Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker.

Early life and education

Oblowitz was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

where he grew up surfing in the 1970s. He is a Fine Arts and Philosophy graduate of the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. He received an M.F.A. in Film Theory and Production from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1982 and studied color photography and printing at the Central School of Art London in 1976.

Career

He began his career in the early 1970s with the films ''X-Terminator'', ''The Is/Land'', ''Minus Zero'' and ''King Blank''. The films are part of the permanent collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He entered the mainstream in 1997 with the

crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

This World, Then the Fireworks ''This World, Then the Fireworks'' is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Michael Oblowitz and starring Billy Zane, Gina Gershon and Sheryl Lee. The screenplay is based on a short story of the same name by Jim Thompson. Plot As children ...

''. In October 2010, his film '' The Traveller'', starring Val Kilmer, was released in the United States. It won an award for Best Thriller Feature at the 2011 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. He released his first surfing documentary, ''Sea Of Darkness'' in 2010. The documentary won the Best Feature award at the New York Surf Film Festival. His second surfing documentary, ''Heavy Water'', which was released in 2017 starred

Nathan Fletcher Nathan Fletcher (born December 31, 1976) is an American politician and professor serving on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for the 4th District since 2019 and as the Chair since 2021. Previously, he served two terms in the California ...

, won Best surfing film at the Byron Bay International Film Festival and won Best Wavescape film at the 2018

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa an ...

. In 2018, he directed the film ''

Frank & Ava ''Frank & Ava'' is a 2018 American biographical drama film directed by Michael Oblowitz and starring Rico Simonini as Frank Sinatra and Emily Elicia Low as Ava Gardner. It is based on the play of the same name by Willard Manus. This marked the ...

''. He has also produced music videos for musicians such as of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Notable films

*''X-Terminator''-1977 *''The Is/Land-Circuits of Control'' (with David Goldberg, 1978) *''Minus Zero''-1979 *''King Blank'' (1982) *''

'' (1997) *''Sea of Darkness'' (Documentary, 2010) *'' The Traveler'' (2010) *''The Ganzfeld Experiment'' (2013) *''Heavy Water'' (2017) *''

'' (2018)

Music videos

*"Basketball" by Kurtis Blow (1983) *"Hippy Land Rap" by

Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, activist. He is known for his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo on Fox's ' ...

1990 *"The Healer" by

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

and

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

(1993) *"Mustang Sally" by

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

and

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

(1994) *''Booker T and the M.G's Live in Laguna'' (music documentary, 1995) *''Buddy Guy - Live: The Real Deal'' (music documentary, 1996) *"Standing Here" by the Stone Roses (1997)

Selected filmography

*1977 ''X-terminator'', (short film) *1977 ''Table Conversation'', (Short Film) *1979 ''Minus Zero'' *1979 ''Death Magazine'' *1979 ''Red Love Color'' *1980 ''Too Sensitive to Touch'' *1998 ''The Areola'' (co-directed) *2001 '' The Breed'' *2003 ''

Out for a Kill ''Out for a Kill'' is a 2003 straight-to-video action film directed by Michael Oblowitz. It stars Steven Seagal. Plot Wong Dai (Chooi Kheng Beh), an influential Chinese drug kingpin, sits at a long table in an old building in Paris, France, goi ...

'' *2003 '' The Foreigner'' *2005 '' Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy'' *2008 ''Romantic Resorts'' *2016 ''Untitled Sunny Garcia Documentary'' (in production)

Awards and recognitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oblowitz, Michael South African film directors Living people University of Cape Town alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni South African music video directors 1952 births