Jonathan Blitstein

Jonathan Blitstein

Jonathan Blitstein (born in Lake Forest, Illinois) is an American indie filmmaker and screenwriter. He graduated from Highland Park High School. A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts undergraduate film program, he finished shooting his debut feature length film Let Them Chirp Awhile 4 days before he turned 24 years old. Partial funding for the film came from NYU's Richard Vague Award [ [http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:-fae_08sbRAJ:www.factory630.com/files/vague_press_release.pdf+jonathan+blitstein+nyu+tisch+graduates&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us 403 Forbidden ] ] Previously he made a short film called "The Fisherboy" which premiered at the Rhode Island Film Festival in 2005. [ [http://filmguide.film-festival.org/tixSYS/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=1042 Rhode Island International Film Festival ] ]

Early Work

Blitstein made his first short films when he was 8 years old using a 1980's Zenith 8mm video camera. Originally interested in acting and singing, he performed in school and local theater productions in the Chicago suburbs before seriously pursuing filmmaking. Other childhood interests included magic tricks, model-rocketry, illustration and drawing, comic books, baseball cards, action figures and special effects make-up.

Blitstein graduated in 3 years from NYU and spent much of his time there watching DVDs, reading poetry, plays, and other literature in addition to working in various aspects of production including work as a production assistant and boom operator on student films. During his freshman year he interned at Killer Films. Blitstein made a brief foray out of the film school and into the College of Arts and Sciences during his sophomore and junior years earning enough credits for a Minor in English and American Letters before returning to the film program to finish his degree. He also briefly contributed to the Washington Square News, the NYU Newspaper.

He has lectured at American high schools and acting studios about the process of making Let Them Chirp Awhile. In 2007 he participated on a panel at the Santa Fe Film Festival about independent filmmaking called "Bootstrap Cinema". [ [http://www.santafefilmfestival.com/Panels_Workshops The Santa Fe Film Festival * Panels Workshops ] ]

Filmmaker Influences

In interviews he has cited filmmaker influences ranging from silent filmmakers such as F.W. Murnau and Charles Chaplin to Italian filmmakers like Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni as well as Hollywood filmmakers Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen and Frank Capra.

He has one sibling, Ryan Blitstein, who is an American journalist. They are first-cousins to Jeremy Stoppelman who is the CEO/co-founder of Yelp, Inc. Blitstein is also a first-cousin to Darren Spitzer, lead singer of The Changes who contributed songs to the film. Blitstein is a collaborator and lifelong friend of cinematic-pop rock musician Bryan Scary who also contributed songs to the film. [ [http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/festival2007/details.php?id=17450 Woodstock Film Festival ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.letthemchirp.blogspot.com "Jonathan Blitstein's Blog"]
* [http://peaceloveandmovies.blogspot.com/2007/10/rustic-town-with-pulse.html "Interview with Blitstein from Woodstock Film Festival 2007"]
* [http://www.letthemchirpawhile.com "Let Them Chirp Awhile Official Website"]
* [http://www.myspace.com/letthemchirpawhile "Official Myspace Page"]
* [http://www.indiewire.com/movies/2006/11/production_repo_12.html "IndieWire Article"] From 11.06.06
* [http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=7520 "CHUD.com Article"] From 08.31.06

Bibliography / Notes

1. Richard Vague Ceremony Press Release - http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:-fae_08sbRAJ:www.factory630.com/files/vague_press_release.pdf+jonathan+blitstein+nyu+tisch+graduates&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

2. Rhode Island International Film Festival Page - http://filmguide.film-festival.org/tixSYS/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=1042

3. Santa Fe "Bootstrap Cinema" Panel Announcement - http://www.santafefilmfestival.com/Panels_Workshops

4. Woodstock Film Festival Page - http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/festival2007/details.php?id=17450


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