The Filmmakers

Kelly Reichardt – Director and Editor

American landscapes, and narratives of the road are themes that run throughout Kelly Reichardt’s work. MEEK’S CUTOFF, shot on the dry plains of Oregon’s high desert, offers a vision of the earliest days of American frontier culture. WENDY AND LUCY, filmed along the railroad tracks that surround an Oregon suburb, reveals the limits and depths of people’s duty to each other in tough times. Reichardt’s film OLD JOY is an exploration of contemporary liberal masculinity, set in the tamed wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. ODE, a super-8 retelling of the Legend of Billy Joe McAllister, is set around the creeks and underpasses of the rural south. Her first feature, RIVER OF GRASS, was shot in her hometown of Dade County, Florida. Sun-drenched highways, bus stations and dilapidated motels were the denatured setting for this lovers-on-the-run story. Reichardt is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and teaches at Bard College.

Jon Raymond – Writer

Jon Raymond is the author of “The Half-Life,” a novel, and “Livability,” a collection of stories, two of which became the films WENDY AND LUCY and OLD JOY. He is also the co-writer of the forthcoming HBO miniseries MILDRED PIERCE.

Neil Kopp – Producer

Neil Kopp is a producer based in Portland, Oregon. His feature films include Kelly Reichardt’s OLD JOY (2006), WENDY AND LUCY (2008) and MEEK’S CUTOFF (2010). He also produced Gus Van Sant’s PARANOID PARK (2007).

Anish Savjani – Producer

In November 2005, Anish Savjani formed filmscience, an independent film production company. Since its inception, filmscience has produced ten feature films: Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK’S CUTOFF, WENDY AND LUCY and OLD JOY; Joe Swanberg’s ALEXANDER THE LAST, NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS and HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS; Geoff Marslett’s MARS; Bob Byington’s HARMONY AND ME; Spencer Parsons’ I’LL COME RUNNING; and Steve Collins’ GRETCHEN. These films have been nominated by Film Independent for three Spirit Awards. filmscience currently has a number of projects by emerging and established independent filmmakers in production and development, including a new documentary from Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher.

Elizabeth Cuthrell and David Urrutia – Producers

Elizabeth Cuthrell and David Urrutia are co-founders of Evenstar Films. Cuthrell and Urrutia wrote and produced the feature film JESUS’ SON, starring Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton. JESUS’ SON premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, competed in the Venice Film Festival (winner, Little Golden Lion, Ecumenical Award), and went on to the Toronto Film Festival, the London Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, the Paris Film Festival (winner, Best Actor, Billy Crudup), and many others. Cuthrell and Urrutia produced the Off-Broadway premiere of Denis Johnson’s play SHOPPERS CARRIED BY ESCALATORS INTO THE FLAMES, starring Will Patton and Michael Shannon, as well as Roger Rees’ one-man show WHAT YOU WILL. Evenstar also conceived, wrote and produced (along with Mary-Louise Parker) a series of public service announcements called STOP THE HATE for the Ad Council, which urged tolerance for Arab-Americans and people of color after the attacks of 9/11. STOP THE HATE was awarded the 2002 Courage Award, given by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission. Films in development include THE SISTERHOOD OF THE NIGHT, an adaptation of the novel “Resuscitation of a Hanged Man,” DEVOTION and Cuthrell’s THE LANTERN INN.