Justin Swibel
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Justin David Swibel (born April 1, 1983) is an award-winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter whose short film "Fault" won First Place in the student narrative category of the 2004 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Subsequently, Swibel was invited to show "Fault" at the Festival De Cannes 2005, where he was one of the youngest individuals ever to be recognized at the Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. Swibel is the Producer/Writer/Director/Editor/Cinematographer of "Modern Man," his feature film debut, which held theatrical runs in Los Angeles in Winter 2006 and in New York City in Spring 2007.
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[edit] Education
In December 2004, Swibel earned a BFA in Film/TV Production from New York University's Tisch School of The Arts. Previously, Swibel graduated from Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois.
[edit] Career
Swibel was involved with filmmaking at a young age. As a high school student, he made the 50-minute short "Free Time" on 3/4 inch tape and edited it at his town's local cable access station. The story followed a group of young teens determined to expose an illegal prostitution ring operating behind the pleasant facade of suburbia. In 2002, after completing his freshman year at NYU's Tisch School of The Arts Undergraduate Film/TV division, Swibel co-wrote, directed, and produced "Sunset Town," a 25-minute short about a small-town police chief's descent into madness. "Sunset Town" premiered at the Lake Placid Film Forum as a centerpiece short in May 2003. Canada's AntiMatter Film Festival called "Sunset Town" a "dark and brilliant farce." In July 2003, Swibel co-wrote, directed, and edited his second short film, the critically acclaimed "Fault," which ultimately screened at the Festival De Cannes 2005, Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase.
[edit] Film Style
Swibel's influences include Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman, Steven Spielberg, Joel & Ethan Coen, and Paul Thomas Anderson.
[edit] Press
"Modern Man" (2006, Justin Swibel) TRT: 61 min, 35mm, Color, Dolby Digital
"Mr. Swibel's style is so assured...the film's rhythms are so precise...you'll leave the theater seeing the world with fresh eyes." - Matt Zoller Seitz - THE NEW YORK TIMES
Recognition: Official Selection, 20th Annual Dallas Video Festival (2007)
"Fault" (2003, Justin Swibel) TRT: 15 min, 35mm, Color, Dolby Digital
"Fault" is one of the most impressive, disturbing, and poignant shorts that I have seen in years. We can count on Justin Swibel as a talent of the New American Cinema." - Antonio Monda, Film Critic - THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
"Fault" not only entertains and provokes with its fun, almost troubling humor, it is also a pleasant and alluring film visually. If not for the intense rage and aggression between the child and his instructor that makes John McEnroe look like a good sport, the film makes you want to hop on the court, seemingly in the middle of heaven, and play all day in the California sun." - Scott Robertson - BLOCK MAGAZINE
"This is a spare, haunting short film, from its memorable opening scene to its disturbing conclusion. "Fault" is animated by a series of rich symbolic and cinematic tensions that the director evokes through a visual language that is at once modern and archetypal." - Phillip Mitsis - Fellow, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF HUMANITIES
"[Fault" is] an accurate study in rage and its necessary rise to the surface. Splendid music...beautiful photography...an uncommonly brave performance by Josh Podoris. Masterful." - N.P. Thompson - MOVIESINTOFILM.com
"Visually reminiscent of "La Piscine" and French thrillers of the early 1970s, "Fault" uses a California setting and the simple boundaries of the tennis court to create a film as beautiful as it is tense." - Swiss American Film Festival
"A mordantly funny and deeply disturbing film." -Antimatter Festival of Underground Short Film And Video
Awards: •1st PLACE, KODAK STUDENT FILM COMPETITION, Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (2004) •BEST SHORT FILM, Eerie Horror Film Festival (2004) •BEST DRAMA, Roswell Film Festival (2004) •BEST SHORT FILM, Appalachian Film Festival (2004) •BEST PICTURE, Billyburg Short Film Festival (2004)
