Megan Griffiths
Megan Griffiths (born April 22, 1975)[1][2] is a film and television director who resides in Seattle, Washington, USA and a board member of Northwest Film Forum.[3]
Megan Griffiths | |
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![]() Griffiths speaking at Penn State in 2018 | |
Born | Athens, Ohio | April 22, 1975
Occupation | TV & Film director |
Early life and education
Griffiths was born in Ohio, lived in Moscow, Idaho in her teens, attended Moscow High School, and was an undergraduate at the University of Idaho where she earned a B.A. in visual communications in 1997.[1][2][4]
Griffiths received an MFA in Film Production from Ohio University School of Film in 2000.[1][3][5]
Career
She wrote and directed her first feature film, First Aid For Choking, in 2003.[6] Griffiths subsequently worked as a producer and first assistant director on features in and around Seattle including Zoo, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, The Catechism Cataclysm, and Your Sister's Sister.[6] Her second feature The Off Hours world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival[7] and went on to receive a nomination at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards for Ben Kasulke's cinematography.[8]
Griffiths made Eden in 2012. The film starred Jamie Chung, Matt O'Leary and Beau Bridges, and it told a story about a human trafficking survivor.[9] The Stranger newspaper wrote, "Griffiths navigates the horrifying facts of her film with great respect," and her direction was described as "a veritable master class in how to make humane art out of inhumanity."[10]
The following year (2013) she directed a comedy titled Lucky Them. The film, shot in Seattle, starred Toni Collette, along with Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt, and a cameo by Johnny Depp.[11] It premiered in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[12]
In 2016, Griffiths wrote and directed The Night Stalker, in which Lou Diamond Phillips played American serial killer Richard Ramirez.[13] The film co-starred Bellamy Young and was acquired by Lifetime Television.[14] It aired on June 12, 2016.[15]
Her sixth feature Sadie starred Sophia Mitri Schoss, Melanie Lynskey, John Gallagher, Jr., Tony Hale, Danielle Brooks, Tee Dennard, and Keith L. Williams. It premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival. Variety said, "writer-director Megan Griffiths’ quietly absorbing and methodically disquieting drama is a genuine rarity."[16]
Awards
- 2011 Emergent Narrative Female Director audience award, South by Southwest[17]
- 2012 The Stranger Genius Award for Film[18]
- 2013 City Arts magazine Co-Artist of the year.[19]
- 2015 Seattle Mayor's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film[20]
- 2018 Gryphon Award, Giffoni Film Festival[21]
Television
- $5 Cover: Seattle (2010) — First Assistant Director
- Room 104 (2017) — Director, Season 1, Episode 7: "Missionaries"
- Room 104 (2017) — Director, Season 1, Episode 11: "The Fight"
- Graves (2017) — Director, Season 2, Episode 8: "They Die Happier"
- Animal Kingdom (2018) — Director, Season 3, Episode 5: "Prey"
- The Society (2019) — Director, Season 1, Episode 6: "Like a F-ing God or Something"
- Animal Kingdom (2019) — Director, Season 4, Episode 4: "Tank"
- Looking For Alaska (2019) — Director, Episode 6: "We Are All Going"
- Prodigal Son (2019) — Director, Season 1, Episode 6: "The Surgeon"
- Dare Me (2020) - Director, Season 1, Episode 9: "Fog of War"
Filmography
- Shag Carpet Sunset (2002) — Director of Photography[1]
- First Aid for Choking (2003) — Writer/Director/Producer
- Urban Scarecrow (2006) — Cinematographer
- We Go Way Back (2006) — First Assistant Director
- The Guatemalan Handshake (2006) — Producer/First Assistant Director
- June and July (2006) — First Assistant Director
- Zoo (2007) — Assistant Director[22]
- Cthulu (2007) — First Assistant Director
- Butterfly Dreaming (2008) — First Assistant Director
- Moving (short) (2008) — Writer/Director
- The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009) — First Assistant Director
- The Day My Parents Became Cool (short) (2009) — First Assistant Director
- The Whole Truth (2009) — First Assistant Director
- Crimes of the Past (2009) — First Assistant Director
- Wrong Turn at Tahoe (2009) — First Assistant Director
- Eros (short) (2009) — Writer/Director
- Late Autumn (2010) — First Assistant Director
- The Catechism Cataclysm (2011) — Producer/Assistant Director/Casting Director
- The Off Hours (2011) — Writer/Director/Editor/Casting
- Eden (2013) — Writer/Director
- Lucky Them (2014) — Director[1]
- Rat Pack Rat (2014) — Producer
- The Night Stalker (2016) — Director
- Sadie (2018) — Writer/Director
References
- Leah Baltus (May 2013), "Life in Pictures: After 13 years of filmmaking in Seattle, Megan Griffiths has made more than a career out of movies", CityArts, Seattle: Encore Media Group: 22
- Sabina Dana Plasse (February 4, 2011), "Sundance is a win, even without an award", Idaho Mountain Express, Sun Valley, Idaho, archived from the original on September 22, 2013, retrieved 2013-05-03
- Board of Directors: Megan Griffiths, Northwest Film Forum, retrieved 2013-05-03
- "University Of Idaho Names Degree Candidates", The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, June 5, 1997
- Ohio University School Of Film alumni directory
- "‘Lucky Them’ brings director Megan Griffiths’ career into focus", Seattle Times, November 3, 2013
- "Seattle-based filmmaker Megan Griffiths’ cool job", Seattle Times, Aug 10, 2016
- "Ben Kasulke hopes Seattle’s movie moment is no ‘flash in the pan’", Seattle Times, June 10, 2012
- "Eden", Variety, March 14, 2012
- "Real-World Horror, Film-World Triumph", The Stranger, May 1, 2013
- "'Lucky Them': TIFF Film Mixes Toni Collette, Grunge, Groupies And Johnny Depp", Huffington Post, Sept 12, 2013
- "Lucky Them". TIFF. Archived from the original on 2013-08-16. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- "Lou Diamond Phillips to Play Serial Killer Richard Ramirez in New Movie", Variety, June 10, 2015
- "'The Night Stalker': SIFF Review", The Hollywood Reporter, June 13, 2016
- "Lou Diamond Phillips embraces serial killer mentality for ‘The Night Stalker’", KIRO Seattle MyNorthwest.com June 10, 2016
- "SXSW Film Review: Sadie", Variety, March 26, 2018
- Scott Macaulay (March 14, 2012), ""GIMME THE LOOT," "BEWARE OF MR. BAKER" WIN TOP PRIZES AT SXSW", Filmmaker
- Charles Mudede, "2012 Stranger Film Genius Megan Griffiths", The Stranger, retrieved 2013-05-03
- "Shine On: 2013 Artists of the Year - City Arts Magazine". 25 November 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Seattle.gov Office of Film and Music https://www.seattle.gov/filmandmusic/film/mayors-film-award
- "GIFFONI FILM FESTIVAL 2018 - 20.28 JULY". giffonifilmfestival.it. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
- "Review: Zoo", Variety, May 18, 2007