Michael Oblowitz
Michael Oblowitz | |
|---|---|
Michael Oblowitz at the Hof International Film Festival in October 2013 | |
| Born | 1952 (age 73–74) Cape Town, South Africa |
| Education | University of Cape Town, Columbia University |
| Known for | Filmmaking |
| Movement | No wave |
| Website | michaeloblowitz |
Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker. His career has spanned almost five decades. He was a member of the No Wave Cinema movement of independent filmmaking in New York City in the late 1970s. He is also the first South African filmmaker to receive entries to both Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, respectively.[1]
Early life and education
Oblowitz was born in Cape Town, where he grew up surfing in the 1970s. He is a Fine Arts and Philosophy graduate of the University of Cape Town. He later received an M.F.A. in Film Theory and Production from Columbia University in 1982, and studied color photography and printing at the Central School of Art London in 1976.[2]
Career
He began his career in the mid-1970s with the independent films X-Terminator, The Is/Land, Minus Zero and King Blank. The films are now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[3]
As well as shooting his own films, he served as cinematographer for a wide array of No Wave Cinema personnel during his time in New York. Select notable filmmakers he worked with included Rosa von Praunheim, Tina L'Hotsky and Maripol.[4]
By 1977, he was also working as a photographer for SoHo News. Whilst working for the newspaper, he shot portraits of legendary musicians Bryan Ferry and Plastic Bertrand.
He entered mainstream filmmaking in 1997, with the crime drama film This World, Then the Fireworks.[5] In October 2010, his film The Traveller, starring Val Kilmer, was released in the United States.[6] It won an award for Best Thriller Feature at the 2011 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.[7]
He released his first surfing documentary, Sea Of Darkness, in 2010. The documentary won the Best Feature award at the New York Surf Film Festival.[8] His second surfing documentary, Heavy Water, which was released in 2017 starred Nathan Fletcher,[9] won Best surfing film at the Byron Bay International Film Festival[10] and won Best Wavescape film at the 2018 Durban International Film Festival.[11] In 2018, he directed the film Frank & Ava.[12]
He has also produced music videos for stars such as David Bowie and Diana Ross.[13] The first music video he directed was Kurtis Blow's Basketball. The video broke barriers, being one of the first Hip-Hop music videos to air on MTV.
Notable films
- X-Terminator (1977)
- Minus Zero (1979)
- King Blank (1982)
- This World, Then the Fireworks (1997)
- Sea of Darkness (Documentary, 2010)
- The Traveler (2010)
- The Ganzfeld Experiment (2013)
- Heavy Water (2017)
- Frank & Ava (2018)
Music videos
- "Basketball" by Kurtis Blow (1984)
- "Hippy Land Rap" by Tommy Chong (1990) [14]
- "The Healer" by John Lee Hooker and Carlos Santana (1993)
- "Mustang Sally" by Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck (1994)
- Booker T and the M.G's Live in Laguna (music documentary, 1995)
- Buddy Guy - Live: The Real Deal (music documentary, 1996)
- "Standing Here" by The Stone Roses (1997)
Selected filmography
- 1977 X-Terminator (short film)
- 1977 Table Conversation (short film)
- 1977 Portrait of Tina L’Hotsky (short film)
- 1977 Snow (short film)
- 1978 The Is/Land-Circuits of Control (with David Goldberg)
- 1979 Minus Zero
- 1979 Death Magazine
- 1979 Red Love Color
- 1980 Too Sensitive to Touch (with Sylvère Lotringer)
- 1982 King Blank
- 1998 The Areola (co-directed)
- 2001 The Breed
- 2003 Out for a Kill
- 2003 The Foreigner
- 2005 Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy
- 2008 Romantic Resorts
- 2016 Untitled Sunny Garcia Documentary (in production)
- 2023 Confidential Informant
Awards and recognitions
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Byron Bay International Film Festival | Best Surf Film | Heavy Water | Won | [10] |
| 2018 | Durban International Film Festival | Best Wavescape Film | Heavy Water | Won | [15] |
| 2018 | Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival | Best Independent Film | Frank & Ava | Won | [16] |
References
- ^ Indiewire (2 December 1996). "Sundance '97 Lineups Set". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ "Beneath the sea of Dark-ness". Tracks. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Michael Oblowitz. King Blank. 1983 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ "Snake Woman. USA. Directed by Tina L'Hotsky Men in Orbit. 1979. Directed by John Lurie | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ This World, Then the Fireworks at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
- ^ Marrone, John (30 January 2011). "[BD Review] 'The Traveler' a Gem in the Rough". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Heavy Water Premiere this Sunday". wavescape.co.za. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "WINNERS CIRCLE". newyorksurffilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Review: 'Heavy Water,' a surf doc aimed at the hardcore fan". Los Angeles Times. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ a b "The Byron Bay International Film Festival 2017 Award Winners". byron-bay.com. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "All the winners at DIFF 2018". news24.com. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ Paine, Herbert (3 March 2018). "BWW Review: FRANK & AVA ~ An Affair To Remember". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Inside Big Wave Surfer Nathan Fletcher's New Movie, 'Heavy Water'". menshealth.com.au. May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Tommy Chong unreleased "Hippy Land Rap" variant live action video". YouTube. 3 December 2019.
- ^ "39th Durban International Film Festival awards". screenafrica.com. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "HRIFF 2018 AWARD WINNERS". hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 24 May 2021.