Strand Releasing
Encyclopedia
Strand Releasing is a theatrical distribution company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California
. The company has distributed over 300 auteur driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul
, Gregg Araki
, Francois Ozon
, Jean Luc Godard, Catherine Breillat
, Claire Denis
, Fatih Akin
, Aki Kaurismaki
, Claude Miller
, Manoel de Oliveira
, Gaspar Noe
, Andre Techine
and Terence Davies.
, honored Strand Releasing with a lifetime achievement award in 2002. In 2009, MOMA honored Strand Releasing with “Carte Blanche” a 20 year retrospective honoring select filmmakers from the Strand roster including Apichatpong Weerasethakul
, Fatih Akin
, Francois Ozon
and Jacques Nolot
, adding their films into the MOMA permanent collection. In 2009, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
in San Francisco, the Provincetown International Film Festival
and the Seattle International Film Festival
also honored Strand Releasing with lifetime achievement awards.
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. The company has distributed over 300 auteur driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. His feature films include Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, winner of the prestigious 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or prize; Tropical Malady, which won a jury prize at the 2004...
, Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki is an American independent filmmaker. He is involved in New Queer Cinema.-Early life:Araki was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Barbara, California...
, Francois Ozon
François Ozon
François Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
, Jean Luc Godard, Catherine Breillat
Catherine Breillat
Catherine Breillat is a French filmmaker, novelist and Professor of Auteur Cinema at the European Graduate School.-Life and career:Breillat was born in Bressuire, Deux-Sèvres, but grew up in Niort...
, Claire Denis
Claire Denis
Claire Denis is a French film director and Professor of Film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Early life:...
, Fatih Akin
Fatih Akin
Fatih Akın is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent.- Personal life :Akın was born in 1973 in Hamburg to parents of Turkish ethnicity...
, Aki Kaurismaki
Aki Kaurismäki
-Career:After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment , Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki...
, Claude Miller
Claude Miller
Claude Miller is a French film director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his first practical cinematic experience while he was in uniform, serving with the Service Cinéma de l'Armée...
, Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira, GCSE is a Portuguese film director born in Cedofeita, Porto. He began working on films in the late 1920s, but did not receive international recognition until the early 1970s. Since the late 1980s he has been one of the most prolific working film directors and...
, Gaspar Noe
Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé is an Argentine filmmaker and the son of Argentine painter and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. He graduated from Louis Lumière College and is the visiting professor of film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland...
, Andre Techine
André Téchiné
André Téchiné , is a French screenwriter and film director. He has had a long and distinguished career that places him among the best post-New Wave French film directors....
and Terence Davies.
Notable Reissues
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) by Hector BabencoHector BabencoHéctor Eduardo Babenco is an Argentine-born Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor.He has worked in several countries including Argentina, Brazil and the United States....
- The GraduateThe GraduateThe Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
(1967) by Mike NicholsMike NicholsMike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate... - Faster Pussycat Kill Kill (1965) by Russ MeyerRuss MeyerRussell Albion "Russ" Meyer was a U.S. motion picture director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor and photographer....
- ContemptContempt (film)Contempt is a 1963 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, based on the Italian novel Il disprezzo by Alberto Moravia. It stars Brigitte Bardot.-Plot:...
(1963) by Jean Luc Godard
Movies produced
- Psycho Beach PartyPsycho Beach PartyPsycho Beach Party is a 2000 Comedy horror film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay...
(2000) - Innocence (2000)
- Just One TimeJust One Time (film)Just One Time is a 1999 comedy film, written and directed by Lane Janger. It was screened at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival.Janger is the star, writer, and director; he plays Anthony...
(1999) (Marcus Hu as executive producer) - Billy's Hollywood Screen KissBilly's Hollywood Screen KissBilly's Hollywood Screen Kiss is a 1998 American independent, gay-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Sean P. Hayes, Brad Rowe, and Meredith Scott Lynn...
(1998) (Marcus Hu as associate producer) - Latin Boys Go To Hell (1997)
- Hustler WhiteHustler WhiteHustler White is a 1996 film by Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro, a satiric black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their customers in Santa Monica, California. It stars Tony Ward and LaBruce in an addition to the Queer Cinema canon, which is also an homage to classic Hollywood cinema...
(1996) - FriskFrisk (film)Frisk is a 1995 drama film, directed by Todd Verow, based on the 1991 novel by author Dennis Cooper. It is a first-person narrative about a serial killer. Dennis describes a series of ritual murders in letters to his sometime lover and best friend, Julian , and Julian's younger brother Kevin . It...
(1995) - Mod Fuck ExplosionMod Fuck ExplosionMod Fuck Explosion is a film by Jon Moritsugu about a young girl named London who is trying to find meaning in the world, or a leather jacket of her very own. Unaccepted by the Mods or the bikers, she tries to find her own path through life. Meanwhile the Mods and the bikers have a vendetta against...
(1994) (Marcus Hu as executive producer) - Grief (1993) (Marcus Hu as executive producer)
- The Living EndThe Living End (film)The Living End is a 1992 film by Gregg Araki. Described by some critics as a "gay Thelma and Louise," the film is an early entry in the New Queer Cinema genre. The Living End was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992....
(1992)
LGBT titles
- L.A. ZombieL.A. ZombieL.A. Zombie is a 2010 queer cinema zombie film. The film is written and directed by Bruce LaBruce and stars gay pornographic actor François Sagat. The film premiered in competition at Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland in 2010.-Synopsis:...
(2010) by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:... - Hideaway (2009) by Francois OzonFrançois OzonFrançois Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
- OttoOtto; or Up with Dead PeopleOtto; or Up with Dead People is a 2008 Canadian and German queer cinema horror film. The film was directed by Bruce LaBruce and stars Jey Crisfar, Marcel Schlutt, Nicholas Fox Ricciardi and Gio Black Peter.- Plot :...
(2008) by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:... - Before I ForgetBefore I Forget (film)Before I forget is a 2007 French drama film directed, written and starred by Jacques Nolot. The film portrays the live of an aging gay man, who was a hustler in his youth, confronting old age, an empty life and a reversal of paying for sex.-Plot :...
(2007) by Jacques NolotJacques NolotJacques Nolot , is a French actor, screenwriter and film director.- Life :Jacques Nolot was born on 31 August 1943, Marciac, Gers, a small village in Southwest France. A fragile child, Nolot was doted upon by his mother, a woman who had three children with three different fathers... - Saturn in Opposition (2007) by Ferzan OzpetekFerzan ÖzpetekFerzan Özpetek is an Italian-Turkish film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy.- Biography :Ferzan Ozpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. When he was a young student in 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza University of Rome...
- The WitnessesThe WitnessesThe Witnesses is a 2007 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Michel Blanc, Sami Bouajila, Emmanuelle Béart and Johan Libéreau. The film is set in Paris in 1984, the lives of a closely knit group of friends is disrupted with the sudden outbreak of AIDS epidemic. They are witnesses...
(2007) by Andre TechineAndré TéchinéAndré Téchiné , is a French screenwriter and film director. He has had a long and distinguished career that places him among the best post-New Wave French film directors.... - The BubbleThe Bubble (2006 film)The Bubble is a 2006 romantic drama directed by Eytan Fox telling the story of two men who fall in love, one Israeli and one Palestinian...
(2006) by Eytan FoxEytan Fox-Biography:Fox was born in New York City and moved with his family to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a leading professor of Jewish education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His mother, Sara Kaminker-Fox, was the head of the Jerusalem city... - Time to Leave (2005) by Francois OzonFrançois OzonFrançois Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
- The Dying GaulThe Dying Gaul (film)The Dying Gaul is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Lucas. The screenplay is based on his 1998 off-Broadway play, the title of which was derived from an ancient Roman marble copy of a lost Hellenistic sculpture.-Plot:...
(2005) by Craig LucasCraig LucasCraig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:... - Mysterious SkinMysterious SkinMysterious Skin is a 2004 drama film directed by American filmmaker Gregg Araki, who also wrote the screenplay based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Scott Heim...
(2004) by Gregg ArakiGregg ArakiGregg Araki is an American independent filmmaker. He is involved in New Queer Cinema.-Early life:Araki was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Barbara, California... - Party Monster (2003) by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey
- Son FrereHis Brother (film)Son frère is a 2003 French film directed by Patrice Chéreau. The screenplay, based on the Philippe Besson 2001 book Son frère was written by Chéreau and Anne-Louise Trividic.-Synopsis:...
(2003) by Patrice ChéreauPatrice ChéreauPatrice Chéreau is a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor, and producer.-Biography:Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre... - Yossi and Jagger (2002) by Eytan FoxEytan Fox-Biography:Fox was born in New York City and moved with his family to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a leading professor of Jewish education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His mother, Sara Kaminker-Fox, was the head of the Jerusalem city...
- Porn TheaterGlowing Eyes (film)Glowing Eyes is a 2002 French drama film directed by and starring Jacques Nolot. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Vittoria Scognamiglio - Cashier* Jacques Nolot - 50-Year-Old Man...
