The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development is pleased to announce Claudia Myers, award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter, as its October 2011 Filmmaker of the Month.
Claudia Myers is a filmmaker whose work spans both fiction and documentary genres. Claudia wrote and directed the feature film Kettle of Fish, starring Mathew Modine (Too Big to Fail) and Gina Gershon (Face/Off, Showgirls). The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 and was cited as one of the standout films in David Carr’s festival overview for The New York Times. It was released theatrically in 2007 then acquired by Showtime. Last year, Claudia produced the independent comedy Below the Beltway with Jim Wareck based on his screenplay. The film, which stars Tate Donovan, Kip Pardue, Sarah Clarke, Spencer Garrett, and Noah Wyle, won the Audience Award at the 2010 Newport Beach film festival and was acquired by Showtime as well. As a screenwriter, Claudia has won several awards and is a recent alumna of the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab.
In the non-fiction realm, Claudia has worked with veterans and active duty soldiers to make several films about the military community. She produced and directed the documentary The Long Road Back, about soldiers who were severely injured in Iraq. The film won two Telly Awards, an Aurora Award, and was nominated for an Emmy. She also wrote and directed the interactive role-playing feature, Outside the Wire for use by the US Army, which won a 2008 Codie Award and a Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award.
Claudia is currently in pre-production on her next feature Fort Bliss, which she wrote and plans to direct. The script was one of four selected for the 2011 Hamptons Screenwriters Lab and was a finalist for the 2011 Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Fort Bliss grew out of Claudia’s experience working with soldiers and veterans. The producers have secured Army support for the production, which is set to begin filming in Spring 2012 in New Mexico.
In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Claudia is a professor in the Film & Media Arts division of American University’s School of Communication. She is a proud resident of Ward 3 in the District of Columbia.
The DC Film Office launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital. The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of its mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include Money Matters director Ryan Richmond, The West Wing producer Jonathan Zurer, Jezebel Filmworks founder Ada Babino, Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden web series creator Otessa Ghadar, People Past and Present: Hillsdale Creator Tendani Mpulubusi El, and The Woodmans director of photography Neil Barrett.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Claudia and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.