Director James Chressanthis

Joanna will interview James Chressanthis, an extraordinary director/cinematographer with an exciting and extensive background. As cinematographer, his work spans the worlds of feature films, television movies, music videos, commercials and documentaries. He has been Emmy nominated twice for FOUR MINUTES, the story of runner Roger Bannister’s quest to break the four-minute mile barrier, and for LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME AND MY SHADOWS, the widely acclaimed biography of the late star. In October 2001, Jim was the only cinematographer selected by DAILY VARIETY as one of 20 rising stars to watch in the film industry. Joanna’s interview will focus on Jim’s exciting documentary NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO & VILMOS, the story of a 50-year journey, an intimate portrait of two giants of modern image making and their deep bond of brotherhood that transcended every imaginable boundary. The film follows the lives of renowned cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Szigmond. As film students in Hungary, they shot footage of the Russian invasion of Budapest in 1956 and smuggled it out of the country. Barely escaping with their lives, they fled to America and settled in Hollywood where they rose to prominence in the late 60s and 70s with such films as EASY RIDER, FIVE EASY PIECES and DELIVERANCE. During that time, working with directors Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich and Martin Scorsese, they helped define a new American film aesthetic and pioneered innovative, fearless ways to tell stories. NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY will be shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival 2009 on April 26 and at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival June 25-28, 2009. For more information and a listing of other film festivals where the documentary will be shown, visit www.chressanthis.com.