John Fiege is a filmmaker and photographer based in Austin, Texas. As a director, he works in both documentary and fiction, and his films have played at the Cannes Film Festival, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Miami International Film Festival, and Austin Film Festival, among many others. His latest film, Mississippi Chicken (distributed by Watchmaker Films), was nominated for a Gotham Award for “The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.” His film awards include the Princess Grace Graduate Film Award, Kodak’s Eastman Scholarship, the Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Grant, and the Carole Fielding Documentary Award. As a director of photography, he has shot films that have played at festivals around the world, including Tribeca, Clermont-Ferrand, Edinburgh, San Francisco International, LA Film Festival, and SXSW. He holds a B.A. from Carleton College, an M.S. in cultural geography and environmental history from The Pennsylvania State University, and an M.F.A. in film production from the University of Texas at Austin.
EDUCATION
- The University of Texas at Austin, Master of Fine Arts, Radio-Television-Film, 2006
- Thesis Film: Mississippi Chicken
- The Pennsylvania State University, Master of Science, Geography, 1999
- Thesis: Representing Nature at the National Zoo
- Carleton College, Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Arts (Geology), 1997
- Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
- Thesis: Tsy Mitovy (documentary film)
- School for International Training, College Semester Abroad, Madagascar: Ecology & Conservation, 1996
TEACHING & ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
- Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film:
- Audio Production, Spring, 2010
- Guest Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film:
- Advanced Documentary, Fall, 2009
- Cinematography, Fall, 2009
- Graduate Cinematography, Spring, 2009
- Advanced Documentary, Spring, 2009
- Graduate Documentary Directing, Fall, 2008
- Experimental Film, 2006
- Intern Supervisor, Fiege Films, for two interns from University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film, Fall, 2009
- Teaching Assistant, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film:
- Graduate Cinematography, Spring, 2004
- Intermediate Editing, Spring, 2004
- Graduate Editing, Fall, 2003
- Advanced Cinematography, Fall, 2003
- Student Representative to the Faculty, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film, 2002-2005
- Student Representative to the Faculty Search Committee, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio-Television-Film, 2003-2004
- Teaching Assistant, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Geography:
- Cultural Geography, Spring, 1999
- Introduction to Human Geography, Fall, 1998
- Introduction to Physical Geography, Spring, 1998
- Geographic Perspectives on Human-Environment Relations, Fall, 1997
- GED Instructor, School of Tomorrow, Washington, D.C., 1997
FILMOGRAPHY
- Sunken Garden (RED 4K, experimental narrative feature, in post-production)
- Mississippi Chicken (Super 8mm color, documentary, 82 min., 2007), Distributed by Watchmaker Films
- Awards:
- Gotham Award for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You,” Nominee, IFP, 2007
- Official selection:
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, 2008
- New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival, 2008
- Oxford Film Festival, 2008
- African Diaspora Film Festival (NYC), 2007
- Austin Film Festival, 2007
- Providence Latin American Film Festival, 2007
- H.B.O New York International Film Festival, 2007
- Miami International Film Festival, 2007 (World Premiere)
- Other Screenings:
- Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity & Dept. of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2010 (Upcoming)
- STEPS Coalition Human Rights Movie Series, Biloxi, MS, 2009 (Upcoming)
- Lutheran Ethics of Eating Leadership Training, Waco, TX, 2009
- Tulane University Law School with La Alianza del Derecho and Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, for Human Rights Film Week, New Orleans, LA, 2009
- Poultry People Power, UNC Chapel Hill, 2009
- Economic Justice Coalition Labor Day Celebration, Athens, GA, 2008
- Labor Notes Conference, Detroit, MI, 2008
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008
- Fórum Universal de las Culturas Monterrey (UNESCO), 2007
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NYC, 2007
- Make The Road By Walking, NYC, 2007
- SEIU 32BJ Auditorium, NYC, 2007
- Center for Community Change Staff Retreat, Miami, 2007
- Miami Dade College, Homestead Campus, 2007
- Awards:
- Bebe (16mm color, narrative, 9 min., 2004)
- Official Selection:
- DC International Film Festival, 2005
- Newport Beach Film Festival, 2005
- Ojai Film Festival, 2005
- Cannes Film Festival, Emerging Filmmakers Showcase, 2004
- LA Short Film Festival, 2004
- American Cinematique Theatre Best of Kodak Student Showcase, 2004
- University of Texas Hollywood Showcase at DGA Theatre, 2004
- Cinematexas International Short Film Festival (work-in-progress), 2003
- Official Selection:
- Casa Marianella (DV, documentary, 15 min., 2002)
- Official Selection:
- Cine Las Americas International Film Festival of the Americas, 2003
- Official Selection:
- Chasing Paradise (DV, documentary, 48 min., Jamaica, 2001)
- Official Selection:
- Cine Las Americas International Film Festival of the Americas, 2002
- Official Selection:
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
- Flagship Video Project (Austin section) (HD, promotional video, in post-production), for Richfield Productions, Inc.
