HAL HARTLEY
Hartley's first feature, "The Unbelievable Truth," was shot in 1988 and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 1989. Starring Robert Burke and Adrienne Shelley, the film went on to win widespread acclaim when it opened theatrically in the summer of 1990. His second feature, "Trust," stars Adrienne Shelley and Martin Donovan, and also debuted at the 1990 Toronto Film Festival. It went on to win various international prizes, including the first annual Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, the Critic's Prize at the Sydney Film Festival, two top prizes at the Houston Film Festival, the Jury Critics' Prize at the Deauville Film Festival and the Audience Award at the San Paulo Film Festival. In 1992, the Rotterdam Film Festival presented a retrospective of Hartley's work.
In 1991, Hartley directed three short films for PBS: "Theory of Achievement" and "Ambition," produced for Alive From Off/Center and featured in the Museum of Modern Art's "New Directors/New Films Series; and "Surviving Desire," made for American Playhouse and shown at the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels held in Cannes.
"Simple Men," Hartley's third full-length feature, stars Robert Burke, William Sage, Karen Sillas, Elina Lowensohn and Martin Donovan. The film was selected as one of sixteen films in the Main Competition of the 1992 Cannes Film Festival and won awards for "Best Director" and "Best Film" at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Karen Sillas also received a nomination as "Best Actress" at The Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles.
In 1993, Hartley directed the music videos "The Only Living Boy in New York" (for "Everything But the Girl"), "From a Motel 6" (for "Yo La Tengo") and "Iris" (for the Red Hot "No Alternative" compilation). In 1994, he directed a short video, "NYC 3/94," to be shown at the 1994 New York Film Festival, and a short film, "Opera No. 1," for Comedy Central.
Hartley's next feature, "Flirt," which is currently in production, is composed of three short films all based on the same situation but shot in New York, Berlin and Tokyo, with different actors and crews.