Justin Schein
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Justin Schein
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| baptised =
| disappeared_date =
| disappeared_place =
| disappeared_status =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| body_discovered =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| monuments =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| citizenship =
| education = Master's Degree, Documentary Filmmaking
| alma_mater = Stanford University
Johns Hopkins University
| occupation =
| years_active =
| era =
| employer =
| organization =
| agent =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| style =
| height =
| television =
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party =
| movement =
| opponents =
| boards =
| criminal_charge =
| criminal_penalty =
| criminal_status =
| spouse = Eden Wurmfeld
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| callsign =
| awards =
| website = [http://www.shadowboxfilms.com/ Shadowbox Films]
| module =
| module2 =
| module3 =
| module4 =
| module5 =
| module6 =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| signature_size =
| footnotes =
}}
Justin Schein is an American documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. He has been cinematographer on over 60 films and is the co-founder of Shadowbox Films. He is best known for his work on cinéma vérité films that include America Rebuilds: A Year at Ground Zero, No Impact Man, and Left on Purpose.
Early life and education
Schein was born in New York and attended Horace Mann School in The Bronx prior to enrolling in Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Jeanna|title=Daniel Polin, A&S '72 and Justin Schein, A&S '90 Up from the Ashes|url=http://pages.jh.edu/jhumag/0903web/alumnews.html|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=Johns Hopkins Magazine|date=September 2003}} He graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1990 and began working as an intern at Great Projects, a film company in New York City. He later returned to school where he earned a master's degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University.
Career
Schein has been involved in directing and cinematography for more than 20 years.{{cite web|title=Catapult Fund Left on Purpose|url=http://catapultfilmfund.org/project/left-on-purpose/|website=Catapult Fund official website|accessdate=31 July 2015}} He has been the cinematographer on over 60 films that have appeared on networks such as The BBC, The Discovery Channel, HBO, and PBS. Schein is also the founder of Shadownbox Films, a film studio he started in 1998 along with co-founder David Mehlman, a fellow Stanford graduate.
One of Schein's more notable early projects is America Rebuilds: A Year at Ground Zero, a documentary that looked at the cleanup of Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks as well as the debate over what should replace the Twin Towers. He collaborated on the project with Daniel Polin, president of Great Projects Film Company, the company where he interned after graduating from Johns Hopkins.{{cite news|last1=Kugel|first1=Seth|title=A Grim Record of Recovery|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/31/nyregion/a-grim-record-of-recovery.html|accessdate=31 July 2015|work=The New York Times|date=31 March 2002}} Polin was producer on the documentary while Schein worked as co-producer and cinematographer. America Rebuilds was narrated by Kevin Spacey and appeared on PBS on the one year anniversary of the attacks.{{cite news|title=America Rebuilds: A Year at Ground Zero|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/271474/America-Rebuilds-A-Year-at-Ground-Zero/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231052437/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/271474/America-Rebuilds-A-Year-at-Ground-Zero/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-12-31|accessdate=31 July 2015|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author=Hal Erickson|date=2013|author-link=Hal Erickson (author)}}
In 2009, Schein released No Impact Man, a documentary film he directed with Laura Gabbert based on the book of the same title by Colin Beavan.Anderson, John. [https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939373.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2584 "No Impact Man"], Variety, 2009-01-18. Retrieved on 2009-06-30. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and opened theatrically September 4, 2009, follows Colin Beavan and his family during their year-long experiment to have sustainable zero impact on the environment.Friedlander, David. [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/no-impact-man-documentary-film.php "No Impact Man Documentary Film Is Low on Carbon, High on Awareness"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904061631/http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/no-impact-man-documentary-film.php |date=2011-09-04 }}, TreeHugger, 2009-06-20. Retrieved on 2009-06-30. The rights of the film were picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories.{{cite news|title=Institute History - 2009 Sundance Film Festival|url=http://history.sundance.org/films/5799/no_impact_man|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=Sundance.org}}
Schein worked as the cinematographer for the documentary My So-Called Enemy.{{cite news|title=My So-Called Enemy|url=http://www.denverfilm.org/filmcenter/detail.aspx?id=23558|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=Denver Film Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114074446/http://www.denverfilm.org/filmcenter/detail.aspx?id=23558|archive-date=14 January 2011|url-status=dead}} Released in 2010, filming began in the summer of 2002 and documents the relationships between six Jewish and Palestinian girls who come to the United States for a leadership camp. The film documents the bonds that grow between the girls in absence of the violence where the girls live back home. It screened at numerous film festivals, including winning a Cine Golden Eagle and being awarded the Best Documentary at the 2010 Boston Jewish Film Festival.
