Donald Ranvaud

Donald Ranvaud (born (1953-12-05)December 5, 1953 in Florence, Italy) is a British film producer and film journalist.

He has had producing roles on a number of Oscar-nominated films including The Constant Gardener (2005),^[1] City of God^[2] (2002), Central Station^[3] (1998) and Farewell My Concubine^[4] (1993). He is now best known for his work in the Latin American film industry, especially in Brazil and Bolivia.

Early career

From 1976-88, Ranvaud taught at the University of Warwick (English and comparative literature) and the University of East Anglia (film studies) and also at the College of South Wales (film theory). During this time he also worked as a freelance journalist for MFB, Sight and Sound, The Guardian, La Repubblica, Cahiers du cinéma and American Film, as well as founding the independent cinema and media magazine Framework, which he edited until 1988.^[5] He published several books on Italian cinema and directed documentary items for C4 magazine programmes and RAI 1, including portraits of Paul Schrader, Raul Ruiz, Cui Jian, Laurie Anderson and David Mamet.

In 1988 he established the European Script fund with Renee Goddard as part of the MEDIA Programme of the Commission of the European Community, where he stayed on for 18 months, during which time the Media Programme was fully integrated into EC policy.

Film Production

Since 1989 he has worked as a producer full-time, working with directors and in countries that would soon become prominent in the world of independent film: in China from 1989 to 1993, he produced Life on a String^[6] and Farewell My Concubine;^[4] in Latin America from 1994 to present, he produced Central do Brasil,^[3] Familia Rodante,^[7] Xango, Lavoura Arcaica, Babilonia 2000, Madame Sata, and City of God,^[2] garnering a total of 12 Oscar nominations. He was also executive producer on The Constant Gardener by Fernando Meirelles in Kenya.

Alongside productions, he managed sales at Videofilmes, Bouquet Multimedia and Sogepaq as well as helping to set up Wild Bunch.

As Buena Onda's^[8] Creative Director since 2003, Donald has continued to discover filmmakers, helping them to access world markets. He is an ambassador for Latin American cinema, setting up joint ventures with Cinergia in Costa Rica for Centro America, and with the Puerto Rico Film Fund. After establishing the film school La Fabrica with Roberto Lanza in Cochabamba, Bolivia, he has recently set up an Institute for 2nd features, theatre and cinema (Artes Andes Americas), together with Cesar Brie's Teatro de los Andes in Yotala, Bolivia.

Since early 2005, first as Head of International Relations with Rain Networks, Brasil,^[9] and later independently, he has focused on what he considers to be the central question for the future of a possible cinema - a cost effective distribution platform that becomes the new digital paradigm for the fruition of the cinema that matters.

Filmography

References