Christopher Elwin Fuller is an American film director, writer, and producer.

Background

Fuller was born in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

graduated from the Canterbury School of Florida in 2001 and attended the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

from 2001 to 2004. Fuller holds a black belt in

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

under Master Yong Jun Lee and trained in

under

tang soo do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...

master Michael Kinney and mixed martial artist Shane Dunn.

Career

In 2006, he released ''

Loren Cass ''Loren Cass'' is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Chris Fuller. The film is about adolescents coming to terms with their lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, following the riots that took place in 1996. ''Loren Cass'' took ten ye ...

'', which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in under the name Lewis Brogan.Lee, Nathan
"Down and Out (and Disaffected) in St. Petersburg"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 23, 2009. The film is set against the backdrop of the St. Petersburg, Florida riots of 1996. Fuller wrote the film at the age of 15Lowery, David
"Director Chris Fuller on Loren Cass"
''

Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent Fil ...

'', July 29, 2009. and filmed it in 2004 at the age of 21.Virella, Kelly
"It's a wrap for two young filmmakers"
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute f ...

'', May 29, 2004. The movie was released theatrically and on DVD in 2009 by

Kino International The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the Berlin Wall#The Fall, fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. T ...

. The film played in competition at Dennis Hopper's

CineVegas CineVegas was a film festival held annually at the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada, that ran from 1999 to 2009, typically in early June. CineVegas was originally held at Bally's. The first Festival featured “The Best of the Fests”, sh ...

Film Festival, the Filmmakers of the Present section of the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. In 2023, ESPN announced that Fuller is directing and producing ''Gracie'', a multi-part documentary series on the Gracie family, founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, with Greg O'Connor,

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

, Ivan Atkinson and

Nanette Burstein Nanette Burstein (born May 23, 1970) is an American film and television director. Burstein has produced, directed, and co-directed several documentaries including the Academy Award nominated and Sundance Special Jury Prize winning film '' On the ...

executive producing.

Awards and recognition

Fuller was nominated for an IFP Gotham Award, a Locarno Golden Leopard for Filmmakers of the Present, the Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Starz

Denver Film Festival The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado, now the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter). Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House ...

and won the One+One Award for use of music in a feature film at

Janine Bazin Janine Bazin ( Kirsch; 29 January 1923 – 31 May 2003) was a French film and television producer of the French New Wave movement. Alongside André S. Labarthe, she was the co-producer of an hour-long series of programmes called ''Cineastes de No ...

Entrevues Belfort film festival The Entrevues Belfort Film Festival is an annual international film festival, founded in 1986 by Janine Bazin and held in Belfort, France. Through its First Films International Competition (from 1st to 3rd film), the festival is dedicated to support ...

in France. Fuller was profiled as one of 100 new directors representing the future of film in Take 100: The Future of Film, 100 New Directors, a book published by Phaidon Press and curated by film festival programmers from around the world."Take 100: The Future of Film, 100 New Directors"
, ''

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional of ...

'', 2008.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
*
Filmmaker Magazine InterviewMMA Fighting Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Chris 1982 births Living people Actors from St. Petersburg, Florida Film directors from Florida Male actors from Pinellas County, Florida University of Central Florida alumni