Theodore Zachary Cotler (born 1981) is an American filmmaker, poet, and novelist. His first film, ''

Maya Dardel ''Maya Dardel'' is a 2017 US-Polish drama film written and directed by Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak, starring Lena Olin, Jordan Gavaris, Alexander Koch, Nathan Keyes, and Rosanna Arquette. It premiered in the Narrative Competition at the 2 ...

'', premiered in the Narrative Competition at the 2017

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Film Festival and was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films and

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

. His second film, '' The Wall of Mexico'', premiered at

in 2019. A third film, ''

When I'm a Moth ''When I'm a Moth'' is a 2019 American independent drama film directed by Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak and starring Addison Timlin as Hillary Clinton, then Hillary Rodham. The film is set in 1969 and depicts Rodham during the summer she worke ...

'', came out shortly after the second. He won the 2012 Sawtooth Poetry Prize for ''Sonnets to the Humans'' and the 2104 Colorado Prize for Poetry for ''Supplice''. In 2011, the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

awarded him the Ruth Lilly Fellowship.

Early life and education

Cotler spent his childhood in

Marin County, California Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...

. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 2003 with a B.A. in English. In 2008, he received his MFA in poetry from the

Iowa Writers Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

Career

In 2009, Cotler founded The Winter Anthology at winteranthology.com with Michael Rutherglen, Olivia Clare, and Brandon Krieg. Cotler continues to spearhead and edit the anthology. His first book of poems, ''House with a Dark Sky Roof'', was published in 2011. In 2012, Heather McHugh picked Cotler as the winner of the Sawtooth Prize, and in 2013, Ahsahta Press published ''Sonnets to the Humans'', a cycle of 49 sonnets (the first of a projected trilogy of such sequences). ''Supplice'', the second book of sonnets, was picked as the winner of the 2014 Colorado Prize for Poetry by

Claudia Keelan Claudia Keelan (b. 1959) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She received the Regents’ Creative Activities Award, at the University of Nevada, Los Vegas. Life Claudia Keelan is the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently ' ...

. Cotler's first novel ''Ghost at the Loom'' was published in 2014. Cotler's first film, ''

,'' starring Lena Olin,

Jordan Gavaris Jordan James Gavaris (born September 25, 1989) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Felix Dawkins in the BBC America and Space television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017). He is the lead in '' The Lake'' opposite Julia St ...

, Alexander Koch, Nathan Keyes, and

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song ( ...

, was released in 2017. Cotler and filmmaking partner Magdalena Zyzak received Best Screenplay for ''

'' at the Prague Independent Film Festival and Best Director for ''

'' at the 2017 Raindance Film Festival.

Filmography

*''

'' (2017) *'' The Wall of Mexico'' (2019) *''

'' (2019)

Bibliography

Fiction ''Ghost at the Loom'' (2014) Poetry ''Supplice'' (2014) ''Sonnets to the Humans'' (2013) ''House with a Dark Sky Roof'' (2011) Criticism ''Elegies for Humanism'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotler, Theodore 1981 births 21st-century American poets Writers from Passaic, New Jersey Living people Cornell University alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni