T. Arthur Cottam

T. Arthur Cottam

Cottam on set of film Objects in 2010
Residence Los Angeles, California
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, and producer
Website
www.misfitfilms.com

T. Arthur Cottam is a screenwriter, actor, producer and film director. A graduate of the Film and Television Production program at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, Cottam resides in Los Angeles, California. He acted in theatre, and received an Artistic Director Achievement Award from the Valley Theatre League for his role in the theatre production Othello as a cast member of Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group. Cottam directed short films along a topical series called "Dirty Little Shorts".

His existential work Pornographic Apathetic deals with four people recounting pornographic film dialog in a state of apathy. Pornographic Apathetic was featured in numerous movie festivals, and received eight film awards as well as critical acclaim. Cottam's film Carbuncle was featured in 2006 at the Milano Film Festival in Italy, and was recognized with a nomination in the category of "Best Feature Film". His 2006 film Filthy Food received the award for "Best Experimental Short Film" at the festival CineKink NYC. Cottam's film 52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs was an entrant in the 2010 International Short Film Festival in Piombino, Italy, and was featured in AFI FEST in the same year.

Education

Cottam graduated from the Film and Television Production program at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University.[1][2] Cottam's thesis work at NYU was titled Beer Goggles, the film received the Best Editing award at the First Run Film Festival and was featured at the Chicago and New York Underground Film Festivals.[3] He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from NYU in 1998.[4]

Career

T. Arthur Cottam at the Florida Film Festival (2007)

T. Arthur Cottam is an actor,[5] and film-maker,[6] based in Los Angeles, California.[7] Cottam was a member of Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group, and performed along with actors Denise Devin and Bernadette Larsen in 2000 in a series of productions titled "Sketches 7: Bury the Hatchet", directed by Zombie Joe and Josh T. Ryan.[8] He continued performing in theatre in Los Angeles in 2001.[9] In 2002, Cottam received an Artistic Director Achievement Award from the Valley Theatre League for his role in the theatre production Othello put on by the Zombie Joe group.[5] Cottam's short films were produced along a topical series titled, "Dirty Little Shorts".[1] His film Pornographic Apathetic debuted in 2002.[10] The existential plot features four individuals (two women and two men) who recreate dialog from pornographic film while in a state of apathy.[10][11][12] Pornographic Apathetic garnered eight film awards, and was featured at more than 50 film festivals.[1]

Pornographic Apathetic received positive reception from journalist Gary Dowell of The Dallas Morning News, who described it as "Especially notable ... an experimental work that strips the mystique from porn".[6] Pornographic Apathetic was selected for inclusion in the Puchon International Fantastic Festival (PiFan) in South Korea; the festival "aims to identify the important elements of fantastic films, such as creativity and popularity".[13] The movie was shown at the Paris Porn Film Fest at the Le Brady cinema, in Paris, France.[14] The film was featured in an exhibit in Vienna, examining the nature of pornography.[15][16] Writing for San Antonio Express-News, Mike Greenberg observed, "T. Arthur Cottam's Pornographic Apathetic is just about the funniest thing I've ever seen. (The excellent actors are mostly clothed, never touch each other and are nearly motionless, but the dialogue is not suitable for children or bluenoses.)"[17] The film was given a favorable review by reporter Robert W. Butler of The Kansas City Star who covered the piece during its presentation at the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee.[18] Butler wrote, "Your ears will burn while watching T. Arthur Cottam's superlative satiric essay on the desensitizing effects of pornography, but you'll also be laughing. ... It's lurid. It's raunchy. It's vile. But all this nasty lubricity is delivered deadpan, a device that deconstructs the whole intention of porn."[18] Marc Mohan reviewed the film during its feature at the Portland International Short Short Film Festival, and wrote that it "makes the most of its one-joke premise".[19] In 2007, The Orlando Sentinel characterized Cottam as a favorite film-maker at the Florida Film Festival.[20] Los Angeles Times journalist Borzou Daragahi cited the film as an example of problems with the adult film industry in an article about a sexual art exhibit; he commented, "The piece makes you laugh while illustrating one of the paradoxes of smut: At its core, it's rather idiotic and boring."[7]

In 2006, Cottam's film Carbuncle competed at the Milano Film Festival, alongside another U.S. film titled The Blood of my Brother by Andrei Berends.[21] Carbuncle received a nomination in the category of "Best Feature Film" at the Milan Film Festival.[22] Cottam's 2006 film Filthy Food was featured in the San Francisco Underground Short Film Festival,[23] and received the award for "Best Experimental Short Film" at the festival CineKink NYC.[1] In 2010, Cottam's film 52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs was an entrant in the International Short Film Festival in Piombino, Italy.[24] It was featured in a section of the International Short Film Festival which included selections of films that were considered "visionary" and contributed a "visual impact" to cinema.[25][26] 52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs was featured in AFI FEST 2010,[27] where Lane Kneedler associate director of programming called it "the most outrageously 'out there' film that we have scheduled".[28] In an interview with Girami, Cottam stated he had intended to direct a feature-length film for some time, and wanted to combine his talents with actors who could improvise in front of the camera.[29] Cottam said he had a great experience working with the actors on the film Carbuncle, and stated he let improvisation be the tool by which the actors could show emotions and create their characters.[29] In September 2010, 52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs was shown at the Black Rock City Film Festival located at the Burning Man site in the Nevada desert.[30]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role
2002 Between Us Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Writer
Beer Goggles Director, Producer, Writer
Pornographic Apathetic Director, Producer, Cinematographer
2006 Carbuncle Director, Executive Producer, Cinematographer, Writer, Actor:

