Peter Sollett

Infobox Writer


imagesize = 150px
name = Peter Sollett
birth_date = 1976
birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City
nationality = American
occupation = Screenwriter, film director, film producer, cinematographer, film editor
notableworks = "Raising Victor Vargas" (2002) "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (2008)
influences = François Truffaut, John Cassavetes, Federico Fellini, Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman

Peter Sollett (born 1976 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York) is an American film director and screenwriter known for his feature films "Raising Victor Vargas" (2002) and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (2008).

Career

Sollett's first feature was "Five Feet High and Rising", a 26-minute short film about the growth and coming-of-age of teenager Victor Vargas.cite web| url = http://www.filmfestivals.com/cgi-bin/fest_content/festivals.pl?debug=&channelbar=&fest=sundance2003&year=2003&lang=en&page=read&partner=&text_id=23540| title = Peter Sollett's Raising Victor Vargas| accessdate = 2008-04-05| author = Shyman, Carol & Gatto, Robin| date = January 16, 2003| publisher = "FilmFestivals.com"] He and Eva Vives wrote "Five Feet High and Rising" as their thesis film in 1998 at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and he served as the film's director, cinematographer and editor.cite web| url = http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/peter-sollett-and-victor-rasuk-mad-about-the-boy-579610.html| title = Peter Sollett and Victor Rasuk: Mad about the boy| accessdate = 2008-04-05| author = Gilbey, Ryan| date = September 12, 2003| publisher = "The Independent"] After he had the opportunity to work with professionals in the film industry at the Cannes Residence Programme, [cite web| url = http://www.filmfestivals.com/cgi-bin/fest_content/festivals.pl?debug=&channelbar=&fest=cannes&page=read&partner=&year=2002&lang=en&text_id=22575| title = Cannes Residence Program| accessdate = 2008-04-05| date = May 15, 2002| publisher = "FilmFestivals.com"] the short film went on to screen on the festival circuit and won a number of awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Aspen Shortsfest, Valencia International Film Festival, South by Southwest Film Festival and Cinema Jove International Film Festival. Two years after the release of "Five Feet High and Rising", Sollett and Vives reunited to collaborate on a follow-up project that became "Raising Victor Vargas", originally named "Long Way Home".cite web| url = http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/tiff/petersollettinterview.htm| title = CIRCUS VARGAS: Film Freak Central Interviews Writer-Director Peter Sollett| author = Chambers, Bill| date = September 10, 2002| publisher = "Film Freak Central"] While Sollett says that "Five Feet High and Rising" was purely autobiographical and based on the Italian-Jewish neighborhood he grew up in in Brooklyn, [cite web| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/09/03/peter_sollett_raising_victor_vargas_interview.shtml| title = Peter Sollett| accessdate = 2008-04-05| author = Dawson, Tom| date = September 15, 2003| publisher = "BBC"] he and Vives decided to create another film directly about the experiences of the main characters Victor and Judy, continuing on two years after the film left off. Using the same cast as the original short film, he wrote an action-and-dialogue screenplay which he did not give to any of the actors to encourage them to improvise and create a feeling of spontaneity and authenticity. "Raising Victor Vargas" earned Sollett three Independent Spirit Award nominations in the categories of Best Film, Best Director and Best First Screenplay, [cite web| url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,555168,00.html| title = 'American' Beauties| accessdate = 2008-04-05| author = Susman, Gary| date = December 3, 2003| publisher = "Entertainment Weekly"] as well as other awards and nominations at the Viennale, San Sebastián International Film Festival, Online Film Critics Society Awards, Deauville Film Festival, Gotham Awards and the Humanitas Prize.

Sollett directed the 2008 film "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist", starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, also set in New York City. [cite web| url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117973675.html?categoryid=13&cs=1| title = Cera and Dennings to star in 'Playlist'| accessdate = 2008-08-17| author = McNary, Dave; Siegel, Tatiana| date = October 8, 2007| publisher = "Variety"] Though he did not write the film, only directed Lorene Scafaria's script, based on a novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, he drew from his own experiences when making the film. The film takes place over one night in Manhattan, where a number of New Jersey teenagers have commuted in for the night—something Sollett was familiar with and often did himself, having lived in Brooklyn as a child and Staten Island as an adult.cite web| url = http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2008/09/30/conversations_sollett/| title = Isn't it romantic?| accessdate = 2008-10-04| author = Zacharek, Stephanie| date = September 30, 2008| publisher = Salon.com] Many of his personal favorite Manhattan locations also featured in the film, including Katz's Deli and the Lower East Side's Mercury Lounge.

Sollett is currently a member of faculty at Columbia University School of the Arts. [cite web| url = http://wwwapp.cc.columbia.edu/art/app/arts/film/faculty-bio.jsp?faculty=163| title = Faculty Biography: Peter Sollett| publisher = "Columbia University School of the Arts"]

Personal life

Sollett grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in an Italian-Jewish neighborhood where he claims his childhood "was spent on one side of the street" because of racial tensions. He says that the character of Victor Vargas is his fantasy of his teenage self and that Victor is boy he would like to have been, much more confident than his actual self, describing himself as "the kid in [his] neighbourhood who watched all that stuff going on between boys and girls but could never access whatever juice those guys had to do it." In contrast, he felt that Nick O'Leary of "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" is "not dissimilar" to his teenage self. [cite web| url = http://blog.spout.com/2008/09/18/peter-sollett-interview-nick-norahs-infinite-playlist-toronto-2008/| title = Peter Sollett Interview, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Toronto 2008| accessdate = 2008-10-04| author = Kelly, Kevin| date = September 2008| publisher = "Spout.com"] His father is a newspaper photographer, which he says inspired him to pick up a camera.

References

External links

*imdb name|0813164