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Richard Raymond (filmmaker)

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Richard Raymond
Born
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupations
  • Film director
  • Writer
  • Producer
Works

Richard Raymond is a British film director. He is known for films such as Heartless, Souls of Totality, A Million Eyes and Desert Dancer.

Early life and education[edit]

Richard Raymond was born in London, England, into a Jewish Indian family. He loved films from a young age, and started making his own short films aged 15.[1]

Career[edit]

Raymond started his career as an assistant at Pinewood Film Studios, working under directors including Kenneth Branagh, Richard Attenborough, and Neil Jordan.[2] He also worked on British television commercials for directors such as Tarsem, Daniel Barber, Tony Kaye, and Jonathan Glazer.[citation needed]

Raymond started his career in 2009 by producing Heartless, a British feature film starring Jim Sturgess, Eddie Marsan, and Timothy Spall.[3]

In 2015, he made his directorial debut with Desert Dancer,[4][5] starring Freida Pinto.[6] The film was distributed by Relativity Media and opened the Santa Barbara Film Festival.[7][8] It also screened Lincoln Center, the US Capitol, the United Nations,[9] and the Edinburgh International Film Festival,[10] where it received the Audience Award. Desert Dancer was also nominated for the Golden Frog film award at Camerimage and won Best Dance Choreography at the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards.

In 2018 Raymond made Souls of Totality[11][12] with actress Tatiana Maslany, where he filmed a single-take sequence during an actual solar eclipse.[13] The film premiered at the 2018 HollyShorts Film Festival & won 12 Best Film awards, including Best Film of the Festival at Raindance Film Festival, the Grand Jury Award at HollyShorts Film Festival, and the Grand Prix at the Hiroshima International Film Festival. Richard won a Best Director award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for this film and was also short-listed for an Oscar.

He directed the short film A Million Eyes in 2019,[14][15][16] featuring Joe Morton and Katie Lowes.[17] A Million Eyes won 10 Best Film awards,[18] including the Grand Prix award at the Hiroshima International Film Festival[19] and the and a Special Jury Award at HollyShorts Film Festival, and was long-listed for the 2020 Oscars.[20]

In May 2019, a film directed by Raymond titled One Thousand Paper Cranes was announced to begin production, with Evan Rachel Wood playing Eleanor Coerr, who wrote the 1977 book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes about the story of Sadako Sasaki, a victim of the Hiroshima bombing in 1945.[21]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Writer Director Producer Ref.
2009 Heartless Yes
2015 Desert Dancer Yes Yes [22]
2018 Souls of Totality Yes Yes [23]
2019 A Million Eyes Yes Yes [24]
2025 Heart of the Beast (upcoming) Yes [25]

Awards[edit]

Year Nominee / work Category Awards Result Ref.
2018 Souls of Totality Best Director Edinburgh International Film Festival Won [26]
2018 Souls of Totality BestShort of the Festival Raindance Film Festival Won [27]
2018 Souls of Totality Best Grand Jury Prize Hollyshorts Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Best Short of the Festival St. Louis International Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Grand Prix Best Film Award Hiroshima Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Best Film of the Festival New Renaissance Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Most Popular Film Rhode Island International Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Special Mention Edinburgh International Film Festival Won|
2018 Souls of Totality Maverick Spirit Award Cinequest Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography Bend Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Best Film Audience Award El Festival Americana Won
2018 Souls of Totality Best Northern Film Klamath Independent Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Best Actress Tatiana Maslany Love Story Film Festival Won
2018 Souls of Totality Best Actor Tom Cullen Love Story Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Grand Prix Best Film Award Hiroshima Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Film of the Festival ME Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Short of the Festival New Renaissance Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Film of the Festival Dam short International Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Special Jury Recognition Hollyshorts Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Short Film Gold Movie Awards London Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Cinematography New Renaissance Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Young Actor New Renaissance Film Festival Won
2019 A Million Eyes Best Film Jury Prize Providence Children's Film Festival Won

References[edit]

  1. ^ "S6e14: Richard Raymond – Finding My Voice, Knowing I Belong" (audio + text). Hoffmann Institute. 18 May 2023.
  2. ^ Raymond, Richard (25 November 2019). "Interview: Filmmaker Richard Raymond See Us With "A Millions Eyes"". indieactivity (Interview). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Fabiola Goes In for the Kill". Interview Magazine. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. ^ McNary, Dave (9 November 2013). "AFM: Freida Pinto's 'Desert Dancer' Picked Up by Relativity (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  5. ^ Drown, Michelle (21 January 2015). "Desert Dancer Opens SBIFF". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Freida Pinto Dazzles at Santa Barbara Film Festival". The New Indian Express. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  7. ^ "'Desert Dancer' To Open Santa Barbara International Film Fest". Yahoo Entertainment. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  8. ^ Feinberg, Scott (25 September 2014). "Santa Barbara Film Fest: 'Desert Dancer' U.S. Premiere Will Kick Off 30th Edition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  9. ^ "FEATURE: Dancer's story highlights importance of right to free expression | UN News". news.un.org. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Desert Dancer (2014) Awards & Festivals". mubi.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Souls of Totality by Richard Raymond". Directors Notes. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  12. ^ "TFF 2018: Director Richard Raymond, Co-Writers Kate Trefry & Ben Bolea Talk 'Souls of Totality'". The Knockturnal. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  13. ^ says, Kathleen F. Coleman (14 August 2018). "Souls of Totality Featured, Reviews Film Threat". Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  14. ^ Bronzite, Dan (20 November 2019). "Interview with Richard Raymond – Director of "A Million Eyes"". Script Magazine. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  15. ^ "S6e14: Richard Raymond - Finding My Voice, Knowing I Belong". Hoffman Institute. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Director Richard Raymond's A MILLION EYES starring Joe Morton and Katie Lowes wins at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts and is selected for Raindance Film Festival". FILM & TELEVISION BUSINESS. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  17. ^ Bronzite, Dan (20 November 2019). "Interview with Richard Raymond – Director of "A Million Eyes"". Script Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  18. ^ "NRFF Amsterdam Winners 2020 « New Renaissance Film Festival". Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  19. ^ Milligan, Kaitlin. "A MILLION EYES Takes Home the Grand Prix Award at Hiroshima International Film Festival". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Short Film - A Million Eyes". The DreamCage. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  21. ^ Clarke, Stewart (3 May 2019). "Evan Rachel Wood to Star in Hiroshima-Inspired 'One Thousand Paper Cranes'". Variety. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  22. ^ Desert Dancer (2014) | MUBI. Retrieved 5 June 2024 – via mubi.com.
  23. ^ Souls of Totality (2018) | MUBI. Retrieved 25 June 2024 – via mubi.com.
  24. ^ "Short Film Review: A Million Eyes: A Love Letter To Painting With Light - Indie Shorts Mag". 11 January 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  25. ^ Kroll, Justin (22 March 2024). "David Ayer To Direct 'Heart Of The Beast' For Paramount; Damien Chazelle Producing". Deadline. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  26. ^ "A Million Eyes Director Richard Raymond "A Million Eyes is an American set story, but I'm a British filmmaker"". 9 December 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  27. ^ Raindance (6 October 2018). "Award Winners - 26th Raindance Film Festival". Raindance. Retrieved 15 June 2024.

External links[edit]