-
Chasing the Dream (L.A., Miami, Tucson) (HD, documentary, 10 min., 2009), for Service Employees International Union
- The Least of These (HD, documentary, 62 min., 2009) (also Co-Producer), Directors: Clark Lyda & Jesse Lyda
- Official Selection:
- CineSol Film Festival, 2009
- H.B.O. New York International Latino Film Festival, 2009
- Jacksonville Film Festival, 2009
- Maryland Film Festival, 2009
- Cine Las Americas Film Festival, 2009
- Washington D.C. International Film Festival, 2009
- New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival, 2009
- SXSW Film Festival, 2009
- Other Screenings:
- Sundance Kabuki Cinema (Equal Justice Society), San Francisco, 2009
- St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, Tucson, 2009
- Rice Media Center Fall Screening Series, Houston, 2009
- Open Society Institute: Special Screening, NYC, 2009
- The United States Capitol, D.C., 2009
- Texas Capitol, Austin, 2009
- Center for American Progress: Reel Progress Film Series, D.C., 2009
- Official Selection:
- Chris Riley for Mayor (HD, commercial spot, 2009), Director: Berndt Mader
- Drive the Change (several sections) (HD, commercial spot, 2009), for Sabertec and Keep Austin Beautiful, Produced by Flow Nonfiction, 2009
- 48 Hours Mystery: “In Too Deep” (second unit, Austin and Mexico) (HD, CBS investigative crime show, 2008), Director: Chuck Stevenson
- El Ranchito (HD, documentary, 6 min., 2008) (also Director), for El Ranchito Summer Camp
- Justice for All (Houston & NY sections) (HD, promotional video, 9 min., 2008), for the Service Employees International Union, SEIU 2008 International Convention
- Everyone Can Salsa (HD, instructional videos, 2008), for Jazzy Dance Company
- Body of War (additional photography) (HD, documentary, 87 min., 2007), Directors: Ellen Spiro & Phil Donahue
- Awards:
- Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award, Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures, PGA Awards, 2008
- Audience Award, Hamptons International Film Festival, 2007
- NBR Award, Best Documentary, National Board of Review, USA, 2007
- Official Selection:
- Miami Film Festival, 2008
- SXSW Film Festival, 2008
- Philadelphia Film Festival, 2008
- Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, 2008
- Sedona Film Festival, 2008
- Sydney Film Festival, 2008
- Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, 2008
- Global Visions Film Festival, 2008
- Margaret Meade Film Festival, 2008
- Toronto International Film Festival, 2007
- Other Screenings:
- Many screenings nationally and internationally, including theatrical release
- Awards:
- Inside the Circle (additional footage) (DV, 91 min., 2007), Director: Marcy Garriott
- Awards:
- Audience Award, Best Film, New Orleans Int. Human Rights Film Festival, 2008
- Audience Award, San Diego Film Festival, 2007
- Audience Award, Lone Star States section, SXSW Film Festival, 2007
- Official Selection:
- Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival, 2008
- We*BGirlz Film Festival, Berlin, 2008
- Urb Festival, Helsinki, 2008
- Next Stop, Hip Hop Film Series, Denver Film Society, 2008
- Cultura Urbana, Madrid, 2008
- Jacksonville Film Festival, 2008
- Breakin’ Convention, 2008
- Newport Beach Film Festival, 2008
- Constellation Change Dance Screen Festival, 2008
- Kamloops FilmFestival, 2008
- Dance on Camera Festival, 2008
- Black Soil Int. Hip-Hop Film Festival, Rotterdam/Amsterdam, 2007
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Premieres & Revival Series, 2007
- Bergen International Film Festival, 2007
- Hollywood Film Festival, 2007
- Rhythm of the Line Hip-Hop Film Festival, 2007
- CineSol Film Festival (Closing Night), 2007
- Vistas Film Festival, 2007
- Dallas Video Festival, 2007
- Roxbury Film Festival, 2007
- Canada Dance Festival, 2007
- Jackson Hole Film Festival, 2007
- Maryland Film Festival, 2007
- Cine Las Americas Film Festival, 2007
- Chicago Latino Film Festival, 2007
- Awards:
- Jorge Washington (2007 section) (DV, documentary, ~56 min., in post), Director: Debbie Haber
- Fit (DV, narrative, 10 min., 2007), Director: Kim Ngo
- Official Selection:
- Cohen New Works Festival, 2007
