Richard Ledes
Encyclopedia
Richard Ledes is an award-winning American
filmmaker and writer based in New York City
.
films at the age of twelve and would return to filmmaking later in life.
Before Ledes focused on filmmaking, he studied Ancient Greek, English Literature and Theatre at Amherst College
, graduating magna cum laude in 1979. He then formed a theater group to perform plays in Ancient Greek and created a play from the last book of Iliad
that was performed in the original Greek by Ledes at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.
Subsequently, he lived in Paris, writing and directing plays.
During this time he also began to write on art for a number of magazines, notably Artforum
and Artscribe
in London. While living in Paris, he also reconnected with his early love of cinema. He spent an increasing amount of time seeing films and eventually directed a series of short films in the city.
When Ledes returned to New York at the end of the 80's, he began working on his doctorate in Comparative Literature
at NYU. He also staged a series of pieces of performance art at various locations around New York City. At the American Fine Arts Gallery, curated by Colin De Land, he staged and acted in a performance based on the hospital records of a WWII veteran who had suffered a psychotic break
in the early '50s. Ledes would spend the following years doing further research on this subject.
As part of his research, he volunteered at an out-patient center for severely mentally ill patients. He also assistant-directed a series of plays created and performed by the patients. This research formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation, for which he received his doctorate in 1996.
Ledes’s research would become the basis for his first feature film, A Hole in One
.
stars Michelle Williams
as a young woman who seeks out a lobotomy during the rise of the procedure in the '50s.The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
.
Next, Ledes directed and co-wrote the noir thriller, The Caller
, starring Frank Langella
and Elliot Gould. A contemplative thriller about an executive whistleblower who exposes a corrupt energy corporation’s abuses, the film is a departure from the high stylization of A Hole in One. The screenplay was co-written by Lacanian psychoanalyst Alain Didier-Weill.
The film won the Made in New York award at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
It appears that Ledes is now in pre-production on a horror film, Foreclosure.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmmaker and writer based in 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...
.
Background
Ledes began making Super 8Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
films at the age of twelve and would return to filmmaking later in life.
Before Ledes focused on filmmaking, he studied Ancient Greek, English Literature and Theatre at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, graduating magna cum laude in 1979. He then formed a theater group to perform plays in Ancient Greek and created a play from the last book of Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
that was performed in the original Greek by Ledes at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.
Subsequently, he lived in Paris, writing and directing plays.
During this time he also began to write on art for a number of magazines, notably Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
and Artscribe
Artscribe
Artscribe , titled Artscribe International from 1985, is a defunct British contemporary art magazine. It was notable for its commitment in the late 1970s and early 1980s to abstract art, and for giving popular art critic Matthew Collings his first break into contemporary art.-Founding and early...
in London. While living in Paris, he also reconnected with his early love of cinema. He spent an increasing amount of time seeing films and eventually directed a series of short films in the city.
When Ledes returned to New York at the end of the 80's, he began working on his doctorate in Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
at NYU. He also staged a series of pieces of performance art at various locations around New York City. At the American Fine Arts Gallery, curated by Colin De Land, he staged and acted in a performance based on the hospital records of a WWII veteran who had suffered a psychotic break
Psychotic break
A psychotic break is a term used to describe an occasion of a person experiencing an episode of acute primary psychosis, either for the first time or after a significant period of relative asymptomaticity. Several types of psychoactive drugs have been shown to correlate with psychotic breaks...
in the early '50s. Ledes would spend the following years doing further research on this subject.
As part of his research, he volunteered at an out-patient center for severely mentally ill patients. He also assistant-directed a series of plays created and performed by the patients. This research formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation, for which he received his doctorate in 1996.
Ledes’s research would become the basis for his first feature film, A Hole in One
A Hole in One
A Hole in One is a 2004 film co-starring Michelle Williams and Meat Loaf. The film marked the feature debut of writer/director Richard Ledes. It received its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003.-Plot:...
.
Career
A Hole in OneA Hole in One
A Hole in One is a 2004 film co-starring Michelle Williams and Meat Loaf. The film marked the feature debut of writer/director Richard Ledes. It received its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003.-Plot:...
stars Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
as a young woman who seeks out a lobotomy during the rise of the procedure in the '50s.The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
.
Next, Ledes directed and co-wrote the noir thriller, The Caller
The Caller (2008 film)
The Caller is a 2008 film by Richard Ledes. The film, which stars Frank Langella and Elliot Gould, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Made in NY Narrative Award. The screenplay was co-authored with Alain Didier-Weill.-Plot:...
, starring Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
and Elliot Gould. A contemplative thriller about an executive whistleblower who exposes a corrupt energy corporation’s abuses, the film is a departure from the high stylization of A Hole in One. The screenplay was co-written by Lacanian psychoanalyst Alain Didier-Weill.
The film won the Made in New York award at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
It appears that Ledes is now in pre-production on a horror film, Foreclosure.