Ethan Higbee (also known as nahte) is an American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

gallerist An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

living in Ojai, California. He is most known for his films Red Apples Falling and The Upsetter, a documentary about

Lee Scratch Perry Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

. In 2010 he opened Dem Passwords art gallery in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The gallery owns and represents the painting collection of

and hosted his first solo art exhibition called 'Secret Education' in 2010.

Early life and education

Higbee was born and raised in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. He studied at the

Mt. Ararat High School Mt. Ararat High School is a high school in Topsham, Maine, United States. It is part of Maine School Administrative District 75 and it is the only high school in that district. History In 1973, Mt. Ararat High School, then known as Mt. Ararat S ...

and was a six time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in youth and high school track & field and cross country, capturing over 25 individual and team state championships over four different sports As a 14-year-old he was featured in Sports Illustrated Magazine's Faces in the Crowd for winning two state titles in cross country and soccer in the same day. In 1994 he stood 3rd in the 2000m steeplechase at the

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

Junior Olympics

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. In 1996 Higbee gave up a potential Olympic dream in running to pursue a career in direction after he was accepted into the Maurice Kandbar Institute of Film and Television at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

where he graduated in 2001. Before attending NYU, he skipped the majority of his senior year at Mt. Ararat High School after convincing the principal to let him enroll in a film residency at the Maine Media Workshops.

Career

Higbee met

Adam Bhala Lough Adam Bhala Lough is an American film director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker from Fairfax, Virginia. Known for his ability to authentically dramatize subcultures and popular youth cultures, several of Lough’s films have been selected ...

when they were enrolled at New York University. The two have collaborated on several projects. Higbee has been composer on Lough's films. Besides composing the music Higbee has also been a director, screenwriter, producer and cinematographer in different projects. In 2002, Higbee co-founded media production company called ''Permanent Marks'' with fellow conspirator Sebastian Demian. He has composed the music to feature films including

The Carter ''The Carter'' is a 2009 documentary film about the American hip hop recording artist Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known as Lil Wayne. The film was directed by Adam Bhala Lough and produced by Joshua Krause and Quincy Jones III, and doc ...

, and

Weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

. In 2003 he produced his first feature documentary ''Haro Hara: Pilgrimage to Kataragama Sri Lanka'' a film following Tamil devotees of Lord Murugan on the ancient Pada Yatra pilgrimage down the war torn east coast of Sri Lanka. In 2005, Higbee directed the video of

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...

's song ''Confrontation''. In 2008, Higbee premiered ''The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', a documentary following

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

, at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

. Named after Perry's 1969 album of the same name, the film played in dozens of film festivals worldwide, and was screened across in nearly 100 theaters in 2011. The film is equally devoted to thirty years of Jamaican music and culture, and was narrated by

Benicio Del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen ...

. The movie was co-written and co-directed by Higbee and Lough who also distributed the movie by themselves. Higbee wanted to make a movie on Perry since he was in New York University. He tried contacting Perry several times, however, he was never able to pitch the idea of a movie to him. Finally in 2005, Higbee and Lough were able to pitch their idea to Perry, who agreed on making a documentary. In 2006, they spent eight days with Perry in Switzerland, then a year and a half following Perry around the world. In 2009, Higbee directed the documentary film '' Red Apples Falling'', produced by Damon Dash and Lough. The film is an uncensored look at the life of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

. In 2010 he opened ''Dem Passwords art gallery'' in

. The gallery owns and represents the painting collection of

and hosted his first solo art exhibition called 'Secret Education' in 2010. In 2011, after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, Ethan along with Samuel Holt and Suba Sivakumaran founded KIFF, the Kandy International Film Festival, the first international film festival in Sri Lanka. In 2013 he formed the production company ''Rain Dominion'' with collaborator

to produce the

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarder ...

documentary series ''

The Motivation ''The Motivation'' is a 2013 documentary film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In the film, eight of the world's best pro-skateboarders prepare for the upcoming Street League Skateboarding Championship in New York City. Each equally ta ...

''. Upon release The Motivation was the #1 documentary on iTunes for 13 consecutive days. ''The Motivation 2: The Chris Cole Story'' was released worldwide on June 23, 2015 and also stood as the #1 documentary on iTunes for over a week. In 2013 he co-produced

Blue Ark Fm Radio Station for Grand Theft Auto V. Since 2008 Higbee has been in production on a movie titled ''Basedworld'', a documentary about

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, i ...

, however since 2014 the project has been delayed. Higbee is currently in production directing a film on the life of Cuban Boxer

Teófilo Stevenson Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. He won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) and was honored with the Olympic Order (1987). Stevenson is one of only three boxers t ...

a co-production with the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry.

Filmography

As a producer

As a composer

References

External links

The Upsetter MovieBasedWorld MovieDem Passwords Art GalleryPermanent Marks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higbee, Ethan Living people Tisch School of the Arts alumni American directors American male composers 21st-century American composers Year of birth missing (living people)