- Official Selection:
- Texas Redistricting (selected interviews) (DV, documentary, in post), Directors: Shaune Kolber and Allegra McCoy
- Meet the Bulldogs (DV, MTV-funded comedy pilot, 2006), Director: René Pinnell
- All of Me (HD, music video, 2006), Artist: Suzi Stern, Director: René Pinnell
- The Third Monday in October (Austin section) (DV, documentary, 91 min., 2006), Director: Vanessa Roth
- Awards:
- Audience Award, Documentary Feature, Austin Film Festival, 2006
- Best Documentary Feature, Honorable Mention, Austin Film Festival, 2006
- Official Selection:
- Tribeca Film Festival, 2007
- San Francisco International Film Festival, 2006
- Boston Independent Film Festival, 2007
- Newport Beach International Film Festival, 2007
- Atlanta Film Festival, 2007
- Cinequest Film Festival, 2007
- Vail Film Festival, 2007
- True/False Film Festival, 2007
- Gasparilla Film Festival, 2007
- Ivy Film Festival, 2007
- Awards:
- Starry Night (35mm color, experimental narrative, 12 min., 2007), Director: Keun-Pyo Park
- Official Selection:
- Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, 2007
- LA Film Festival, 2007
- Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2007
- Jeonju International Film Festival, 2007
- Official Selection:
- Kick the Oil Habit: Road Trip (DV, shorts, 2006) (also Co-Editor), for the Center for American Progress and New Media Mill
- Blackout (Super 16mm color, narrative, 13 min., 2006), Director: June-Hak Lee
- Awards:
- Best of Fest Short, Boston Underground Film Festival, 2006
- SeNefian Ace (Audience Award), Seoul Net Film Festival, 2006
- Official Selection:
- USA Film Festival, 2006
- Arizona International Film Festival, 2006
- Queens International Film Festival, 2006
- Ohio Independent Film Festival, 2006
- Ojai Film Festival, 2006
- Rome International Film Festival, 2006
- Action on Film Festival, 2006
- B-Movie Film Festival, 2006
- Austin Asian Film Festival, 2006
- University of Texas Hollywood Showcase at DGA Theatre, 2006
- Mise-en-scene’s Genres Film Festival, South Korea, 2006
- Victoria Festival of Motion Image, Australia, 2006
- Cinematexas Film Festival, 2006
- Seoul Film Festival, South Korea, 2006
- Golden Lion Film Festival, Swaziland, 2006
- Awards:
- Jo FM (Super 16mm color, narrative, 17 min., 2005), Director: Jenn Garrison
- Official Selection:
- Frameline, San Francisco
- Film Out San Diego
- Image+Nation, Montreal
- Gay Life Film Expo, New York
- Austin Film Festival
- Video Association of Dallas
- Pittsburgh Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
- Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
- Tiglff (Tampa Int’l Gay and Lesbian Film Festival)
- aGLIFF (Austin Gay and Lesbian Int’l Film Festival)
- Cinesol Film Festival, Harlingen
- ITOWE Gallery, Berlin, Germany
- Texas Filmmakers Showcase, DGA Theatre in LA
- Night Gallery, Alaska & New Zealand
- OUTFEST, Los Angeles
- Inside Out, Toronto, Canada
- Blowin’ Up a Spot, Austin, Texas
- Westfest, Abilene, Texas
- Official Selection:
- Renew the Voting Rights Act (DV, short documentaries, 2005), for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and New Media Mill
- Toaster (Super 16mm color, narrative, 15 min., 2004), Director: Javier Bonafont
- Lifesize (HDCAM, narrative, 20 min., 2004), Director: Jane Jo
- Rose La Rose and the Singing Bathroom (16mm color, narrative, 4 min., 2003), Director: Toddy Burton
- Official Selection:
- Austin Film Festival, 2003
- Cinematexas Film Festival, 2003
- Ragamuffin Film Festival, 2003
- Official Selection:
- Breakin’ Away (DV, documentary, 22 min., 2002), Director: Linden Dalecki
- Public vs. Private Services (DV, short documentaries, 2002) (also Editor), for The World Bank, on location in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru
- Hudson River Stories (DV, short documentaries, 2001) (also Editor), for W. Alton Jones Foundation and CameraOne
- Official Selection:
- Media that Matters/Human Rights Watch Int’l Film Festival, 2002
- Official Selection:
- The Poet, the Bachelor and the Dame on the Horse (DV, 11 min., 2001), Director: Quentin Kelly
- Awards:
- Honorable Mention, International Television Association-DC Peer Awards
