Matthew Lessner Explained

Matthew Lessner
Birth Place:Walnut Creek, California
Nationality:American
Occupation:Filmmaker
Notable Works:Chapel Perilous, The Woods, By Modern Measure, Darling Darling, Automatic at Sea

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

Biography

Born in Walnut Creek, California,[2] Lessner was raised in Roseburg, Oregon, where he attended Roseburg High School.[3] [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.[3] [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]

In January 2023 Lessner's interactive neurofeedback exhibition Hyacinthe opened as a solo exhibition at SKF/Konstnärshuset in Stockholm, Sweden. [33]

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.[34] [35] He also directed the video Fool's Gold's "Surprise Hotel".[36]

Web

Lessner directed and produced several videos for BBC Collective with bands including Black Dice and The Fiery Furnaces.[37] [38] [39]

In 2011, Lessner created and directed the web series "Make a Friend" for the French website Konbini.[40] [41] [42]

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[43] [44] 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.[45] [46] Additionally he directed the music video for Ainsworth's single Malachite, which Stereogum voted video of the week in June 2014.[47] [48] [43] [49]

Lessner has collaborated with Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw who contributed a cover of Neil Young's 'Thrasher' to the soundtrack for The Woods.[50] In 2009 they released Sun Araw featuring Matthew LessnerIn Orbit through Stunned Records.[51]

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.[52]

Other work

Lessner directed the trailer for Ottessa Moshfegh's 2022 novel Lapvona.[53]

Lessner starred as an actor in the Mia Hansen-Løve film Bergman Island which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.[54]

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.[55]

Lessner's photographs have been featured in multiple publications including The Sun Magazine and The Wire (magazine).[56] [57]

In the spring of 2008 Lessner worked as an intern for syndicated news program Democracy Now![58]

Filmography

YearTitleFormat
2005Darling DarlingShort Film
2007By Modern MeasureShort Film
2011The WoodsFeature Film
2013Chapel PerilousShort Film
2017Automatic at SeaFeature Film
(unknown)Terror TuesdayFeature Film
2020SAINT Y2KFine Art (Interactive)
2021The PositionEpisodic (Pilot)

Music videos

YearSong TitleBandLabel
2009"Set in Stone"Fires of RomeThe Hours Records
2009"Set in Stone" M83 RemixFires of RomeThe Hours Records
2009"Stillness is the Move"Dirty ProjectorsDomino Records
2009"Surprise Hotel"Fool's GoldIAMSOUND Records
2009"Last Dance"The RaveonettesVice Records
2009"Early Warnings"Foreign BornSecretly Canadian
2010"Forgive Me"Le LoupHardly Art
2010"World News"Local NativesFrenchkiss Records
2010"Neverest"Hey ChampTownie Records
2012"Marathon Runner"Yellow OstrichBarsuk Records
2014"Solo Wallet Shuffle"Sun ArawDrag City
2014"Malachite"Lydia AinsworthArbutus
2024"Take My Picture (Mops Out Mix)"RegularfantasyBehave!

