Gaylen Ross

Gaylen Ross
Gaylen Ross
Born
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Citizenship
  • American
  • Israeli
EducationMonterey Peninsula College
The New School
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
Websitegrfilmsinc.com

Gaylen Ross (born August 15, 1950)[1] is an American director, writer, producer and actress, best known for playing Francine Parker in the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead and also noted for directing the 2008 documentary Killing Kasztner.

Background

Ross was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she graduated from Broad Ripple High School in 1967.[2] She studied at Monterey Peninsula College in California, and later received her BA from The New School for Social Research in Literature.[3] She was managing editor of the literary journal Antaeus and Ecco Press from 1975 to 1977.

Ross holds citizenship in the United States and Israel.[4] In 2015, she was named to the Indianapolis Public School Education Foundation’s Hall of Fame.[5]

Career

Gaylen Ross, Nick Licata, Lewis Black and Lance Rosen at Seattle’s NW Film Forum, June 11th, 2012.

Ross's documentary films include 2008's Killing Kasztner and Dealers Among Dealers, a documentary of New York’s 47th Street diamond trade. Ross's company, GR Films, has produced Listen To Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beechman; Not Just Las Vegas, about the rise of nationwide gambling in the USA; To Russia For Love, about the Russian Mail-order bride business; Selling The Dream: Stock Hype and Fraud; Dealers Among Dealers and the Emmy Award-winning Blood Money: Switzerland's Nazi Gold. Ross, along with John Connolly co-authored Married To A Stranger, about the Russian mail order bride business, published by Berkeley Publishing Group.

In 2009, Ross released Killing Kasztner[6] on the life and assassination of Rezso Kasztner. Ross' other films include Dealers Among Dealers (1995)[7] Ross wrote Blood Money: Switzerland’s Nazi Gold (1997), co-produced with Stephen Crisman;[8] After Solidarity: Three Polish Families in America and Caris' Peace,[9] which documents film and stage actress Caris Corfman. Other films and television projects have focused on bank fraud, gambling in America, and Russian mail-order brides. She has directed productions for “The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous" and the "UJA Federations of North America."

Ross starred as "Francine" in George A. Romero's 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead, followed by her portrayal of "Betsy" in the 1981 slasher film Madman then as Leslie Nielsen's adulterous wife "Becky Vickers" in George Romero and Stephen King's 1982 film Creepshow.[10]

Current projects include professional boxing documentary TitleShot.[11] With co-director Andy Cohen, projects in post-production include films on the Village Gate, and human rights activists. Ross is collaborating with Cohen on Beijing Spring, a documentary about artistic freedom and the democracy movement between 1978 and 1982 in China.[12]

Ross and Cohen directed the 2019 documentary Ximei,[13] produced by Ai Weiwei. The film premiered at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva.[14]

Filmography

As a director:

  • Out of Solidarity (1989)
  • Time for Art (1990)
  • Not Just Las Vegas (1994)
  • Dealers Among Dealers (1996)
  • To Russia for Love: Mail-Order Brides (1999)
  • Listen to Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beeckman (2003)
  • Killing Kasztner (2008)
  • Caris' Peace (2011)
  • TitleShot (2019)
  • Ximei (2019)
  • Beijing Spring (2020)

As an actress:

References

  1. ^ "Gaylen Ross". AllMovie. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Shearer, Joe (April 17, 2015). "Jewish Film Festival: Q&A with Indianapolis native Gaylen Ross". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "TwoMovies - Watch movies online". Twomovies.tv. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "Why Young Hollywood Is More Willing to Question Israel's Policies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  5. ^ "Hall of Fame Class of 2015". Ipsef.org. April 4, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "Killing Kasztner - the Movie". Killingkasztner.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "Dealers Among Dealers". Jfi.org. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  8. ^ "Investigative Reports". TVGuide.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  9. ^ "Caris' Peace". BrainLine.org. January 29, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Shearer, Joe. "Jewish Film Festival: Q&A with Indianapolis native Gaylen Ross". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Exciting Boxing Documentary in the Works on Kickstarter". Balltribe.com. August 21, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "HOME". Beijingspringfilm.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "Review: 'Ximei' chronicles a Chinese woman's fight for AIDS victims". Los Angeles Times. October 25, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  14. ^ "Ximei documentary premieres at Geneva Human Rights Film Festival". Euronews.com. March 19, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2021.