Luke Korem (born November 1, 1982) is an American filmmaker whose credits include directing and producing the critically acclaimed music documentary ''

Milli Vanilli Milli Vanilli ( ) was a German duo R&B music act from Munich. The act was created in 1988 by Frank Farian, founder of Boney M., and consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus as the lip-syncing performers, with the two actual main studio sing ...

'', the

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series ''Action'', and the

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award-winning documentary '' Dealt''. He produces under his production company banner, Keep On Running Pictures, based in Austin, Texas.

Career

In 2017, Korem directed and produced '' Dealt'', a documentary featuring the life and career of Richard Turner, renowned as one of the world's greatest card magicians, who is completely blind. ''Dealt'' premiered at the

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

, where it won the audience award for Best Documentary Feature. The film was sold to

IFC Films Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) is an American film production and distribution company based in New York City, New York. It is an offshoot of IFC (U.S. TV channel), IFC, owned by AMC Networks. It mainly distributes independent fil ...

/ Sundance Selects for distribution and received critical acclaim, accumulating a score of 95% on

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. ''Variety'' wrote that the film is "fascinating and multifaceted"; ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

'' said, "Director Luke Korem masterfully tells this story"; and ''The Playlist'' wrote that ''Dealt'' achieves "a height few films manage to reach". In 2019, Korem directed and executive-produced the four-part docuseries ''Action'' for

. It explores the lives of professional gamblers and

bookies A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Harry Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795, although similar ac ...

as they navigate the landmark 1992 Supreme Court ruling lifting the ban on sports gambling in America. The series debuted on March 24, 2019, and received positive critical reviews. '' IndieWire'' wrote, "''Action'' is a reminder that the margin between success and failure, like so many areas in this country in 2019, is slimmer than a lot of people pretend it is", and that the series "shows the agony and ecstasy of the multibillion dollar industry". In June 2023, Korem's music documentary ''

'' premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, and it was released globally by

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in October of that year. The film received critical acclaim, including a critic's pick by ''

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 ...

'', ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', and ''

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'' (UK). ''Variety'' called it "a captivating and moving documentary", and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' gave the film four stars and said it's "an absorbing blend of comedy and tragedy". The

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...

awarded ''Milli Vanilli'' as one of the best music documentaries of the year. ''Milli Vanilli'' was produced by Korem's production company Keep On Running Pictures, in association with MRC and

MTV Entertainment Studios MTV Entertainment Studios (formerly MTV Production Development from 2003 until 2018 and MTV Studios from 2018 until 2021) is an American film and television production and distribution company and is the film and television production arm of ...

References

External links

Keep On Running Pictures
official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Korem, Luke 1982 births Living people American documentary film directors American documentary film producers