Other

YearSubjectTitleFormat
2010Dirty Projectors + BjörkMount Wittenberg Orca I, II, III, V VIAlbum Trailers
2011Explosions in the Sky"Last Known Surroundings"Video Installation
2022Ottessa Moshfegh"Lapvona"Novel Trailer[59]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CHAMPIS SOLUTIONS IN ANTICIPATION OF THE UNEXPECTED – PHASE TWO. Nevvengallery.com.
  2. Web site: Matthew Lessner. IMDb.
  3. News: RHS Grad to film locally. Pallone, Cara. July 31, 2008. The News-Review. 18 October 2009.
  4. Web site: Utopia Unplugged. August 1, 2008. Film Stew. 18 October 2009.
  5. Web site: Dodge College alumni make Sundance debut. Ftv.chapman.edu. April 1, 2023.
  6. Web site: Darling Darling (2005) - IMDb. IMDb.
  7. Web site: Darling Darling. Everleth, Mike. August 16, 2007. Underground Film Journal. 18 October 2009.
  8. Web site: Wolphin No. 6. Wolphin: A DVD Magazine of Unseen Films. 18 October 2009.
  9. Web site: 39e Festival International du Court Métrage. Clermont-filmfest.com.
  10. Web site: Film Screening – By Modern Measure . March 2007 . . 18 October 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081007232500/http://2007.sxsw.com/film/screenings/film/F6890.html . October 7, 2008 .
  11. Web site: By Modern Measure (2006) - IMDb. IMDb.
  12. Web site: Film Screening – By Modern Measure. January 2008. Sundance Film Festival. 18 October 2009.
  13. Web site: 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. April 1, 2023.
  14. http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/14045/chapel_perilous
  15. Web site: Sundance Festival Award Winners | Sundance Film Festival . 29 July 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140727200325/https://www.sundance.org/festival/stories/award-winners/ . July 27, 2014 .
  16. Web site: Chapel Perilous | Stockholm Film Festival . December 30, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140814075026/http://www.stockholmfilmfestival.se/en/festival/2013/film/chapel_perilous . August 14, 2014 . dead .
  17. Web site: Chapel Perilous. Vimeo.com.
  18. Web site: Film Screening – The Woods. December 2010. Sundance Film Festival. 3 December 2010.
  19. News: SUNDANCE: How 'The Woods' ' Unique Financing Model Could Shake Up the Festival. The Hollywood Reporter . Daniel . Miller .
  20. Web site: The Woods . 29 June 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110625075123/http://bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3268 . June 25, 2011 .
  21. Web site: The Woods - Cologne Conference 2011 . September 27, 2011 . October 8, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111008025238/http://www.cologne-conference.de/en/reception/sections/look/the-woods/ . dead .
  22. http://sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=22,37&pageid=2348
  23. http://sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=22,37&pageid=2927
  24. Web site: Secret Pizza, #pizzagate and Hyperreality: How My Film About Alternate Realities Was Swept into One. Filmmakermagazine.com. January 17, 2017.
  25. Web site: 'Automatic at Sea' Trailer: A Vacation Turns Sinister [Exclusive]. Theplaylist.net.
  26. Web site: MEMORY Presents: Matthew Lessner's AUTOMATIC AT SEA. Memory.is.
  27. Web site: MovieMaker Magazine: The Art and Craft of Making Movies. Moviemaker.com. January 26, 2023 .
  28. Web site: 2022 SXSW Film Festival Lineup. Sxsw.com.
  29. Web site: Nevven Gallery . January 19, 2017 . February 2, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004519/http://nevvengallery.com/champis.html . dead .
  30. Web site: Beviljade projekt 2018:2. Konstnarsnamnden.se. April 1, 2023.
  31. Web site: Dimensions / Of Possibility. Nevvengallery.com.
  32. Web site: Saint Y2K. C-print.se. January 18, 2021.
  33. https://konstnarshuset.org/utstallningar/matthew-lessner/
  34. Web site: Director's Cut: Dirty Projectors: "Stillness is the Move". Breihan, Tom. Pitchfork. July 16, 2009. 18 October 2009.
  35. Web site: Best Music Video 2009. Stereogum.com. December 7, 2009.
  36. Web site: Video Premiere: Fool's Gold: "Surprise Hotel" (New Version). Breihan, Tom. Pitchfork. September 24, 2009. 18 October 2009.
  37. Web site: BBC - Home. BBC. April 1, 2023.
  38. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Black Dice studio tour for BBC Collective . YouTube.
  39. Web site: BBC - Home. BBC. April 1, 2023.
  40. Web site: Make a friend - Michaeln. Konbini.bom. June 2012 .
  41. Web site: Make a friend - Ethan. Konbini.bom. June 2012 .
  42. Web site: Make a friend – Vivian. June 1, 2012. Konbini.com. April 1, 2023.
  43. Web site: Right from Real - Lydia Ainsworth | Songs, Reviews, Credits. AllMusic.
  44. Web site: Listen to "Hologram" by Lydia Ainsworth. Pitchfork.
  45. Web site: 2015 Juno Nominees Announced . Exclaim.ca. April 1, 2023.
  46. Web site: Winners + Nominees. Junoawards.ca. April 1, 2023.
  47. News: Lydia Ainsworth. Pitchfork.
  48. Web site: Album of the Week: Lydia Ainsworth Right from Real. Stereogum.com. September 30, 2014.
  49. Web site: Lydia Ainsworth – "Malachite" Video. Stereogum.com. June 10, 2014.
  50. Web site: Exclusive: Listen to Sun Araw's Neil Young Cover 'Thrasher' from Sundance Film 'The Woods' | the Playlist . November 10, 2012 . August 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120813135738/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/listen_sun_araws_neil_young_cover_thrasher_from_sundance_film_the_woods . dead .
  51. Web site: Sun Araw featuring Matthew Lessner – in Orbit (2009, C30, Cassette). Discogs.
  52. Web site: Stunned records. Stunnedrecords.blogspot.de. April 1, 2023.
  53. Web site: The evolution of Ottessa Moshfegh . ew.com . 2022-06-13 . 2023-12-31.
  54. Web site: Bergman Island (2021) - IMDb. IMDb.
  55. Web site: Secret Pizza, #pizzagate and Hyperreality: How My Film About Alternate Realities Was Swept Into One . Filmmakermagazine.com. January 17, 2017.
  56. Web site: The Sun Magazine | Issue 372 | Contributors. Thesunmagazine.org.
  57. Web site: Listen: Sun Araw's "Roomboe" . Thewire.co.uk.
  58. Web site: Sundance '11: Matthew Lessner Talks About His Edgy, Ambitious Debut Feature 'The Woods' > the Playlist . March 9, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713030101/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/sundance_11_matthew_lessner_talks_debut_feature_the_woods/ . July 13, 2011 . dead .
  59. https://lithub.com/watch-the-insane-book-trailer-for-ottessa-moshfeghs-lapvona/