| Esther Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 1992 - present |
| Website | |
| Esther Bell | |
Esther Bell is an American film director. Her two feature films, Godass and Exist, have received critical acclaim in The New York Times and Variety for their tones of social and political relevance.[1]
Godass (2000), starring Julianne Nicholson, Fred Schneider of the B-52's, and Tina Holmes, won numerous festival awards and tells the story of a young punk girl with a gay father. The film's non-pedantic perspective addressed gay parenting and how it can affect the people involved.
Exist [2] (2004) was written and performed by Ben Bartlett and Nic Mevoli, with a notable appearance by TV on the Radio lead singer Tunde Adebimpe. It received critical acclaim due to its incisive look into young activists' lives. Particularly relevant to a post-9/11 generation of activists, the film has been screened in festivals around the world, including the International Rotterdam Film Festival. In July 2007, Exist was acquired by "dangerous films" distributor HALO 8 Entertainment. Halo-8 has the film slated for an October 30, 2007 DVD release.
In addition to her feature films, Bell regularly directs for television [3] and has been featured in Andrea Richard's book Girl Director.
Bell was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in South Carolina. She began her career as the creator and editor of an underground political magazine, which was distributed throughout the South.
Bell's first documentary, Mark of an Amateur won an award from TLC (The Leaning Channel). Before embarking upon her feature film career after college, Bell shot several successful short films, including PURPLE JESUS, which screened as part of the Nuyorican's Fifth Night Series and the Women in the Director's Chair International Festival. Currently, Bell is in development on her third feature, "Flaming Heterosexual Female," based upon her original screenplay.
While attending college in New York, Esther lost close friends to both heroin and AIDS. Her experiences led her behind the lens where she would create two public service announcements: Ashley, about heroin addiction, and Sexually Explicit Material, addressing HIV prevention. Ashley received an honorary award from President Bill Clinton for its subsequent initiation of a national campaign against heroin addiction during the mid-nineties.