Aiden Dillard is an American independent film director and artist. He is known for using
surreal humor and
camp (style) within the confines of
low-budget film. Aiden Dillard was born in
Escondido, California, but grew up in
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
. Aiden Dillard's feature films and video art often deals with contrasts between a
rural and
urban area, and
high culture and
low culture. While studying at
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
in New York City on a full-tuition scholarship, his student film "
The Battle of the Burps and Farts" was screened at
TromaDance 2004
and was the only film in the history of the festival that was booed by everybody in attendance.
Upon graduation Aiden Dillard directed an outrageous psychedelic spoof of "
Reefer Madness", titled "
Meat Weed Madness", which featured set decoration by Joe Holtzman, the editor-in-chief of
Nest (magazine), and crudely constructed props and
stop-motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
animation. "
Meat Weed Madness" premièred at the
Wolfsonian-FIU in December 2005 during
Art Basel Miami Beach, and was released on DVD by
Troma Entertainment in 2006.
Aiden Dillard's even more outrageous sequel ''Meat Weed America'' was released by Troma Entertainment on DVD in the fall of 2007, and features Troma's president
Lloyd Kaufman,
Debbie Rochon
Debbie Ann Rochon (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films.
Early life
When Rochon was ten years old, her parents were deemed unfi ...
, and
Peter Stickles
Peter Stickles (born October 8, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the voyeuristic Caleb in the John Cameron Mitchell film ''Shortbus'' and as Damian, leader of a gay vampire cult, in the Here TV original series ''The Lai ...
.
In 2008, Aiden Dillard moved to
Miami, and wrote, produced, and directed a psychedelic crime-drama about children with
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
who see angels called ''Special Angelz'', which premiered at
Borscht Film Festival. In 2009, Aiden Dillard wrote, produced, and directed an action-comedy spoof of ''
Death Wish
Death Wish or Deathwish may refer to:
Common meanings
*Suicidal ideation, term for thoughts about killing oneself
*Death drive, term in Freudian psychiatry
Arts and entertainment Radio
*"Death Wish", a 1957 episode of the radio series ''X Minus ...
'' called ''Death Print'', which was set in the Miami art-world and shows an art dealer, played by Ted Vernon, who battles a Cuban Communist terrorist, with the help of musician
Otto Von Schirach
Otto von Schirach (born March 10, 1978 in Miami, Florida) is an American IDM and breakcore musician. Of Cuban and German heritage, he grew up in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami and heavily incorporates elements of Miami bass
Miami b ...
. This movie had a sold out premiere at the Colony Theatre in
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
. From 2010 to 2012 Aiden Dillard performed in an art noise band, called Ballscarf, that incorporated video projections and Aiden Dillard's own nudity to produce an effect that was described as "nightmaris chaos".
In 2013, Aiden Dillard moved back to
North Carolina and began to focus on visual art. In 2014 Troma Entertainment released Aiden Dillard's campy yet bloody
slasher film ''Bikini Swamp Girl Massacre'' on DVD.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillard, Aiden
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from Durham, North Carolina
Film directors from North Carolina