- Awards:
- Taxi Drivers (part of Washington, D.C., section) (DV, TV documentary, 2000), Produced by CBS Productions for Discovery Channel
CAMERA OPERATOR
- PBS: WETA Interstitials
- A&E
- DCTV
- Whole Foods
- New Media Mill
- The Bear Media
- Mobile Film School
- PublicWebWorks.org
- Quorum Television
- iXL
- HP Productions
- University of Texas Film Institute
- Willie Nelson: Songs for Tsunami Relief - From Austin to South Asia
- Cowgirls (Director: Kathy Risen)
- 2002: A Car Story (Director: Tom Hammond)
- Rhyme Deferred (Director: Caleb Cooks)
SOUND RECORDIST
- NBC, ABC, CNN, A&E, TLC, BET, Oprah, Inside Edition, Cisco Systems
PHOTOGRAPHER
- L’Athletique d’Haiti (Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2008)
- Death and the King’s Horseman, St. Edward’s University/PROarts Collective Theatre Production (Austin, 2008), for Kim Ngo, Costume Designer
- Nolcha Fashion Week (NYC, 2007)
- MPOWER, Mississippi Poultry Workers for Equality and Respect (Mississippi, 2004-2007)
- Religion and Labor Network of Austin (Austin, 2004-2005)
- Chicken Molé (Mississippi, 2004)
- New American Freedom Summer, HERE (Mississippi, 2004)
- Vistas Photography Exhibition, UT Institute of Latin American Studies, 2003 (2 B&W prints, Guatemala, 2001)
- Public vs. Private Services, The World Bank (Cambodia, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, 2002)
HONORS & FELLOWSHIPS
- Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Grant, Austin Film Society, 2004, 2007 & 2009
- Gotham Award for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You,” Nominee, IFP, 2007
- George H. Mitchell Award for Excellence in Graduate Research, Grand Prize, University Co-op/University of Texas at Austin, 2005
- Carole Fielding Student Grant, University Film and Video Association, 2005
- Hutchison Endowment Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin, 2004-2005
- Princess Grace Award, Princess Grace Foundation, 2004
- Motion Picture Film Stock Grant, Kodak, 2004
- Mentorship in Hollywood, International Cinematographer’s Guild, 2003
- Eastman Scholarship, Kodak, 2003
- Graduate Fellow, Smithsonian Institution, 1998
- Graduate Fellowship (Honorable Mention), National Science Foundation, 1997
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Narrative Feature Competition Juror, Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, 2009
- Panelist, “Hey - You Got Your p2 In My Redcode!” SXSW Film & Interactive Festival, 2009
- Docs-in-Progress Steering Committee, Austin Film Society, 2005-2009
- Panelist, “IFP Industry Connect: Gotham Awards Nominees for ‘Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You,’” with Scott Macaulay, Soho House, New York City, 2007
- Assistant, Guggenheim Productions, 2001
- Volunteer, Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, 2001
- Intern, National Geographic Society, 1999
- Guest Speaker, “Representing Nature at the National Zoo,” Smithsonian Institution, 1999
PRESS
- Slackerwood. “DVD Review: Mississippi Chicken.” June 2, 2009. Brown, Jenn.
- Variety. “Mississippi Chicken.” Jan. 3, 2008. Scheib, Ronnie.
- Exposé on Bill Moyers Journal. “Video Extra: Mississippi Chicken.” 2008. PBS.
- Frecuencia Tec. “Punto de Referencia: Mississippi Chicken.” Dec. 10, 2007. Barragan Pérez, Cecilia.
- IndieWIRE. “Five Films — All Nominated for a Gotham Award — That Are ‘Not Playing at a Theater Near You.’” Nov. 16, 2007. Voynar, Kim.
- Austinist. “AFF Preview: Documentary Features.” Oct. 12, 2007. Barbieri, Nick.
- The Austin Chronicle. “Labor Intensive: John Fiege on ‘Mississippi Chicken’ and Anne Lewis on ‘Morristown.’” Oct. 5, 2007. Parsons, Spencer.
- WBAI Radio. “Building Bridges: Interview with John Fiege and Anita Grabowski of Mississippi Chicken.” Aug. 6, 2007. Nash, Ken and Mimi Rosenberg.
- The New York Times. “Mississippi Chicken.” 2007. Deming, Mark.
- IndependentFilm.com. “VIDEO: Director of the documentary ‘Mississippi Chicken’ John Fiege.” March 13, 2007. Boutilier, Corey.
- InCamera. “Super 8 mm put through the paces for documentary.” July, 2005. Kodak.
- In Camera On Campus. “Eastman Scholarship Winners Complete Mentorship Week.” April, 2004. Kodak.