Schein's recent projects include Left On Purpose, a documentary on the life of political activist Mayer Vishner. Schein originally wanted to document the rebellious legacy of Vishner when he finds out Vishner has severe depression and wants to end his own life as his last political act.{{cite news|last1=Ventura|first1=Michael|title=He Took the Cat to Texas: Part 2|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2013-10-04/he-took-the-cat-to-texas-part-2/|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=The Austin Chronicle|date=4 October 2013}} Schein and Vishner become friends during the filming and Vishner did not reveal his wishes until later in the filming. Vishner committed suicide on August 22, 2013, twelve hours after dropping his cat off with writer Michael Ventura in Texas.{{cite news|title=Mayer Vishner, 64, Yippie, antiwar activist, editor|url=http://thevillager.com/2013/09/26/mayer-vishner-64-yippie-antiwar-activist-editor/|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=The Villager|date=26 September 2013}} The film was funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015 as well as supported from Sundance Documentary Fund, The Jerome Foundation, and Catapult Film Fund.{{cite news|last1=Patterson|first1=Adam|title=Kickstart Sunday: Left On Purpose|url=http://filmpulse.net/kickstart-sunday-left-on-purpose/|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=Film Pulse|date=31 May 2015}}{{cite web|title=Left on Purpose: The Disruptive Life of Mayer Vishner|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/281434474/left-on-purpose-the-disruptive-life-of-mayer-vishn|website=KickStarter|accessdate=31 July 2015}} The night before his death, Vishner told Ventura while smiling "part of me really wants to see the movie."{{cite news|last1=Ventura|first1=Michael|title=Letters at 3AM: He Took the Cat to Texas|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2013-09-20/letters-at-3am-he-took-the-cat-to-texas/|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=The Austin Chronicle|date=20 September 2013}}
Left On Purpose began its festival run in the fall of 2015 and went on to win awards at multiple domestic and international film festivals including Audience Awards at DOC NYC and Woodstock Film Festival. As of February 10, 2017, it is available for streaming on multiple major online platforms.{{Cite web|url=http://www.docnyc.net/awards/|title = 2021 Juried Award Winners}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/festival2015/details.php?id=29983|title = 2015 Woodstock Film Festival online schedule and tickets}}
In the fall of 2024, Justin premiered [https://www.deathandtaxesfilm.com/ Death & Taxes] at DOC NYC. It is a feature documentary that looks at the American Dream and the problems of wealth inequality through the lens of the estate tax. It is also a very personal story of his relationship with his father Harvey Schein who went from poverty to great success and then became focused on reducing his estate tax.
=Partial filmography=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col" |Year
! scope="col" |Title ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Role |
|---|
| scope="row" | 1998
| Kofi Annan: Eye of the Storm | Cinematographer{{cite web|title=Kofi Annan: Eye of the Storm|url=http://actualfilms.net/projects/kofi-annan-eye-of-the-storm/|website=Actual Films|accessdate=21 August 2015}} |
| scope="row" | 2002
| America Rebuilds: A Year at Ground Zero | Co-producer and cinematographer |
| scope="row" | 2003
| Co-producer and director{{cite news|title=MTV Films documentary on Tulsa basketball|url=http://newsok.com/mtv-films-documentary-on-tulsa-basketball/article/1910275|accessdate=31 July 2015|publisher=NewsOK|date=14 January 2003}} |
| scope="row" | 2005
| Red Hook Justice |
| scope="row" | 2008
| Four Seasons Lodge |
| scope="row" | 2009
| Director of photography{{cite news|last1=Holden|first1=Stephen|title=Putting Inspiration on the Front Burner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/movies/27pres.html?_r=0|accessdate=31 July 2015|work=The New York Times|date=26 May 2009}} |
| scope="row" | 2009
| Co-director and cinematographer{{cite news|last1=Sharkey|first1=Betsy|title=No Impact Man|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-sep-11-et-impact-man11-story.html|access-date=31 July 2015|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=11 September 2009}} |
| scope="row" | 2010
| My So-Called Enemy |
| scope="row" | 2012
| Still Moving: Pilobolus at Forty | Cinematographer |
| scope="row" | 2012
| One Nation Under Dog | Cinematographer |
| scope="row" | 2013
| National Geographic Slang Hunters | Cinematographer |
| scope="row" | 2015
| Left On Purpose |
| scope="row" | 2015
| Always in Season | Cinematographer (post-production) |
| scope="row" | 2016
| Harry's Gift | Cinematographer and co-producer(post-production) |
| 2017
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6185286/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_c_5 Saving Capitalism] |Executive Producer |
| 2020
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11819686/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_t_3 Chasing Childhood] |Director of Photography |
| 2020
|Crip Camp (nominated for Best Documentary 2020) |Director of Photograhy |
| 2024
|[https://www.deathandtaxesfilm.com Death & Taxes] |Director and Producer |
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.shadowboxfilms.com/ Shadowbox Films official website]
- {{IMDb name|1043655}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schein, Justin}}
Category:American documentary filmmakers
Category:Stanford University alumni