Hal Salwen is an American film director, producer and writer. At the
1997 Sundance Film Festival, Salwen was named by Daily Variety as one
of its "Top Ten Filmmakers To Watch" along with Mary Harron, Wes
Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron, among others. Salwen's films have
received numerous awards and nominations, with Denise Calls Up notable
for being the only American film to win an award at the 1995 Cannes
Film Festival.Based on a short film he made while attending NYU Film
School, Salwen was accepted into the AFI Director's Internship Program
where he was placed to observe Sylvester Stallone direct Staying
Alive. Following that experience, he began a career in television
commercials, working in various capacities, from production assistant
to producer, while simultaneously writing several screenplays.
Eventually, two of those screenplaysâ€"Deadly Surveillance and
Probable Causeâ€"found their way into production as made-for-cable
movies for the Showtime Network. After subsequently having several of
his spec scripts optioned by Hollywood studios, but never made, as
well as working as an uncredited writer on several films, Salwen began
work on smaller projects with the hope of directing. The first in that
effort lead to his directorial debut, the film Denise Calls Up. He
explains:At the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, Salwen was named by Daily
Variety as one of its "Top Ten Filmmakers To Watch" along with Mary
Harron, Wes Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron, among others. Salwen's films
have received numerous awards and nominations, with Denise Calls Up
notable for being the only American film to win an award at the 1995
Cannes Film Festival.
1997 Sundance Film Festival, Salwen was named by Daily Variety as one
of its "Top Ten Filmmakers To Watch" along with Mary Harron, Wes
Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron, among others. Salwen's films have
received numerous awards and nominations, with Denise Calls Up notable
for being the only American film to win an award at the 1995 Cannes
Film Festival.Based on a short film he made while attending NYU Film
School, Salwen was accepted into the AFI Director's Internship Program
where he was placed to observe Sylvester Stallone direct Staying
Alive. Following that experience, he began a career in television
commercials, working in various capacities, from production assistant
to producer, while simultaneously writing several screenplays.
Eventually, two of those screenplaysâ€"Deadly Surveillance and
Probable Causeâ€"found their way into production as made-for-cable
movies for the Showtime Network. After subsequently having several of
his spec scripts optioned by Hollywood studios, but never made, as
well as working as an uncredited writer on several films, Salwen began
work on smaller projects with the hope of directing. The first in that
effort lead to his directorial debut, the film Denise Calls Up. He
explains:At the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, Salwen was named by Daily
Variety as one of its "Top Ten Filmmakers To Watch" along with Mary
Harron, Wes Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron, among others. Salwen's films
have received numerous awards and nominations, with Denise Calls Up
notable for being the only American film to win an award at the 1995
Cannes Film Festival.
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