute curfew, which stars the multihyphenate as suicidal new.
He worked on stage with improvisational company improv olympic in 1994, he was the first male spokesman on star search. Production designers nina isabella chanel mitchell. Shawn was born in poughkeepsie, new york, united states. Photo by christopher gabello recovering heroin addict richie is ready to end his life. English curfew is a 2012 short film directed by shawn christensen.
After watching curfew, its easy to see why this won the academy award for best liveaction short film, as shawn christensen s dramatic effort has terrific technical execution, clever writing, and great performances throughout. Shawn christensen, the writer, director and actor behind oscarwinning short film curfew, will release sophia so far, a fulllength version of the films central song, on april 23. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. After a move upstate, christensen found himself both comforted and unsettled by the quiet beauty of his neighborhood. How oscarnominated shawn christensen edited his film on a. He is a graduate of pratt institute, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts in illustration and graphic design. Curfew, also starring the talented child actor fatima ptacek, was written as a proof of concept for the feature film, before i disappear, which was released in 2014. Director shawn christensen who has helmed projects such as the vanishing of sidney hall 2018 and the academy awardwinning short film curfew 2012 talks about his longtime friend, the vampire. Curfew, also starring child actor fatima ptacek, was written as a proof of concept for the feature film, before i disappear.