"Director", Composer

Filthy Food Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Writer
2008 Dirty Words: The Letter C Director, Writer, Actor
Je dis non, Ali Co-producer, Cinematographer, Actor: "Le Jongleur"
2010 52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs Director, Executive Producer, Cinematographer, Writer
2012 Laser Blasters Director, Producer
Objects Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Writer
2013 Pollywogs Co-director, Co-producer, Story
2013 The Human Race Actor

Theatre

Year Production Organization Role
2002 Othello Zombie Joe's Underground Actor

Awards and nominations

Year Award Organization Work Category Result
2002 Artistic Director Achievement Award Valley Theatre League Othello; Zombie Joe's Underground Lead Actor, play, comedy Won[5]
Best in film First Run Film Festival Beer Goggles Best editing Won[3][31]
Christopher Wetzel Award Gene Siskel Film Center Pornographic Apathetic Independent Film Comedy Won[32]
2003 Best in film Milano Film Festival Best Short Film Won[33]
Bunny Award Boston Underground Film Festival Most Effectively Offensive Won[33]
2004 10 Degrees Hotter Award Valley Film Festival Best Short Film, Jury Award Won[33]
Audience Award Brooklyn International Film Festival Best Experimental Won[33]
2006 Best in Film Milan Film Festival Carbuncle Best Feature Film Won[22][29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Filmmakers/Cast". Misfit Films presents Carbuncle (www.misfitfilms.com). 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  2. ↑ "Film Details". Film Library (Brooklyn Film Festival). February 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-10. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "T. Arthur Cottam". Sahmmy (sahmmy.com). 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  4. ↑ "Alumni Web Links (TACL)". Tisch School of the Arts at NYU (Tisch School of the Arts of New York University). 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Henerson, Evan (December 4, 2002). "'River', 'Othello' Win ADAs". Los Angeles Daily News. p. U5.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dowell, Gary (July 9, 2004). "What's best at the fest?". The Dallas Morning News. p. 3H; Section: The Movies; Dallas Video Festival.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Daragahi, Borzou (March 25, 2009). "Sexual Imagination on Display". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  8. ↑ Monji, Jana J. (August 25, 2000). "Theater Beat; Details Are Sketchy in 'Sketches 7' Show". Los Angeles Times. p. 26; Section: F, Entertainment.
  9. ↑ Koehler, Robert (May 3, 2001). "Stage Light; Intelligence Comes Out of 'The Box'". Los Angeles Times. p. F34; Section: D.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Midnight Movies". The Orlando Sentinel (Sentinel Communications Co.). February 28, 2003. p. 10; Section: Special section.
  11. ↑ "Welcome to the reel world – Film festival celebrates cinema from mainstream to independent and global to local". The Kansas City Star (The Kansas City Star Co.). April 16, 2004. p. 18; Section: Movie.
  12. ↑ ""The Porn Identity": Hosen runter". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). January 1, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  13. ↑ "Fantastic Movies to Return for PiFan". Korea Times (South Korea: Hankook Ilbo). June 29, 2004.
  14. ↑ "Vu sur le www : Un compas dans l’œil, un script porno, etc". Ecrans (in French) (www.ecrans.fr). October 10, 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  15. ↑ В Вене открыта порновыставка. OpenSpace.ru (in Russian) (www.openspace.ru). March 25, 2009. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  16. ↑ В Вене открылась порновыставка. URAL.ru (in Russian) (www.ural.ru). March 26, 2009. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  17. ↑ Greenberg, Mike (February 4, 2007). "Brave, new world of creative short films emerging on the 'Net". San Antonio Express-News. p. 04J; Section: S.A. Life.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Butler, Robert W. (April 16, 2004). "Top 10 to see at the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee". The Kansas City Star (The Kansas City Star Co.). p. 17.
  19. ↑ Mohan, Marc (October 21, 2005). "Beyond the multiplex a filmgoer's declaration of independents". The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Publishing Co.). p. 42; Section: Arts and Entertainment.
  20. ↑ "Shorts: Competition Shorts". The Orlando Sentinel (Sentinel Communications Co.). March 9, 2007. p. 10; Section: Special section.
  21. ↑ Pipolo, Rosario (September 13, 2006). "Milano Film Festival 2006". Milanodabere.it (in Italian) (www.milanodabere.it). Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 ""Marilena de la P7" a fost numita "Cel mai bun lungmetraj"". HotNews (in Romanian) (www.hotnews.ro). September 27, 2006. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  23. ↑ Leaverton, Michael (August 29, 2007). "Christ Almighty". SF Weekly (San Francisco, California: www.sfweekly.com). Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  24. ↑ "La Video Art si fa strada a Visionaria 2010". Solo News (in Italian) (www.solonews.net). September 20, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  25. ↑ "Al via Visionaria 2010 con Pupi Avati e Isa Barzizza". SienaFree.it (in Italian) (www.sienafree.it). October 14, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  26. ↑ "Visionaria 2010". ExibArt (in Italian) (www.exibart.com). October 23, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  27. ↑ "52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs". Shorts Competition (American Film Institute). 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  28. ↑ Adelman, Kim (November 1, 2010). "AFI FEST 2010: Previewing the Short Film Programming". Indie Wire (www.indiewire.com). Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 "Intervista a T. Arthur CottamIl: regista di Carbuncle si racconta a giraMi". www.girami.it. October 22, 200. Retrieved 2011-02-09. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ↑ Everleth, Mike (August 30, 2010). "2010 Black Rock City Film Festival: Official Lineup". www.badlit.com. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  31. ↑ "Beer Goggles". Mishorts.com (www.mishorts.com). 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  32. ↑ "2003 Shorts". Woodstock Film Festival (www.woodstockfilmfestival). 2002. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Internet Movie Database staff (2011). "Awards for T. Arthur Cottam". Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 2011-02-09.

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