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Andrew Swant

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Andrew Swant (born 1976 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American filmmaker best known for William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, and What What in the Butt.[1]

In 2012, Swant co-wrote and starred in The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, a feature film about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer which premiered at the SXSW film festival. It received positive reviews and was a New York Times Critic's Pick.[2] Swant's portrayal of Dahmer was called "chillingly effective" by The Hollywood Reporter and "dead-on creepy perfection" by Entertainment Weekly.[3] The film was picked up by IFC Films and released in early 2013.[4]

In 2007, Swant and collaborator Bobby Ciraldo created the YouTube video What What (In the Butt), which immediately went viral.[5] As of March 2020 their YouTube channel had over 82 million views.[6] In 2009 the duo co-directed William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, a documentary starring William Shatner, Ben Folds, and Henry Rollins.[7] Later that year they released Frankie Latina's Modus Operandi, an arthouse film which screened at the American Film Institute Film Festival in Los Angeles and stars Danny Trejo.[8] In 2014 they premiered a feature-length comedy called Hamlet A.D.D. at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. The partially animated film is based on Shakespeare's Hamlet and guest stars Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Dustin Diamond, and Gregg Turkington as Neil Hamburger.[9] Swant co-created a broadcast television show with Bobby Ciraldo and David Robbins called Something Theater, which aired sporadically from 2009 through 2011.[10]

In 2017, he directed Silently Steal Away, a documentary about an obscure radio personality named Jack Raymond and the small radio station, WCFW, which has been playing his show for over 50 years. The film, which screened at Hot Docs International Documentary Festival (Toronto) and Eaux Claires Festival of Music & Art, stars musician Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and features narration by Mark Borchardt of American Movie. He also produced The Dundee Project, a documentary directed by Mark Borchardt which premiered at Slamdance in Park City, Utah and later screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.[11]

In 2019, he directed Bon Iver: Autumn, a short documentary about the creation of Bon Iver's 2019/2020 world tour.[12] He also co-produced Give Me Liberty, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Museum of Modern Art (New York). The film won the 2020 John Cassavetes Spirit Award and ranked #11 on The New York Times’s "Best Movies of 2019" list.[13]

He attended film school at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and art school at University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire where he majored in Fine Art and minored in Women's Studies.

Swant and Ciraldo (as the collaborative Special Entertainment) were awarded the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for Established Artists in 2013.[14][15] Other awards include the Best Documentary award at the Marbella International Film Festival, first place at Milwaukee's 24-hour Film Festival in 2005 and 2007,[16] a Brico Award in 2019,[17] and he was a Sundance TV Lab finalist in 2003.[18]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2019 Give Me Liberty Co-Producer Sundance, Cannes, John Cassavetes Spirit Award
2019 Bon Iver: Autumn Director
2017 Silently Steal Away Director Hot Docs Film Festival
2014 Hamlet A.D.D. Director, Writer, Producer Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art
2012 The Jeffrey Dahmer Files Actor, Writer SXSW, Hot Docs, BFI
2010 The Found Footage Show Director, Producer The A.V. Club
2009 William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet Co-Director Winner, Best Feature, Marbella Film Festival
2009 Modus Operandi Writer, Producer, Actor AFI Fest
2009 Something Theater Director, Writer, Producer
2007 What What (In the Butt) Director, Writer, Producer Featured on South Park

References

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  1. ^ "Milwaukee duo brings 'Hamlet A.D.D.' to life".
  2. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (February 14, 2013). "Getting to Know a Serial Killer". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "The Jeffrey Dahmer Files Review | Movie Reviews and News". Archived from the original on May 9, 2013.
  4. ^ DeFore, John (March 20, 2012). "Jeff: SXSW Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. ^ Milwaukee Decider Archived February 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine by DJ Hostettler (February 5, 2009), "Screening Room: Andrew Swant and Bobby Ciraldo". Retrieved September 2, 2009
  6. ^ https://www.youtube.com/user/brownmarkfilms Brownmark Films YouTube Channel with views displayed
  7. ^ "William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet". May 14, 2009.
  8. ^ "Modus Operandi Movie Review & Film Summary (2010) | Roger Ebert".
  9. ^ "Milwaukee duo brings 'Hamlet A.D.D.' to life".
  10. ^ "Art, better than an infomercial in the middle of the night".
  11. ^ "From Mark Borchardt to Bon Iver, Wisconsin Film Festival achieves peak Wisconsin".
  12. ^ "Bon Iver Share New Mini-Documentary Autumn Previewing Their Upcoming Tour". July 31, 2019.
  13. ^ Scott, A. O.; Dargis, Manohla (December 4, 2019). "Best Movies of 2019". The New York Times.
  14. ^ "Mary L. Nohl Fellowship class has made a splash in film, new media".
  15. ^ "ArtInfo – Nohl Fellowship Winners Announced". Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  16. ^ "MKE Magazine – "The Who Who Behind the What What" (Paragraph 11)". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  17. ^ "Milwaukee Film Festival reports record attendance for the 2019 festival".
  18. ^ Martin Hintz. "'Somewhere Under the Radar' Nov. 6, pp 19, 24". Shepherd Express.
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