Robert Greene (born May 25, 1976) is an American

documentary filmmaker A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. His documentaries include ''

Bisbee '17 ''Bisbee '17'' (also ''Bisbee '17: A Story Told in Six Chapters'') is a 2018 American film directed by Robert Greene. Partially documentary and partially based on a true story Western, it reflects on the events of the 1917 Bisbee Deportation, 10 ...

'', ''

Kate Plays Christine ''Kate Plays Christine'' is a 2016 American documentary film written and directed by Robert Greene. It follows actress Kate Lyn Sheil's preparation for the role of Christine Chubbuck, a newscaster who committed suicide on live television in 1974, ...

'', ''

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

'', and ''Fake it So Real''. He was named one of the 10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2014 by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', and is "filmmaker-in-chief" at the Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, beginning in 2015.

Life and career

Greene was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received his bachelor's degree from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

in 2000, majoring in Communication and Multidisciplinary Film Studies. He received his M.F.A. at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

in Media Arts Studies. During his studies in New York he worked at Kim's Video. In 2002, Greene began working at 4th Row Films, starting as freelance editor. In 2004 he began working a full-time as a post-production supervisor. During this time, he worked with producers Douglas Tirola and Susan Bedusa on films including ''All In: The Poker Movie'' (2008), ''Making the Boys'' (2011), and ''An Omar Broadway Film'' (2008). While he was at 4th Row, Greene directed and produced ''Owning the Weather'' (2009) and ''Kati with an I'' (2010). In 2011 he released ''Fake It So Real'', his third feature as director, a documentary following a

Lincolnton, North Carolina Lincolnton is a city in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States, within the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,486 at the 2010 census. Lincolnton is northwest of Charlotte, on the South Fork of the Catawba River. The city i ...

independent wrestling group over the week leading up to a big show. In 2012 he left 4th Row Films to work on independent projects. In 2014 he directed ''

'', a documentary about actress

Brandy Burre Brandy Burre (born September 27, 1974) is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Theresa D'Agostino on the HBO series ''The Wire''. Burre was born in Sandusky, Ohio. She earned her master's degree in acting at Ohio University, and ...

as she attempts to return to her acting career after abandoning it to concentrate on raising a family. In 2016 he directed ''

'', a more experimental work depicting actress

Kate Lyn Sheil Kate Lyn Sheil (born June 13, 1985) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her roles in independent films '' You're Next'', ''V/H/S'', '' The Color Wheel'', '' The Sacrament'', and the award-winning Netflix series '' House of Cards ...

's preparations to portray the role of

Christine Chubbuck Christine "Chris" Chubbuck (August 24, 1944 – July 15, 1974) was an American television news reporter who worked for stations WTOG and WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. She was the first person to die by suicide on a live television broadcas ...

, a real-life news reporter who took her own life on national television in 1974. In 2021, Greene premiered ''

Procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

'' at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...

where it was acquired by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. Procession follows six men who suffered sexual abuse by Catholic priests band together to become a makeshift family, and find empowerment by creating fictional scenes depicting rituals of power in the church. The film was nominated for at the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature The Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It is given to the director(s) of the film and since 2014 it is also given to the producers. It was first presented in 2000, with Marc Singer ...

at the

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with Poly(methyl m ...

and shortlisted by

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

the for best documentary at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its u ...

. Greene has worked with

Sean Price Williams Sean Price Williams is an American cinematographer. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, he is based in New York. Career Williams is known for his textured, fluid camerawork (often handheld) and a heightened attention to available light. The ''New York ...

and

Alex Ross Perry Alex Ross Perry (born July 14, 1984) is an American filmmaker and actor. Early life Perry was born to a Jewish family in 1984 and raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he worked on a local television news program during high school.Renninger, ...

