Andrew Bujalski

Infobox actor
name = Andrew Bujalski

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imagesize =
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birthdate = April 29, 1977
birthplace = Boston, Massachusetts
occupation = Director, screenwriter, actor
yearsactive = 2002 – present
website =
awards =

Andrew Bujalski, born April 29, [Cite web
last = Boogie
first = Brendan (pseudonym)
title = Scamper - Brendan's Journal
format = Blog
accessdate = 2008-06-12
date = 2005-04-29
url = http://www.scamper.net/journal/2005/04/42905.php
quote = Yet another happy birthday to my friend Andrew Bujalski, the mind and talent behind the films Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation...] 1977 in Boston, Massachusetts, is an American film director, screenwriter and actor.

Bio

Bujalski, born in Boston in 1977, is the son of an artist-turned-businesswoman, Sheila Dubman, and a businessman, Edmund Bujalski. Andrew studied film at Harvard's Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, where the Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman was his thesis advisor.

He shot his first feature, "Funny Ha Ha", in 2002, and followed it with "Mutual Appreciation" in 2003 – though neither film received theatrical distribution until 2005 and 2006, respectively. Bujalski wrote both screenplays, and appears as an actor, playing a major role in both films. In 2006, he appeared as an actor and contributed to the screenplay of the Joe Swanberg film "Hannah Takes the Stairs".

As of April, 2007, Bujalski is in Austin, Texas, where he is preparing to shoot his third independent film, which he also wrote. Concurrently, he is working on a screenplay adaptation of Benjamin Kunkel's 2005 novel "Indecision" for Paramount Pictures.

Style and Content

Bujalski's films are often compared to the works of directors John Cassavetes, Maurice Pialat and Mike Leigh.Fact|date=June 2008 Both of his feature films were photographed on hand-held 16mm by Austrian cinematographer Matthias Grunsky and have a decidedly "lo-fi" feel (reinforced by "Funny Ha Ha"'s distorted mono sound) and are often included in the mumblecore movement. The actors who appear in the films are non-professionals, many drawn from other media, including animator Kate Dollenmayer as the lead in "Funny Ha Ha", musician Justin Rice as the lead in "Mutual Appreciation" and experimental filmmaker Bill Morrison in a supporting role in the same film.

Though his films often appear "improvised", they are for the most part scripted; the dialogue is often noted for its drawn-out, awkward nature, with characters frequently evading key topics. Many of the films seem to start and end "in medias res", giving the films a "slice of life" feeling that suggests a larger narrative or world that the audience is looking in on.

The characters in Bujalski's films are mostly post-collegiate and middle-class, with many working white collar jobs. The desire for stability is a recurring theme, with many characters rushing headlong into attempts at a more controlled existence – this is exemplified by the one of the main characters in "Funny Ha Ha" eloping with his ex-girlfriend.

Filmography

* "Funny Ha Ha" (2002)
* "Mutual Appreciation" (2005)

Awards

* Best Director, 2005 - Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
* Best Screenplay, 2005 - Newport International Film Festival
* Someone to Watch Spirit Award, 2004 - IFP

References

External links

*
* [http://www.funnyhahafilm.com/ Funny Ha Ha Official Site]
* [http://www.mutualappreciation.com/ Mutual Appreciation Official Site]
* [http://dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=665 "Young Intellectuals Making Movies"] , essay on Andrew Bujalski and Noah Baumbach in "Dissent," Summer 2006.