Christian Calson (born ''Claudiu Cristian Căldărescu'' on 13 January 1975 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) is a Romanian-born American independent filmmaker best known for his use of anti-film and shock-cinema techniques.

Biography

Calson was born to a Romanian father and a Jewish-Romanian mother. They left

when he was 7 years old and settled in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. He went on to enroll at

Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Developing an interest in music at an early age, he eventually became a music writer for the now cancelled Los Angeles

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

magazine "4-Front". Later Calson expanded his interests to include filmmaking. Calson's films include '' Shiner'' and '' Flirting with Anthony''. Rife with foul language and bad behavior, his characters and storylines are usually about sexual anxiety and a blurred line between sexuality and violence. He's been considered part of the NEW

New Queer Cinema "New queer cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in '' Sight & Sound'' magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s. It is also referred to as the "queer new ...

( Frameline) but he has strong feelings of displeasure at most mainstream queer cinema. With the release of ''Shiner'', he told the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

, "I want people to respond on a visceral level... I'm not after their minds, I'm after their gut.... I'm not trying to make friends with this film." Christian expanded his résumé again in 2008 by becoming a DJ. He describes his musical style as Underground House or

Progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music that emerged in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. It is characterized by its evolving, melodic Musical form, structures, subtle Transition (music), transitions, and layered sound design.Gerard, ...

. Performing at various private parties, he now also DJs at several Los Angeles LGBT clubs and venues.

Filmography

* '' Flirting with Anthony'' (feature film, 2005) * '' Shiner'' (feature film, 2004) * ''A Short Film About Flowers'' (an experimental short film, 2002) * ''Beautiful / How To Walk Through A Door'' (short film, 2002) * ''Moaner'' (short film, 2001)

References

External links

*
Bruiser Films: Christian Calson's Production Company Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calson, Christian 1975 births American club DJs American LGBTQ musicians American LGBTQ film directors Living people Romanian emigrants to the United States Romanian Jews People from Glendale, California Film directors from California American electronic dance music DJs 21st-century American LGBTQ people