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Darius Marder

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Darius Marder
Born1973 or 1974 (age 49–50)[1]
Occupation(s)Film director, film editor, screenwriter
Years active2007–present
Known forSound of Metal (2019)
RelativesAbraham Marder (brother)
Signature

Darius Marder is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor from Massachusetts.[2] He is known for directing and co-writing Sound of Metal, for which he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards.[3] The film received a total of six nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning Best Editing and Best Sound.[4] Marder also edited the Academy Award-winning documentary Freeheld (2007).[5]

Early life

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Marder grew up in Conway, Massachusetts with his parents and four siblings. His parents, Lauri and Efrem Marder, both artists from New York, lived according to the teachings of the Russian philosopher and mystic George Gurdjieff. The family lived there with about 35 other followers, which Marder has described as a "beautiful experience."[1] Marder performed poorly in high school, and did not attend college. At 18, he began teaching literature to middle school students. He later started a sushi catering business in Vermont.[2]

Marder's great-grandfather was raised in an orthodox Jewish community in Austria. Marder was particularly close to his paternal grandmother, Dorothy Marder [Wikidata], who was a gay activist. After taking an antibiotic for a bout of pancreatitis, Dorothy became profoundly deaf. Her sudden deafness had a significant impact on Darius.[1]

Career

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Riz Ahmed (pictured) stars as the lead in Marder's film Sound of Metal (2019).

Once Marder had started his own family, he moved with his then wife and two children to New York, where their youngest child was born shortly afterwards. He worked as a chef and food stylist, while also writing, producing, and filming various projects. Marder met producer Dan Campbell, who told him about the life story of treasure hunter Lance Larson. Marder decided to make a film about the man.[6][7] He made his directorial debut with the documentary Loot, which premiered at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival where it won the Best Documentary Feature award.[8][9] The documentary focuses on Larson as he travels with two World War II veterans, Andrew Seventy and Darrel Ross, in search of the stolen materials in Europe that they buried after the war.[6][10][11][12][13]

Marder co-wrote The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) with his friend Derek Cianfrance and Ben Coccio. Cianfrance had previously been working on the hybrid documentary film Metalhead, which centered on a metal drummer whose eardrums are ruptured and then becomes deaf. The film featured the members of the band Jucifer portraying themselves.[14] However, the project was later scrapped and abandoned, until Marder took it up, resulting in the fictionalized and distinct narrative film Sound of Metal. Starring Riz Ahmed, the film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was released by Amazon Studios in 2020.[15] The film was shot in 2018 in Marder's native Massachusetts, primarily in Ipswich, but also in Boston, Lynn, Cambridge, Danvers, Framingham, Lawrence, Malden, Rowley, and Topsfield.[16][17] Marder, his brother Abraham Marder, and Cianfrance received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination for the film.[3] The film received a total of six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Ahmed) and Best Supporting Actor (Paul Raci), Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. The film won two Oscars for Best Editing and Best Sound.[4][16]

Marder is currently co-writing the script for Cianfrance's upcoming film Empire of the Summer Moon, an adaptation of S. C. Gwynne's nonfiction book Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Tribe in American History (2010).[18][19]

Personal life

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Marder moved back to Massachusetts after living in New York City for 25 years. He now lives in Ashfield.[1]

In 2014, Marder appeared on the hidden camera show Impractical Jokers as an unwitting passer-by to James Murray and Sal Vulcano's challenge; a discussion about whose story of losing their virginity was more embarrassing.[20][21]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Writer Notes
2008 Loot Yes Documentary;
Also editor
2012 The Place Beyond the Pines No Yes
2019 Sound of Metal Yes Yes

As editor

Year Title Notes
2007 Freeheld Additional editor
2010 Stranger Danger Short film
2011 Girl Model
2012 Words of Witness Additional editor

Select awards

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Academy Awards

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

  • 2020: Nomination for the Milos Stehlik Award for Promising Filmmaker (Sound of Metal)[22]

Critics' Choice Movie Awards

Deauville American Film Festival

  • 2020: Competition selection (Sound of Metal)[23]

Directors Guild of America Award

Hollywood Critics Association Awards

  • 2021: Winner of Best Male Director (Sound of Metal)[25]
  • 2021: Nomination for Best First Feature (Sound of Metal)[26]
  • 2021: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)[27]

Independent Spirit Awards

LA Film Festival

  • 2008: Winner of Best Documentary Feature (Loot)

