Alex Ranarivelo is a French filmmaker known for his sports dramas.

Early life

He was born into a French- Malagasy family in Saint-Jean-d'Angely,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. His great-grandfather, a Malagasy man, married his great-grandmother, a white woman, in 1910. His family's history would later inspire him to direct several films based around race such as ''Dirt'' and ''The Ride''. Ranarivelo moved to the United States when he was 6 years old. He studied film at the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

Career

After making his feature film debut with the rough-and-tumble

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

from a male perspective ''Alpha Males Experiment'' (aka ''Knuckle Draggers''), Ranarivelo was hired to direct the action film ''Born to Race'', which he co-wrote with fellow Art Center alum Steven Sarno. When producer Ali Afshar and executive producer Forrest Lucas created ESX Entertainment, Ranarivelo was brought on to direct their first film, the suspenseful, character-driven ''The Dog Lover'' (starring

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in '' 48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (198 ...

Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzl ...

, and

Sherry Stringfield Sherry Lea Stringfield (born June 24, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the NBC medical drama '' ER'', a role for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. Stringfield was a member ...

). Next came '' American Wrestler: The Wizard'', which follows a 17-year-old Iranian refugee who becomes the high school wrestling champion against adversity during the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...

of 1980. In this period piece, Ranarivelo directed

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, he ...

William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on ''Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski on ...

and discovered newcomers George Kosturos and

Lia Marie Johnson Lia Marie Johnson (born November 23, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and Internet personality, who in 2014 was profiled by ''Adweek'' as one of the "10 biggest young stars on YouTube". She first received recognition for her work on her You ...

. The film won multiple awards on the festival circuit including "Best Picture" and "Best Ensemble" at the

Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September. The Boston Film Festival premiered such notable films as '' The Last Kiss'' ...

, the audience award at the

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers’ creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the ...

and the audience award at the Napa Film Festival. Next came '' Running Wild'', where Ranarivelo was at the helm of drama about a California Ranch socialite poised to lose everything who creates a Prison Rehabilitation Equine Program after finding starving wild horses on her property. The film stars

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

, Dorian Brown and Jason Lewis. In October 2015, Ranarivelo directed

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

and Paul Rodriguez in '' Pray for Rain'', a murder mystery set against the backdrop of the Central California drought. A young girl begins to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding her father's death and discovers that the idyllic farm community of her youth has been replaced by crime and desperation. The films stars

Annabelle Stephenson Annabelle Stephenson is an Australian actress. She began her career playing Miriam Kent in '' H2O: Just Add Water''. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Stephenson moved to Los Angeles, where she filmed a pilot for MTV. ...

and

Nicholas Gonzalez Nicholas Edward Gonzalez is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Alex Santiago on the Showtime television series ''Resurrection Blvd'' and Dr. Neil Melendez on the ABC television series ''The Good Doctor''. Early life ...

. Ranarivelo returned to the motorsports world for ''Dirt'', his fifth movie with ESX Entertainment. ''Dirt'' is about a weathered race team owner (

Kevin Dillon Kevin Brady Dillon (born August 19, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Johnny "Drama" Chase on the HBO comedy series ''Entourage'', Bunny in the war film ''Platoon'', and John Densmore in the musical biopic ''The Doors ...

) who can't quite get his team to gel when he is asked to take on a kid from the hood that needs a work furlough to avoid jail time. He reluctantly agrees and the unlikely pair create quite a stir in the

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

sport of short course off-road truck racing. Ranarivelo also directed ''The Ride'', about a troubled boy from a

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

family who is sent to a juvenile detention center after stabbing his dad and ends up being fostered by an interracial couple. The film is based on the true story of Scottish BMX rider John Buultjens.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranarivelo, Alex Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American film editors American film directors American male screenwriters Art Center College of Design alumni French emigrants to the United States French film directors French film editors French screenwriters French people of Malagasy descent