Summary: Married filmmaking couple Derek Cianfrance (BLUE VALENTINE) and Shannon Plumb are the latest guests on Filmwax Radio. Both of their new films are having New York premiers this week. Derek's new film, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, distributed by Focus Features, and which stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes, will open Friday, March 29th. Shannon's film, TOWHEADS, her first feature is having a couple of screenings at the New Directors/New Films festival. The next screening is Saturday, March 30th at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. This episode was recorded at their home, where most of TOWHEADS was recorded. End track: Bon Iver's single "The Wolves (Act 1 & 2)" from THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES' original soundtrack. Shannon Plumb is an accomplished video artist whom has created, produced, and starred in over 200 of her own short films. Her work has been exhibited and screened in countless venues throughout the United States and abroad in England, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and China. Her work has been reviewed in such diverse publications as the New York Times, the SF Weekly, Trace, the Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, V Magazine, the New Art Examiner, i-D, and Vogue. Derek Cianfrance attended the University of Colorado’s film school, where he studied under avant-garde film legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. His first three student films each took the university’s top filmmaking prize, earning him the Special Dean’s Grant for Achievement in the Arts as well as the Independent Film Channel award for Excellence in Student Filmmaking. He went on to direct, shoot, and edit (with Joey Curtis) his first feature, Brother Tied, at age 23. The film, which he wrote with Joey Curtis and Mike Tillman, made its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and received critical acclaim. The film screened at over 30 festivals worldwide, winning several honors including the Special Jury Prize for Bold Original Expression at the Florida Film Festival. As director, Mr. Cianfrance ventured into extensive documentary work, including profiling such artists as Mos Def, Sean Combs, and Run-D.M.C.; exploring the ethos of Mixed-Martial Arts fighters, in Cagefighter; and riding with Vietnam veteran biker clubs for Rolling Thunder – Ride for Freedom. As director of photography, he followed Hispanic teens racing in Joey Curtis’ dramatic feature Streets of Legend for which he won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. He has directed numerous commercials and branded content, including the pioneering internet serial Meet the Lucky Ones, which was cited by Adweek as one of the Top Ten Ad Campaigns of 2004; the award-winning internet documentary Ford: Bold Moves, which Mr. Cianfrance co-directed with documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky; and spots for ESPN, Honda, the University of Phoenix, and Apple. His second narrative feature as director, Blue Valentine, which he wrote with Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne, had its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams received Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for their performances, and Ms. Williams earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. Mr. Cianfrance is at work, with Sam Fussell, on an adaptation of the latter’s memoir Muscle as a potential series for HBO. SYNOPSIS of TOWHEADS: The Brooklyn mother of two boys and the wife of a harried theater director, Penelope barely has time to stay sane, much less create art. She finds comic relief from domestic drudgery by inhabiting the world in guises—drag king, pole dancer, Santa Claus—managing to find moments of grace even on thankless days. Accomplished video and performance artist Shannon Plumb makes a wincingly funny feature debut that strikes awfully close to home. The writer-director stars opposite her real-life husband (Derek Cianfrance, director of BLUE VAL
