Daniel Cross (filmmaker)
Encyclopedia
Daniel Cross a Canadian
documentary film
maker, producer
and activist
whose films deal with social justice.
He is co-founder of EyeSteelFilm
with fellow director/producer Mila Aung-Thwin
. He is the president of the company. He is also founder of Homeless Nation
, a non-profit internet
endeavor that started in 2006 and has become a Canadian national collective voice by and for Canada's homeless population.
" and "S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks In Traffic", where hundreds of homeless
people from Montreal shared their many, amazing stories with him. Out of the movie, came the idea of a forum where these stories would not be lost and where Canada's homeless community could share their stories and refuse to be ignored. Both films received theatrical distribution, international broadcast and critical acclaim
Cross also has experience in TV broadcast, having directed and produced the
Gemini
nominated "Too Colourful for the League
" and "Chairman George
" on the stations CTV
, BBC
's Storyville and TV 2 (Denmark)
.
Chairman George won awards at the AFI/Silverdocs and at Guangzhou Documentary Festival.
He was the executive producer of the internationally acclaimed Up the Yangtze
, about a pleasure cruise through the devastation the world's largest hydro-electric dam caused.
In addition to making films, Daniel is active in the film community, serving on the Boards of CFTPA , Observatoire du Documentaire and DOC (formerly CIFC).[. He also teaches film production at Concordia University in Montreal
, Quebec
. Previously he also taught at University of Regina
in Regina
, Saskatchewan
.
He also serves as board member of Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the "Documentary Organization of Canada".
}.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
documentary film
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...
maker, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
whose films deal with social justice.
He is co-founder of EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company founded and co-owned by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression...
with fellow director/producer Mila Aung-Thwin
Mila Aung-Thwin
Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice.He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cross and co-founded with him EyeSteelFilm specilaizing in...
. He is the president of the company. He is also founder of Homeless Nation
Homeless Nation
HomelessNation.org is a not-for profit organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In order to bridge the digital divide, documentary filmmaker Daniel Cross created www.HomelessNation.org in 2003. A website by and for the homeless, www.homelessnation.org gives people on the street the...
, a non-profit internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
endeavor that started in 2006 and has become a Canadian national collective voice by and for Canada's homeless population.
Career
Cross, the multi-disciplined award-winning director made the films "The Street: A Film with the HomelessThe Street: A Film with the Homeless
The Street: A Film with the Homeless is a 78-minute 1997 documentary film about the Canadian homeless in Montreal. The film was directed by Daniel Cross and produced by him and Don Haig...
" and "S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks In Traffic", where hundreds of homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
people from Montreal shared their many, amazing stories with him. Out of the movie, came the idea of a forum where these stories would not be lost and where Canada's homeless community could share their stories and refuse to be ignored. Both films received theatrical distribution, international broadcast and critical acclaim
Cross also has experience in TV broadcast, having directed and produced the
Gemini
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
nominated "Too Colourful for the League
Too Colourful for the League
Too Colourful for the League is a 52-minutes 2001 Canadian documentary film made for TV, directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by Diversus Productions and Daniel Cross....
" and "Chairman George
Chairman George
Chairman George is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the Greek Canadian musician / troubadour and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by EyeSteelFilm in association with CTV, BBC's "Storyville" series and TV2...
" on the stations CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Storyville and TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 is a publicly owned television station in Denmark based in Odense. The station began broadcasting on 1 October 1988, thereby ending the television monopoly previously exercised by the Danmarks Radio ....
.
Chairman George won awards at the AFI/Silverdocs and at Guangzhou Documentary Festival.
He was the executive producer of the internationally acclaimed Up the Yangtze
Up the Yangtze
Up the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...
, about a pleasure cruise through the devastation the world's largest hydro-electric dam caused.
In addition to making films, Daniel is active in the film community, serving on the Boards of CFTPA , Observatoire du Documentaire and DOC (formerly CIFC).[. He also teaches film production at Concordia University in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Previously he also taught at University of Regina
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...
in Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
Awards and Participations
- Trailblazer award at MIPDOCMIPDOCMIPDOC is a prominent international market and annual event for documentary films, screening documentaries from around the world. Taking place ahead of MIPTV, MIPDOC provides a unique digital screening platform for financing, buying and distributing non-fiction programs worldwide...
in France - In 2006, he won the Golden Sheaf Award at Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival for Chairman GeorgeChairman GeorgeChairman George is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the Greek Canadian musician / troubadour and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by EyeSteelFilm in association with CTV, BBC's "Storyville" series and TV2...
alongside Mila Aung-Thwin
He also serves as board member of Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the "Documentary Organization of Canada".
See also
- EyeSteelFilmEyeSteelFilmEyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company founded and co-owned by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression...
- Homeless NationHomeless NationHomelessNation.org is a not-for profit organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In order to bridge the digital divide, documentary filmmaker Daniel Cross created www.HomelessNation.org in 2003. A website by and for the homeless, www.homelessnation.org gives people on the street the...
- The Street: A Film with the HomelessThe Street: A Film with the HomelessThe Street: A Film with the Homeless is a 78-minute 1997 documentary film about the Canadian homeless in Montreal. The film was directed by Daniel Cross and produced by him and Don Haig...
- S.P.I.T. - Squeegee Punks In TrafficSpit (film)S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic is a Canadian 2001 documentary film by Daniel Cross. The narrative unfolds from the point-of-view of squeegee kids.- External links :*.....
- Chairman GeorgeChairman GeorgeChairman George is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the Greek Canadian musician / troubadour and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by EyeSteelFilm in association with CTV, BBC's "Storyville" series and TV2...
- Too Colourful for the LeagueToo Colourful for the LeagueToo Colourful for the League is a 52-minutes 2001 Canadian documentary film made for TV, directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by Diversus Productions and Daniel Cross....
External links
- EyeSteelFilm Official web site
- Official website of Daniel Cross' movie S.P.I.T.: Squeegy Punks In Traffic
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