Collin Graham Schiffli is an American film director, producer and editor. He has directed the independent films ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

'', ''

All Creatures Here Below ''All Creatures Here Below'' is a 2018 American drama film directed by Collin Schiffli and written by David Dastmalchian. The film is produced by Nacho Arenas, Amy Greene, and Chris Stinson under the banner of Planeo Films. The film stars Dastmalc ...

'' and '' Die in a Gunfight''.

Early life

Schiffli was born in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, Indiana. He is the middle of three sons; his older brother, Brandon, is a

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

script supervisor A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including dialogue and action during a scene. The script supervisor may also be called upon to ensure wa ...

. Schiffli attended

Carroll High School (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Carroll High School is a school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Northwest Allen County Schools and is accredited by the North Central Association. History Indiana school reorganization The Indiana General Assembly passed ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Film from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

in 2009. Soon after, Schiffli moved to

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, ...

to pursue a career in film.

Career

Schiffli began his career writing and directing the short film ''Johnny Appleseed, Johnny Appleseed'' (2008). His next two shorts, ''Head Case'' (2009) and ''Band'' (2010), starred his good friend and frequent collaborator, actor

David Dastmalchian David Dastmalchian ( ; born July 21, 1977) is an American actor, writer, and producer. He has had supporting roles in a number of superhero franchises: he portrayed Thomas Schiff in ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), Kurt and Veb in the Ant-Man franc ...

. Schiffli directed two more short films, ''Shortcake'' (2012) and ''Elias the Ant'' (2013). Schiffli made his feature directorial debut with ''

'' (2014). The film was written and produced by David Dastmalchian and stars him and

Kim Shaw Kim Shaw (born May 20, 1984) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is best known as Dr. Cassie Williams on ''Saving Hope'' (2015–2017). Early life and education Shaw moved to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. ...

as two

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

addicts in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. ''Animals'' won the Special Jury Award for Courage in Filmmaking at the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Film Festival, and received positive reviews from critics following its release in theaters and on

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

platforms;

A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', '' Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

of ''

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 ...

'' stated that Schiffli "shoots in a fluid style, tweaking colors and focus to register changes in perception and feeling". Steve Dollar of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' praised the director for keeping "a tight focus on character, as the couple's plight becomes increasingly dire". Schiffli's next feature, ''

'' (2018), is about a runaway couple (Dastmalchian and

Karen Gillan Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress and filmmaker. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the scien ...

) heading towards their hometown of

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. After its world premiere at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles, the film was released theatrically by

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films, LLC is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. Th ...

in the spring of 2019, and garnered a positive reception; Dennis Harvey of ''Variety'' opined that "Schiffli directs with a nice balance between momentum and naturalism", while Katie Walsh of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' appreciated the director's "beautiful and unobtrusive style". Schiffli's latest film, '' Die in a Gunfight'' (2021), starring

Alexandra Daddario Alexandra Anna Daddario (born March 16, 1986) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough portraying Annabeth Chase in the ''Percy Jackson'' film series (2010–2013). She has since starred in '' Hall Pass'' (2011), '' Texas Chainsaw 3D' ...

Diego Boneta Diego Andrés González Boneta (born 29 November 1990) is a Mexican actor, producer and singer. He gained wider recognition after starring in ''Rock of Ages (2012 film), Rock of Ages'' (2012) alongside Tom Cruise and in the Netflix biographical ...

Justin Chatwin Justin Chatwin (born October 31, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He began his career in 2001 with a brief appearance in the musical comedy '' Josie and the Pussycats''. Following his breakthrough role as Robbie Ferrier in the blockbuster '' War of the ...

and

Travis Fimmel Travis Fimmel (born 15 July 1979) is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as Ragnar Lothbrok in the History Channel television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2017). He also starred in HBO science fiction series' '' Raised by Wolves'' as M ...

, is described as an updated version of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. Released in the summer by

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

, the film received mostly negative from critics;

Christy Lemire Christy A. Lemire (née Nemetz; born August 30, 1972) is an American film critic and host of the movie review podcast ''Breakfast All Day''. She previously wrote for the Associated Press from 1999 to 2013, was a co-host of '' Ebert Presents at ...

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

gave the film 0.5 out of 4 stars and stated, "Schiffli's snarky and snide self-aware tone quickly grows wearisome, and his action sequences have a cheapness about them that's distancing". In contrast,

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...

of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' gave the film a positive review and stated, " sleek, subversive, lushly fun action-crime thriller. One of the better films inspired by Romeo and Juliet, its a welcome addition to the director's résumé and deserves to find an audience".

Filmography

As director

As producer

As editor

As screenwriter

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schiffli, Collin Living people Film directors from Indiana American film editors American film producers Columbia College Chicago alumni People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Year of birth missing (living people) Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival award winners