, having edited Perry's feature film '' Listen Up Philip'', as well as Amanda Rose Wilder's ''Approaching the Elephant'', Nick Berardini's ''

Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle ''Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle; or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land'' is a young adult novel published in 1911, written by Stratemeyer Syndicate writers using the pen name Victor Appleton. It is Volume 10 in the original Tom Swift novel se ...

'', and Robert Kolodny's ''Pep''''. In 2015 Greene was appointed filmmaker-in-chief at the ne
Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the University
of Missouri in Columbia, MO. He is also an assistant professor in their Journalism and Film Studies programs. He is a writer, critic and reviewer, contributing regularly to ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' as well as to other print and online publications including ''

Filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

'', ''Criterion'', and '' Criticwire''. ''Present Tense: Notes on American Nonfiction Cinema 1998-2013,'' his first book, is slated for release by ''The Critical Press'' for July 2015.

Influences

Greene cites a variety of filmmakers and directors as influences for his work, including

Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...

Albert and David Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films i ...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

, and

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary ''Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...

. Greene has called

Peter Watkins Peter Watkins (born 29 October 1935) is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His films ...

' ''

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

'' his favorite film of all time. For ''

'', Greene was interested in Wiseman and

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...

for their mastery of visuals and definitive style, on how their influence could be incorporated in telling Burre's story.Greene, Robert, and Joshua Handler. "Roboapocalypse: From the Mouths of Filmmakers: Robert Greene." Roboapocalypse. November 3, 2014.

Filmography

As director

*''

'' (2021) *''

'' (2018) *''

'' (2016) *''

'' (2014) *''Fake It So Real'' (2011) *''Goodbye Engineer'' (2011) *''Kati With an I'' (2010) *''Owning the Weather'' (2009)

As editor

*''

Pep Pep is energy or high spirits; it may refer to: * Pep band, an ensemble of instrumentalists * Pep, the dog in ''Putt-Putt'' (series) * Neilson Dairy confectionery brand * Pep, New Mexico * Pep, Texas * Pep Cereal, by Kellogg * Pep Comics, by MLJ ...

'' (TBA) *''

Her Smell ''Her Smell'' is a 2018 American drama film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. It stars Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Agyness Deyn, Gayle Rankin, Ashley Benson, Dylan Gelula, Virginia Madsen and Amber Heard ...

(2018) *''

Golden Exits ''Golden Exits'' is a 2017 drama film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. Starring Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary Louise Parker, Jason Schwartzman, Chloë Sevigny and Analeigh Tipton, it explores relationships and social c ...

'' (2017) *''

'' (2015) *''

7 Chinese Brothers ''7 Chinese Brothers'' is a 2015 American comedy film written and directed by Bob Byington and starring Jason Schwartzman, Stephen Root, Olympia Dukakis, Jonathan Togo, and Alex Karpovsky. The film was released on August 28, 2015, in a limited re ...

'' (2015) *''

Queen of Earth ''Queen of Earth'' is a 2015 American psychological thriller film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston and Patrick Fugit. Plot Catherine is in the midst of a breakup with he ...

'' (2015) *'' Listen Up Philip'' (2014) *''

Christmas, Again ''Christmas, Again'' is a 2014 drama romance written, directed, and produced by Charles Poekel. The film features Kentucker Audley in the lead role as a Christmas-tree salesman returning to New York City. The film had its premiere at the 2014 Lo ...

'' (2014) *''Approaching the Elephant'' (2014) (also producer) *''If You Take This'' (2014) (also producer) *''The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga'' (2014) (additional editing) *''Hellaware'' (2013) (additional editing) *''Hey Bartender'' (2013) *''

Lenny Cooke Leonard Cooke (born April 29, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he is known primarily for having been ranked higher than LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in 2001. He had averaged 25 poi ...

'' (2013) *''All In: The Poker Movie'' (2012) *''Making the Boys'' (2011) *''An Omar Broadway Film'' (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Robert 1976 births Living people American documentary filmmakers Artists from Charlotte, North Carolina City College of New York alumni North Carolina State University alumni University of Missouri faculty Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina