John Borowski
Encyclopedia
John Borowski is an American
filmmaker whose recent films have focused on serial killers H.H. Holmes and Albert Fish
. Borowski is currently in production on his third film, Panzram
.
, Borowski studied filmmaking at Columbia College Chicago, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in film. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock
, he writes, produces, directs, and edits his films.
Borowski’s debut as filmmaker began with the release of H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
(2004), documenting, for the first time on film, the life and criminal career of H.H. Holmes. The film is represented and distributed by such companies as Dream Entertainment, Bleiberg Entertainment, Facets Video, and Hiltz Squared Media Group. The film debuted on broadcast television in 2006, with Borowski as Television Broadcast Producer, when Court TV
Canada
premiered the film as a 60-minute feature show. Reviews and features of Borowski’s work are covered in a variety of media, including: Variety
, LA Weekly
, CBS News
, Ain't It Cool News
, Chicago Sun-Times
, Rue Morgue Magazine
, and Crime Library
.
At Chicago’s Midwest Independent Film Festival
, Borowski won the Best Director award, and at Screamfest LA, he walked away with the award for Best Horror Documentary. By exclusive invitation, he screened the film and lectured at the Chicago Historical Society, Chicago International Documentary Film Festival, St. Xavier University
, and Indiana State University
, as well as other Midwest libraries and colleges.
Borowski founded and independently runs Waterfront Productions. Through Waterfront, he produced and published a book (The Strange Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes) and a multimedia
CD-ROM
, as companion pieces to the H.H. Holmes DVD
.
In 2007, Facets Video distributed Borowski's latest film, Albert Fish
, an 86-minute feature docudrama that recounts the true story of cannibal serial killer Albert Fish
, who murdered several children in Depression
-era New York City
.
Borowski is currently in production on his third film, Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance. John DiMaggio (Bender of Fox's Futurama) serves as the voice of serial killer Panzram, who wrote his autobiography for a jail guard in 1928.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmmaker whose recent films have focused on serial killers H.H. Holmes and Albert Fish
Albert Fish
Hamilton Howard "Albert" Fish was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and The Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he "had children in every state," and at one time put the figure at...
. Borowski is currently in production on his third film, Panzram
Panzram (film)
Panzram is a documentary film by John Borowski about the life and death of serial killer Carl Panzram, who revealed himself to be an intelligent, introspective and thought-provoking writer through autobiographical papers secretly passed to a humanitarian prison guard.- Synopsis :Brutalized in and...
.
Biography
A native of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Borowski studied filmmaking at Columbia College Chicago, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in film. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, he writes, produces, directs, and edits his films.
Borowski’s debut as filmmaker began with the release of H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer is a 2004 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. The film relates the true life story of American serial killer H. H. Holmes...
(2004), documenting, for the first time on film, the life and criminal career of H.H. Holmes. The film is represented and distributed by such companies as Dream Entertainment, Bleiberg Entertainment, Facets Video, and Hiltz Squared Media Group. The film debuted on broadcast television in 2006, with Borowski as Television Broadcast Producer, when Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
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...
premiered the film as a 60-minute feature show. Reviews and features of Borowski’s work are covered in a variety of media, including: Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
, Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
, Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, Rue Morgue Magazine
Rue Morgue Magazine
Rue Morgue is a Canadian magazine dedicated to covering "horror in culture and entertainment," taking its name from Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."...
, and Crime Library
Crime Library
The Crime Library is a website documenting major crimes, criminals, and trials, forensics, and criminal profiling from books, police reports, crime television shows, and writers...
.
At Chicago’s Midwest Independent Film Festival
Midwest Independent Film Festival
The Midwest Independent Film Festival is the nation’s only film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest filmmaker. Only films from the eight-state Midwest region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin are considered for screening...
, Borowski won the Best Director award, and at Screamfest LA, he walked away with the award for Best Horror Documentary. By exclusive invitation, he screened the film and lectured at the Chicago Historical Society, Chicago International Documentary Film Festival, St. Xavier University
St. Xavier University
Saint Xavier University is a four-year, coeducational institution of higher learning located in the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois.- History :...
, and Indiana State University
Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
, as well as other Midwest libraries and colleges.
Borowski founded and independently runs Waterfront Productions. Through Waterfront, he produced and published a book (The Strange Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes) and a multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, as companion pieces to the H.H. Holmes DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
In 2007, Facets Video distributed Borowski's latest film, Albert Fish
Albert Fish (film)
Albert Fish is a 2007 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. The film relates the life story of American serial killer and cannibal Albert Fish. In addition to interviews, period footage and photographs, the film also recreates many of Fish's crimes in numerous reenactment scenes...
, an 86-minute feature docudrama that recounts the true story of cannibal serial killer Albert Fish
Albert Fish
Hamilton Howard "Albert" Fish was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and The Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he "had children in every state," and at one time put the figure at...
, who murdered several children in Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Borowski is currently in production on his third film, Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance. John DiMaggio (Bender of Fox's Futurama) serves as the voice of serial killer Panzram, who wrote his autobiography for a jail guard in 1928.
Awards
- Midwest Independent Film FestivalMidwest Independent Film FestivalThe Midwest Independent Film Festival is the nation’s only film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest filmmaker. Only films from the eight-state Midwest region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin are considered for screening...
2003 - Best Director: John Borowski for H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer - Screamfest Horror Film FestivalScreamfest Horror Film FestivalScreamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest horror film festival in the United States. Some of the largest horror online publications have called it the "Sundance of Horror". Previously held at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas, Universal CityWalk, the festival is now held annually at the...
2004 - Best Horror Documentary: H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
Filmography as director
- H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial KillerH. H. Holmes: America's First Serial KillerH. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer is a 2004 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. The film relates the true life story of American serial killer H. H. Holmes...
(2004) - Albert fish film (2007)
- Panzram (film)Panzram (film)Panzram is a documentary film by John Borowski about the life and death of serial killer Carl Panzram, who revealed himself to be an intelligent, introspective and thought-provoking writer through autobiographical papers secretly passed to a humanitarian prison guard.- Synopsis :Brutalized in and...
(In Production)