Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He studied art history at Harvard University but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on the strength of a spec script about Nikola Tesla.[1] His film William Eggleston in the Real World (2005) was nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Documentary from the Independent Filmmaker Project.[2][3]
In 2015 Almereyda received the Moving Image Creative Capital Award.[4] His film Marjorie Prime (2017), a philosophical science-fiction film based on Jordan Harrison‘s play of the same name, was screened at Sundance Film Festival and won the Sloan Feature Film Prize.[5]
Personal life
Almereyda was born in Kansas, and, when he was a child, his family moved to Orange County, California, where he befriended the film critic Manny Farber, who became an important influence on his life.[6][7] He now lives in New York City.[8] His younger sister is the actress, comedian, and writer Spencer Kayden, and he also has two other brothers.[9]
Partial filmography
|
|
Recognition and awards
- 2025 – Almereyda was appointed as a member of the jury at the 78th Locarno Film Festival for Pardo Verde Competition.[11]
- 2017 – Alfred P. Sloan Prize – Marjorie Prime at 2017 Sundance Film Festival.[12]
References
- ^ Leland, Erin (March 25, 2020). “Binge Watch This: Director Michael Almereyda is the Avant-Garde Historian and Storyteller We Need”. Cultured Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
In 1980, Almereyda dropped out of Harvard in order to craft his first screenplay for Tesla.
- ^ a b “Gotham Awards Nominations Announced Archived 2014-03-14 at the Wayback Machine“, Filmmaker (magazine). Accessed 8 August 2014.
- ^ a b “‘Brokeback,’ ‘Capote’ Get Gotham Award Nods“, Fox News Channel. Accessed 8 August 2014.
- ^ “Creative Capital – Investing in Artists who Shape the Future”. creative-capital.org. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ “Sloan Science & Film”. scienceandfilm.org. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
- ^ https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4764-the-music-of-memory-a-conversation-with-michael-almereyda
- ^ https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/scientific-cinema-michael-almereyda-on-marjorie-prime
- ^ https://theplaylist.net/michael-almereyda-talks-marjorie-prime-20170822/
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/theater/theater-urinetown-uptown-her-moment-has-come.html
- ^ https://www.criterionchannel.com/the-lonedale-operator
- ^ Georg Szalai (15 July 2025). “Locarno Film Festival Adds Carlos Reygadas, Joslyn Barnes to Rithy Panh-Led Main Jury”. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ Debruge, Peter. “Sundance: Winners Announced (Awards Ceremony in Progress)”. Variety. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
External links
- Official site
- Michael Almereyda at IMDb
- Fleeting Joy A website devoted to Almereyda’s work.
- Michael Almereyda by Jeremiah Kipp, Senses of Cinema website
- King of Infinite Space, Filmmaker Magazine, Winter 1999
