Daniel Nearing (born December 21, 1961) is a Chicago, Illinois-based
director, screenwriter, and independent filmmaker. Hogtown, his
"period-less" American film, has been called "the most original film
made in Chicago about Chicago to date" and named one of the 10 Best
Films of 2016 by Ben Kenigsberg, who reviewed the film for The New
York Times. Nearing was named the inaugural Filmmaker in Residence for
the City of Chicago (Chicago Film Office, Department of Cultural
Affairs and Special Events) and Chicagoan of the Year for Film
(2016â€"17) by the Chicago Tribune.His earlier breakthrough film, the
micro-budget production Chicago Heights (2010) garnered rave reviews,
especially among fans of the original source material, Sherwood
Anderson's influential collection of short stories, Winesburg, Ohio, a
book long thought impossible to be adapted as a film. Noted film
critic Roger Ebert included Chicago Heights in his list of the Top Art
Films of 2010.Nearing's storytelling style tends to be more circular
than linear. He views plot as a veneer that ties together the more
important, character-centered aspects of any story. Nearing is known
for building sequences of vignettes and using powerful imagery to
focus on the isolation and humility of human life. He works primarily
in black and white, with moments of what he refers to as "ecstatic
color" and with heavily shadowed, "idiosyncratic" shot compositions.
Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune says that "Nearing's chosen
way of telling a story is poetic, elliptical and sometimes unhelpfully
indirect, but if he chooses, this Canadian-born, Chicago-based
filmmaker could very well become a significant and lasting talent."
Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times says Nearing "is not the most
accessible filmmaker, but with his new feature and his previous one,
he has carved out an original and boldly unfashionable niche."Nearing
is a Professor at Governors State University in University Park,
Illinois, where he is a three-time winner of faculty excellence awards
and founded the MFA in Independent Film and Digital Imaging program.
He is also involved in overseeing development of the International MFA
in Film & Video with the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts
in Fairfield, Iowa.
director, screenwriter, and independent filmmaker. Hogtown, his
"period-less" American film, has been called "the most original film
made in Chicago about Chicago to date" and named one of the 10 Best
Films of 2016 by Ben Kenigsberg, who reviewed the film for The New
York Times. Nearing was named the inaugural Filmmaker in Residence for
the City of Chicago (Chicago Film Office, Department of Cultural
Affairs and Special Events) and Chicagoan of the Year for Film
(2016â€"17) by the Chicago Tribune.His earlier breakthrough film, the
micro-budget production Chicago Heights (2010) garnered rave reviews,
especially among fans of the original source material, Sherwood
Anderson's influential collection of short stories, Winesburg, Ohio, a
book long thought impossible to be adapted as a film. Noted film
critic Roger Ebert included Chicago Heights in his list of the Top Art
Films of 2010.Nearing's storytelling style tends to be more circular
than linear. He views plot as a veneer that ties together the more
important, character-centered aspects of any story. Nearing is known
for building sequences of vignettes and using powerful imagery to
focus on the isolation and humility of human life. He works primarily
in black and white, with moments of what he refers to as "ecstatic
color" and with heavily shadowed, "idiosyncratic" shot compositions.
Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune says that "Nearing's chosen
way of telling a story is poetic, elliptical and sometimes unhelpfully
indirect, but if he chooses, this Canadian-born, Chicago-based
filmmaker could very well become a significant and lasting talent."
Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times says Nearing "is not the most
accessible filmmaker, but with his new feature and his previous one,
he has carved out an original and boldly unfashionable niche."Nearing
is a Professor at Governors State University in University Park,
Illinois, where he is a three-time winner of faculty excellence awards
and founded the MFA in Independent Film and Digital Imaging program.
He is also involved in overseeing development of the International MFA
in Film & Video with the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts
in Fairfield, Iowa.
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