PEN Center USA Literary Awards

  • 2014: Winner of Best Screenplay (The Place Beyond the Pines)[29]

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

  • 2021: Nomination for Best Director (Sound of Metal) [30]
  • 2021: Runner-up for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal) [31]

Satellite Awards

Toronto International Film Festival

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards

  • 2021: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal) [33]

Writers Guild of America Awards

  • 2021: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)[34]

Zurich Film Festival

  • 2019: Winner of the Golden Eye for Best International Feature Film (Sound of Metal)[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Castillo, Andy (November 20, 2020). "Marching to the beat of his own drum". The Recorder. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Kohn, Eric (2021-02-02). "'Sound of Metal': Darius Marder Explains His 10-Year Journey to Overnight Success". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  3. ^ a b "'Sound of Metal' by local brothers up for Best Picture, other Academy Awards". Greenfield Recorder. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  4. ^ a b Oganesyan, Natalie; Moreau, Jordan (March 15, 2021). "Oscars 2021: The Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Darius Marder". Film Independent. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  6. ^ a b Plante, Mike (Spring 2009). "In Search off Lost Time". filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Marder, Darius (April 6, 2021). "When the time was right, he saw the ending for 'Sound of Metal' — and his own story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (June 30, 2008). "LAFF '08 | "Prince of Broadway," "Loot" Win Big Cash Awards as L.A. Fest Closes". IndieWire. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Saito, Stephen (November 20, 2020). "Interview: Darius Marder on the Powerful Reverberations of "Sound of Metal"". moveablefest.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  10. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (December 3, 2009). "Treasure and Memory Hunt". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Fuchs, Cynthia (November 1, 2009). "Loot". PopMatters. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Murray, Noel (December 3, 2009). "Loot". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Loot". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. July 2, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  14. ^ Douglas, Edward (March 22, 2013). "Interview: Derek Cianfrance Uncovers The Place Beyond the Pines". Coming Soon. Retrieved Mar 16, 2021.
  15. ^ Perez, Rodrigo (June 13, 2020). "'I Know This Much Is True': Derek Cianfrance On The Epic Canvas Of TV, 'Empire Of The Summer Moon' & Much More [Interview]". ThePlaylist. Retrieved Mar 16, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Slane, Kevin (March 15, 2021). "A movie filmed in Mass. landed multiple 2021 Oscars nominations". Boston.com. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Aucoin, Don (November 11, 2020). "Digging deep to hear the silence, in 'Sound of Metal'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  18. ^ Hopewell, John (August 31, 2016). "'Light Between Oceans' Director Derek Cianfrance Preps Quanah Parker Movie". Variety. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  19. ^ Weintraub, Steve (September 26, 2019). "'Sound of Metal': Riz Ahmed & Director Darius Marder on Their Powerful Story about Hearing Loss". Collider. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  20. ^ "Joe Gatto on Instagram: "Before @dariusmarder was an Academy Award nominee, he was just a guy in a deli helping @impracticaljokersofficial settle a silly debate.…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  21. ^ "Sound of Metal: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, and more talk about the new drama!". JoBlo.com. December 8, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  22. ^ "Chloé Zhao's Nomadland Leads Chicago Film Critics Association 2020 Award Nominations". Chicago Film Critics Association. December 18, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Sound of Metal". Deauville American Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  24. ^ Vary, Adam B. (April 10, 2021). "DGA Awards: 'Sound of Metal,' 'Homeland,' 'The Flight Attendant' Among Early Winners (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  25. ^ Neglia, Matt (February 1, 2021). "The 2020 Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Nominations". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  26. ^ Neglia, Matt (February 1, 2021). "The 2020 Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Nominations". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  27. ^ Neglia, Matt (February 1, 2021). "The 2020 Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Nominations". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  28. ^ "Film Independent Spirit Awards: Winners List (Updating Live)". The Hollywood Reporter. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  29. ^ "PEN Center USA literary awards a star-filled event". Orlando Sentinel. 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  30. ^ "2020 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. January 11, 2021. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "2020 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. January 11, 2021. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  32. ^ "25th Satellite Awards 2020 Winners". International Press Academy. February 15, 2021. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  33. ^ "2021 Awards: Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) Winners". Music City Drive-In. 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  34. ^ Thompson, Anne (February 16, 2021). "WGA Awards 2021 Nominations Revealed: 'Palm Springs,' 'Borat 2,' 'Sound of Metal,' and More". IndieWire. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  35. ^ "Die Preisträger des 15. ZFF". zff.com. October 5, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
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