AJ Schnack
Encyclopedia
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
maker. He directed Kurt Cobain: About a Son, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
2006 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2006 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 7 to September 16, 2006. Opening the festival was Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, a film that "explores the history of the Inuit people through the eyes of a father and daughter."In a press release...
. His first feature film was a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-based band They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
titled Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)
Gigantic is a documentary profiling the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Jon Stewart, and others. It was directed by AJ Schnack and premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2002. It was released in theaters...
.
In late 2007, he founded the Cinema Eye Honors
Cinema Eye Honors
The Cinema Eye Honors is an award which celebrates nonfiction films and filmmakers, recognizing the breadth of the genre and includes the crafts of cinematography, editing, producing, directing, etc. It was first presented at the IFC Center in New York City on March 18, 2008...
, an award for nonfiction filmmaking that was first presented at the IFC Center
IFC Center
IFC Center is an art house movie theater in Greenwich Village, New York City in the United States of America. It is located at 323 Sixth Avenue, on the former site of the Waverly Theater, which was itself a well known art house movie theater...
in New York City on March 18, 2008.
Schnack writes the film blog All these wonderful things, which focuses on news related to nonfiction or documentary filmmaking.