Nir Bashan
- Director
- Writer
- Sound Department
Nir Bashan was born in the northern port town of Haifa in Israel. His
family migrated to the United States when he was young and he quickly
became engulfed in American culture, art, and most specifically, music.
High school was filled with music. He met with musicians from all over Los Angeles in an attempt to try and form a network that would focus on sound as a means to tell a story. Later, he decided to attend the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to further his study of music.
While at U.S.C., Bashan established relationships with many talented musicians and although at a momentous creative peak, he felt as if something were missing. Music was simply not driving his incessant desire to tell unique stories and he began to entertain the thought of melding moving pictures with music.
Soon after graduating with a Bachelor degree in Audio Engineering, he decided to embark on his first film, Falling Rue (2000). This film achieved critical success at prestigious film festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand in France, and domestic festivals such as the Memphis Film Forum, Cleveland International Film Festival and The Rochester International Film Festival.
After this success, Bashan quickly decided to follow up with a comedy short which focused on thorough characterization and comedic timing as a way to test his versatility and flexibility as a filmmaker. _Last Call (2002/III)_ was one of the only shorts to be screened at the 2002 American Film Market in Santa Monica, which set up another successful run on the film festival circuit.
The beginning of 2003 marked his third short, called The Good Book (2003). So far, it has proven to be his most successful venture. Receiving critical acclaim internationally at such festivals like Fike-Evora in Portugal and Cinekid in The Netherlands, and from Blue Sky International Film Festival in Las Vegas and CMJ Music Marathon in New York, the film has managed to captivate audiences worldwide. The film has garnered such wide interest, ranging from a feature film script for actress Hilary Duff, and a pending commercial sale to SVT, Swedish Television.
Bashan now believes that feature film making is the next logical step. "I feel that a lot of the new films that are being made today lack a certain respect for the past", he says. "I believe that film is an art form that not only exists in the physical environment of sound and image, but in the cerebral environment of the mind."
He hopes to tap into past filmmakers like Wilder and Hitchcock who have managed to capture audiences, not by special effects or bloated budgets, but by a refined approach to the art of storytelling. "I feel that a lot of films today are earmarked with chicanery and hype, things that make for a good marketing campaign, but hardly for good film." He hopes that through his feature work he can fully realize his potential as a writer/director by collaborative work with talented subjects and situations.
"I want to make films that inspire us on the most primal and immediate urges. The urge to love, hate, cry and smile are the tools that I seek to craft a cinematic experience based on the human soul. I am very interested in the character and the story, and the relation that they have to both each other and their world. I am very interested in not only the film itself, but what happens in the minutes, hours and days after one views the piece. I try to create an environment in my films where the suspension of disbelief is overshadowed by the audience actually relating to and believing that the situations presented on the screen are them." He hopes to weave a legacy of wonderful films that are both culturally and emotionally rewarding, as well as commercially successful.
Currently, Bashan is in post-production with his new yet untitled feature Documentary about the life of a chef. He is also in the process of completing a script upon commission, and is finishing a Masters degree in film.
High school was filled with music. He met with musicians from all over Los Angeles in an attempt to try and form a network that would focus on sound as a means to tell a story. Later, he decided to attend the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to further his study of music.
While at U.S.C., Bashan established relationships with many talented musicians and although at a momentous creative peak, he felt as if something were missing. Music was simply not driving his incessant desire to tell unique stories and he began to entertain the thought of melding moving pictures with music.
Soon after graduating with a Bachelor degree in Audio Engineering, he decided to embark on his first film, Falling Rue (2000). This film achieved critical success at prestigious film festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand in France, and domestic festivals such as the Memphis Film Forum, Cleveland International Film Festival and The Rochester International Film Festival.
After this success, Bashan quickly decided to follow up with a comedy short which focused on thorough characterization and comedic timing as a way to test his versatility and flexibility as a filmmaker. _Last Call (2002/III)_ was one of the only shorts to be screened at the 2002 American Film Market in Santa Monica, which set up another successful run on the film festival circuit.
The beginning of 2003 marked his third short, called The Good Book (2003). So far, it has proven to be his most successful venture. Receiving critical acclaim internationally at such festivals like Fike-Evora in Portugal and Cinekid in The Netherlands, and from Blue Sky International Film Festival in Las Vegas and CMJ Music Marathon in New York, the film has managed to captivate audiences worldwide. The film has garnered such wide interest, ranging from a feature film script for actress Hilary Duff, and a pending commercial sale to SVT, Swedish Television.
Bashan now believes that feature film making is the next logical step. "I feel that a lot of the new films that are being made today lack a certain respect for the past", he says. "I believe that film is an art form that not only exists in the physical environment of sound and image, but in the cerebral environment of the mind."
He hopes to tap into past filmmakers like Wilder and Hitchcock who have managed to capture audiences, not by special effects or bloated budgets, but by a refined approach to the art of storytelling. "I feel that a lot of films today are earmarked with chicanery and hype, things that make for a good marketing campaign, but hardly for good film." He hopes that through his feature work he can fully realize his potential as a writer/director by collaborative work with talented subjects and situations.
"I want to make films that inspire us on the most primal and immediate urges. The urge to love, hate, cry and smile are the tools that I seek to craft a cinematic experience based on the human soul. I am very interested in the character and the story, and the relation that they have to both each other and their world. I am very interested in not only the film itself, but what happens in the minutes, hours and days after one views the piece. I try to create an environment in my films where the suspension of disbelief is overshadowed by the audience actually relating to and believing that the situations presented on the screen are them." He hopes to weave a legacy of wonderful films that are both culturally and emotionally rewarding, as well as commercially successful.
Currently, Bashan is in post-production with his new yet untitled feature Documentary about the life of a chef. He is also in the process of completing a script upon commission, and is finishing a Masters degree in film.
