George Langworthy

George Langworthy
Langworthy in 2016
NationalityAmerican
Alma materRice University
Occupations
Notable workCake: A Wedding Story
Vanishing of the Bees
TitleFilmmaker
Websitegeorgelangworthy.com

George Langworthy is an American film director, producer and writer. He is best known for his work on Cake: A Wedding Story (2007) and Vanishing of the Bees (2009).

Early life and education

Langworthy attended Rice University and spent his senior year on a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge University.[1] While a student at Cambridge, he wrote and performed sketches with the Footlights comedic troupe.[2] He received an M.F.A. in Screenwriting as a fellow in the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas.[3][4]

Career

Langworthy began his career in 1993, as a member of the editorial staff of American Heart, a drama film starring Jeff Bridges and directed by Martin Bell.[5]

While working on his M.F.A., he served as the cinematographer for the biographical documentary Janis Joplin Slept Here, featuring Richard Linklater and Clifford Antone and awarded Best Documentary at the 1994 Houston International Film Festival.[6]

In 1996, he directed a 12-minute comedy entitled Breezeway. The short film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS, the BBC and Canal +.[7][8][9]

In 2002, Langworthy filmed and produced videos of live performances of bands such as The White Stripes, Devo and No Doubt.[10][11]

In 2007, Langworthy co-wrote the screenplay for Cake: A Wedding Story with fellow Cambridge University alumni, Iain Weatherby. The film was directed by Will Wallace and won the award for Best Comedy Feature Film in the Other Venice Film Festival.[12]

In 2009, he served as the director, producer, writer and cinematographer for the 90-minute environmental documentary Vanishing of the Bees.[13][14][15][16] The film was released in the U.K. on October 9, 2009 and re-released in the U.S. with a new edit which was narrated by Elliot Page.[17] The documentary received the best documentary award at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, the Cosmic Cine Film Festival[18] and the Ecocup Film Festival.[19][20]

In 2019, Langworthy produced, wrote and edited the documentary Big Fur, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.[21] The film secured a distribution deal with 1091 Pictures,[22] and has earned a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.[23]

Filmography

Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Producer Writer Cinematographer Editor
1994 Janis Joplin Slept Here Yes Documentary
1995 Skeletons Yes Yes Yes Yes
1997 Breezeway Yes Yes Yes Yes
2007 Cake: A Wedding Story Yes
2009 Vanishing of the Bees Yes Yes Yes Yes Documentary
2009 Who Killed the Honeybee Yes Yes Documentary
2019 Big Fur Yes Yes Yes Yes Documentary

References

  1. ^ "Cambridge Soundtrack: Alexander Armstrong (Trinity 1989)". Alumni.
  2. ^ "Why have bees been buzzing off?". 2009-11-02.
  3. ^ "Kick-Ash". Texas Monthly. 1997-03-01.
  4. ^ "Texas Filmmakers Showcase 1996 | Houston Film Commission". houstonfilmcommission.com.
  5. ^ "Martin Bell - Films - American Heart". www.maryellenmark.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  6. ^ Veneruso, Tara. "A Guide to the Tara Veneruso Collection, 1993-1997". legacy.lib.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  7. ^ "Competition Judges". www.austinchronicle.com. March 20, 1998. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  8. ^ "Shortcuts". www.austinchronicle.com. December 13, 1996. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  9. ^ "The Honeybee Times" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Why have bees been buzzing off?". 2009-11-02.
  11. ^ "Vanishing of the Bees". www.dreff.org. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  12. ^ "10a, Sun, Mar 18, Electric Lodge". 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  13. ^ "Film review: Vanishing of the Bees". the Guardian. 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  14. ^ Collett-White, Mike (2009-10-02). "New film seeks answer to mystery of vanishing bees". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  15. ^ "The mysterious vanishing act of bees - CNN.com". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  16. ^ "Buzzing over the bees' plight". Los Angeles Times. 2011-06-19. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  17. ^ Pener, Degen (2011-05-23). "Ellen Page Calls Attention to Bee Colony Devastation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  18. ^ "Vanishing of the Bees – Das Verschwinden der Bienen". Cosmic Cine (in German). Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  19. ^ Vanishing of the Bees | IDFA, retrieved 2021-06-29
  20. ^ "Исчезновение пчел (60 мин., США, 2009)". ECOCUP (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  21. ^ Clement, Nick (2020-01-27). "Slamdance Film Festival Continues to Elevate Emerging Talents". Variety. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  22. ^ "Film News Roundup: Nicolas Cage's 'Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' Gets Release Date". Variety. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  23. ^ Big Fur (2019), retrieved 2021-06-29