(2002) by Jacques NolotJacques NolotJacques Nolot , is a French actor, screenwriter and film director.- Life :Jacques Nolot was born on 31 August 1943, Marciac, Gers, a small village in Southwest France. A fragile child, Nolot was doted upon by his mother, a woman who had three children with three different fathers... - Burnt Money (2002) by Marcelo PiñeyroMarcelo PiñeyroMarcelo Piñeyro is an Argentine award-winning film director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Biography:Born in Buenos Aires, Piñeyro studied cinematography at the University of La Plata's School of Fine Arts...
- Princesa (2001) by Henrique Goldman
- His Secret Life (2001) by Ferzan OzpetekFerzan ÖzpetekFerzan Özpetek is an Italian-Turkish film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy.- Biography :Ferzan Ozpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. When he was a young student in 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza University of Rome...
- Lan Yu (2001) by Stanley KwanStanley KwanStanley Kwan is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director and producer.Kwan landed a job at the TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College...
- Borstal BoyBorstal Boy (film)Borstal Boy is a 2000 British/Irish romantic drama film adaptation of the Brendan Behan autobiographical novel of the same name. The film is directed and written by Irish playwright Peter Sheridan.-Plot:...
(2000) by Peter SheridanPeter SheridanPeter Sheridan is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director. He lives in the north side of Dublin.His plays have a lyrical, vivid style amid tough dialog highlighting the difficulty and the promise of life in Ireland's capital. Awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature... - 101 Rent Boys101 Rent Boys101 Rent Boys is a 2000 documentary film that explores the West Hollywood hustler scene. The producers recruited 101 hustlers from on and around Santa Monica Boulevard and paid each of them $50 for their time...
(2000) by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey - Skin FlickSkin GangSkin Gang, directed by Canadian filmmaker Bruce LaBruce, follows the various sexual and violent escapades of several skinheads. The film raised a great amount of controversy when it premiered in 1999, as many viewers were disturbed by its violent and sexual content, and many critics within the gay...
(1999) by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:... - Criminal LoversCriminal LoversCriminal Lovers is a 1999 psychological thriller film by French director François Ozon.-Synopsis:...
(1999) by Francois OzonFrançois OzonFrançois Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality.... - Show Me Love (1998) by Lukas MoodyssonLukas Moodysson- External links :*...
- Macho DancerMacho DancerMacho Dancer is a 1988 Philippine film, directed Lino Brocka, which explores the harsh realities of a young, poor, rural gay man, who after being dumped by his American boyfriend, is forced to make a living for himself in Manila's seamy red-light district...
(1998) by Lino BrockaLino BrockaCatalino Ortiz Brocka is known as one of the greatest film directors of the Philippines. Brocka was openly homosexual and many of his films incorporated LGBT themes into their often dramatic storylines.... - Head OnHead On (1998 film)Head On is a 1998 award-winning Australian film directed by Ana Kokkinos. Based on the acclaimed novel Loaded written by Christos Tsiolkas, it stars Alex Dimitriades as a young gay man of Greek descent, living in the inner city of Melbourne. The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual...
(1998) by Ana KokkinosAna KokkinosAna Kokkinos is an Australian film director. Kokkinos was born in Melbourne and prior to her career in film, she worked as an industrial lawyer... - Edge of SeventeenEdge of Seventeen (film)Edge of Seventeen is a 1998 coming of age romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Moreton, written by Moreton and Todd Stephens, starring Chris Stafford, and co-starring Tina Holmes and Andersen Gabrych.-Plot:...
(1998) by David Moreton - SteamHamam (film)Hamam is a 1997 Italian-Turkish-Spanish film directed by Ferzan Özpetek about the powerful transformations certain places can cause in people.- Synopsis :...
(1997) by Ferzan OzpetekFerzan ÖzpetekFerzan Özpetek is an Italian-Turkish film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy.- Biography :Ferzan Ozpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. When he was a young student in 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza University of Rome... - The Delta (1996) by Ira SachsIra SachsIra Sachs is an American filmmaker. His first film was the acclaimed short Lady .He directed Sundance Film Festival selection The Delta and directed Sundance Film Festival Grand Prize winning Forty Shades of Blue...
- Hustler WhiteHustler WhiteHustler White is a 1996 film by Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro, a satiric black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their customers in Santa Monica, California. It stars Tony Ward and LaBruce in an addition to the Queer Cinema canon, which is also an homage to classic Hollywood cinema...
