LFS Filmmaker Series: Screening + Q&A

Filmmaker: Gus Van Sant

Gus Van Sant is an Oscar-nominated film director, painter, screenwriter, photographer and musician born in Louisville and partially raised in Mayfield, Kentucky. He earned acclaim as an independent filmmaker and is known for directing films such as Good Will Hunting, the 1998 remake of Psycho, Gerry, Elephant, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Milk, Last Days, Finding Forrester, Promised Land, Drugstore Cowboy and Mala Noche. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures, in particular homosexuality, and he is considered one of the most prominent auteurs of the New Queer Cinema movement.

For his work on Good Will Hunting and Milk, Van Sant received two Oscar nominations for Best Director. He was also recently nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series at the 76th Emmy Awards for his work on Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. He made his feature-length cinematic directorial debut with Mala Noche (1985). His second feature, Drugstore Cowboy (1989), was highly acclaimed, and earned him screenwriting awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle and the award for Best Director from the National Society of Film Critics. His next film, My Own Private Idaho (1991), was similarly praised, as were the black comedy To Die For (1995), the drama Good Will Hunting (1997), and the biographical film Milk (2008); for the latter two, Van Sant was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and both films received Best Picture nominations.

In 2003, Van Sant’s film based on the Columbine High School massacre, Elephant, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Van Sant also received the festival’s Best Director Award that same year, making him one of only two filmmakers to win both accolades at the festival in the same year.

Van Sant wrote the screenplays for several of his earlier works, and is the author of a novel, Pink. A book of his photography, 108 Portraits, has been published, and he has released two musical albums.

He is gay and lives in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California. (LAPhil)

Moderator: Stu Pollard

Filmmaker Stu Pollard has produced 10 films in his home state of Kentucky, including survival thriller Rust Creek, powerful high school drama And Then I Go, and bowling comedy Split. He has produced more movies outside the Bluegrass as well, including the uproarious Jack Quaid & Maya Erskine wedding rom-com Plus One, Syrian refugee documentary This is Home, and docu-drama Freeland, starring Krisha Fairchild. Stu has also directed two features: romantic comedy Nice Guys Sleep Alone and suspense drama Keep Your Distance, both set against a vibrant Kentucky backdrop.

Pollard’s production company – Lunacy – has numerous projects in development as well. Among those are We’re Haunted, a horror comedy about dysfunctional roommates confronting an evil spirit; The Man Who Knew Belle Starr, a riveting Western-infused revenge drama; The Trestle, a supernatural thriller revolving around an infamous Kentucky legend; Alas, Babylon, a post-apocalyptic survival parable based on the classic novel; and Wonderdog, a southern comedy based on the novel by Inman Majors.

Also an entrepreneur, Stu has spearheaded a number of other creative endeavors over the years, including the event planning app Reunacy, online educational platform LunacyU, nostalgic web series The 80’s Emporium, and philanthropic non-profit organization Trunacy. In the Spring of 2024, Stu partnered with comedian Jim Gaffigan to create and launch Fathertime Bourbon.

Stu holds holds a BS in business from Georgetown and an MFA in film from USC, is a member of the DGA and PGA, and serves on the boards of the Louisville Film Society, the Horse Farm Workers’ Educational Assistance Fund and GU’s Alumni Board of Regents. He splits his time between LA and Louisville and can frequently be found traveling with his financé Amy and their doxiepoo Nash.