David Bezmozgis
Encyclopedia
David Bezmozgis is a Canadian
writer and filmmaker.
Born in Riga
, Latvia
, he came to Canada with his family when he was six. He graduated with a B.A.
in English literature
from McGill University
. Bezmozgis received an M.F.A.
from the University of Southern California
's School of Cinema-Television. In 1999, his first documentary, a 25-minute film called L.A. Mohel, won a major award for student filmmakers.
His first published book is Natasha and Other Stories
(2004, ISBN 0-374-28141-6). Stories from that collection first appeared in The New Yorker
, Harper's and Zoetrope All-Story.
His story "Natasha," which originally appeared in Harper's, was included in the Best American Short Stories 2005 collection; his story "New Gravestone for an Old Grave," which originally appeared in Zoetrope, was included in the 2006 Best American Stories collection.
Natasha and Other Stories was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2007, where it was championed by Steven Page
.
In 2008 he completed his first feature film, Victoria Day
, which he wrote and directed. The film stars Mark Rendall
.The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
.
Bezmozgis is a 2010 New York Public Library Cullman Center Fellow, where he will be working on The Betrayers, a novel about a famous Russian Jewish dissident who, after the fall of the Soviet Union, meets the man who denounced him.
Bezmozgis's novel "The Free World" (2011), set in Italy in 1978, chronicles the experience of Jewish refugees from the USSR.
Bezmozgis is among The New Yorker magazine's 2010 top 20 fiction writers under the age of 40. The story "The Train of Their Departure", which the magazine featured in August 2010, is an excerpt from his first novel The Free World, released on April 4, 2011, to wide acclaim. The novel was subsequently shortlisted for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize
and for the Governor General's Awards.
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...
writer and filmmaker.
Born in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, he came to Canada with his family when he was six. He graduated with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. Bezmozgis received an M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
's School of Cinema-Television. In 1999, his first documentary, a 25-minute film called L.A. Mohel, won a major award for student filmmakers.
His first published book is Natasha and Other Stories
Natasha and Other Stories
Natasha and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Canadian author David Bezmozgis. His first published book, Natasha was published in 2004...
(2004, ISBN 0-374-28141-6). Stories from that collection first appeared in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Harper's and Zoetrope All-Story.
His story "Natasha," which originally appeared in Harper's, was included in the Best American Short Stories 2005 collection; his story "New Gravestone for an Old Grave," which originally appeared in Zoetrope, was included in the 2006 Best American Stories collection.
Natasha and Other Stories was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2007, where it was championed by Steven Page
Steven Page
Steven Jay Page , is a Canadian musician. Along with Ed Robertson, he was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and a primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies ; he left the band in 2009 to pursue a solo career....
.
In 2008 he completed his first feature film, Victoria Day
Victoria Day (film)
Victoria Day is a film directed and written by David Bezmozgis. It is being produced by Markham Street Films. The film stars Mark Rendall in the lead role, as well as Holly Deveaux, Sergiy Kotelenets, Nataliya Alyexeyenko, John Mavrogiannis, and Scott Beaudin....
, which he wrote and directed. The film stars Mark Rendall
Mark Rendall
Mark Rendall is a Canadian actor, perhaps best known for starring in the title role of the 2004 film, Childstar, as well as Mick in Season 1 of the Canadian television drama series ReGenesis. He played Bastian Bux in the TV series, Tales from the Neverending Story, and the title character in The...
.The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
.
Bezmozgis is a 2010 New York Public Library Cullman Center Fellow, where he will be working on The Betrayers, a novel about a famous Russian Jewish dissident who, after the fall of the Soviet Union, meets the man who denounced him.
Bezmozgis's novel "The Free World" (2011), set in Italy in 1978, chronicles the experience of Jewish refugees from the USSR.
Bezmozgis is among The New Yorker magazine's 2010 top 20 fiction writers under the age of 40. The story "The Train of Their Departure", which the magazine featured in August 2010, is an excerpt from his first novel The Free World, released on April 4, 2011, to wide acclaim. The novel was subsequently shortlisted for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize
Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Scotiabank Giller Prize, or Giller Prize, is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries...
and for the Governor General's Awards.
Awards
- Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction (2004)
- Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award for Fiction, Koffler Centre of the ArtsKoffler Centre of the ArtsThe Koffler Centre of the Arts is a broad-based cultural institution, established in 1977 by Murray and Marvelle Koffler, in the North York area of Toronto, on Bathurst Street within the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre.-Activities and Facilities:...
(2005) - Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book AwardGuardian First Book AwardGuardian First Book Award, issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award, is awarded to new writing in fiction and non-fiction.-History:...
(UK) (2004) - Shortlisted for the Governor General's Awards for LiteratureGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
(2004) - Shortlisted for the Borders Original Voices Award (2004)
- Winner of the Reform Judaism Prize for Jewish Fiction (2004)
- Winner of the Commonwealth First Book Prize for Caribbean/Canada (2004)
- Winner of the Danuta Gleed Literary AwardDanuta Gleed Literary AwardThe Danuta Gleed Literary Award recognizes a first collection of short fiction by a Canadian author writing in English. The award is presented annually by the Writers' Union of Canada and was endowed by John Gleed in honour of his late wife....
for best first collection of short fiction in the English language (2005) - Finalist for the National Magazine Awards for fiction (2005)
- Recipient of a Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(2005) - Winner of the City of Toronto Book AwardCity of Toronto Book AwardThe Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the city of Toronto to the author of the year's best fiction or non-fiction book or books "that are evocative of Toronto"....
(2005) - Winner of the JQ Wingate Prize 2005 Fiction, Natasha and Other Stories
Work available online
- Tapka from The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
- The Russian Riviera from The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
- The Second Strongest Man from Zoetrope All-Story
- A New Gravestone for an Old Grave from Zoetrope All-Story
- The Train of Their Departure from The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
Work about Bezmozgis available online
- A Long Day at the Chocolate Bar Factory by James WoodJames WoodJames Wood was an officer of the U.S. Continental Army during the American Revolution and the 11th Governor of Virginia.-Personal life:...
in the London Review of BooksLondon Review of BooksThe London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
As writer and director
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Victoria Day | Writer and Director. | A Markham Street Film Production. |