(1996) by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:... - StonewallStonewall (film)Stonewall is a 1995 historical comedy-drama film. Inspired by the memoir of the same title by openly gay historian Martin Duberman, Stonewall is a fictionalized account of the weeks leading up to the Stonewall riots, a seminal event in the modern American gay rights movement...
(1995) by Nigel Finch - Wild Reeds (1994) by Andre TechineAndré TéchinéAndré Téchiné , is a French screenwriter and film director. He has had a long and distinguished career that places him among the best post-New Wave French film directors....
- Totally F***ed Up (1993) by Gregg ArakiGregg ArakiGregg Araki is an American independent filmmaker. He is involved in New Queer Cinema.-Early life:Araki was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Barbara, California...
- Super 8½ (1993) by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
- No Skin Off My AssNo Skin off My AssNo Skin Off My Ass is a 1993 comedy-drama film by Bruce LaBruce.Filmed in black and white, this is LaBruce's debut feature film, in which he plays the role of a punk hairdresser with Klaus von Brücker as the skinhead with whom he is obsessed. G.B...
(1993) by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:... - The Living EndThe Living End (film)The Living End is a 1992 film by Gregg Araki. Described by some critics as a "gay Thelma and Louise," the film is an early entry in the New Queer Cinema genre. The Living End was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992....
(1992) by Gregg ArakiGregg ArakiGregg Araki is an American independent filmmaker. He is involved in New Queer Cinema.-Early life:Araki was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Barbara, California... - SwoonSwoon (film)Swoon is an independent film written and directed by Tom Kalin, released in 1992. It is an account of the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case, focusing more on the homosexuality of the killers than other movies based on the case...
(1992) by Tom KalinTom KalinTom Kalin is an award-winning screenwriter, film director, producer, and professor of experimental film at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee.His debut feature, Swoon, is considered an integral part of the New Queer Cinema... - Young Soul RebelsYoung Soul RebelsYoung Soul Rebels is a 1991 critically acclaimed coming-of-age/drama British film written by Isaac Julien and Paul Hallam, and directed by Juilen. The film examines the interaction between youth cultural movements during the late 1970s in the UK. Namely skinheads, punks and soulboys along with the...
(1991) by Isaac JulienIsaac JulienIsaac Julien is an installation artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Julien graduated from St Martin's School of Art in 1985, where he studied painting and fine art film... - Looking for LangstonLooking For LangstonLooking for Langston is a 1989 British black-and-white film directed by Isaac Julien. It combines authentic archival newsreel footage of Harlem in the 1920s with scripted scenes to produce a non-linear impressionistic story line celebrating black gay identity and desire during the artistic and...
(1989) by Isaac JulienIsaac JulienIsaac Julien is an installation artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Julien graduated from St Martin's School of Art in 1985, where he studied painting and fine art film... - Three Bewildered People in the NightThree Bewildered People in the NightThree Bewildered People in the Night is a 1987 American drama film directed by Gregg Araki. The film follows three characters through the dissolution of a heterosexual relationship and the possible beginning of a gay one.-Plot:...
(1987) by Gregg ArakiGregg ArakiGregg Araki is an American independent filmmaker. He is involved in New Queer Cinema.-Early life:Araki was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Barbara, California...
Honors and awards
Strand Releasing was honored with a four week retrospective in 1999 at the New York Museum of Modern Art. The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, OutfestOutfest
Outfest is an LGBT-oriented film showcase and festival in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1982 as the "Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference", the name was changed to Outfest in 1994.-Programs:...
, honored Strand Releasing with a lifetime achievement award in 2002. In 2009, MOMA honored Strand Releasing with “Carte Blanche” a 20 year retrospective honoring select filmmakers from the Strand roster including Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. His feature films include Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, winner of the prestigious 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or prize; Tropical Malady, which won a jury prize at the 2004...
, Fatih Akin
Fatih Akin
Fatih Akın is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent.- Personal life :Akın was born in 1973 in Hamburg to parents of Turkish ethnicity...
, Francois Ozon
François Ozon
François Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
and Jacques Nolot
Jacques Nolot
Jacques Nolot , is a French actor, screenwriter and film director.- Life :Jacques Nolot was born on 31 August 1943, Marciac, Gers, a small village in Southwest France. A fragile child, Nolot was doted upon by his mother, a woman who had three children with three different fathers...
, adding their films into the MOMA permanent collection. In 2009, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a multi-disiplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, national, and international artists and the Bay Area's diverse...
in San Francisco, the Provincetown International Film Festival
Provincetown International Film Festival
The Provincetown International Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents a wide array of American and international narrative features, documentaries and short films for five days in June of each year.With panel...
and the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
also honored Strand Releasing with lifetime achievement awards.