Michael Rowe (born 1971 in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

, Australia) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. Rowe studied English post-colonial literature at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 196 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia. His artistic career first began as a poet, winning the Melbourne Fringe Festival Poetry Prize. He then moved to theatre and wrote three plays. In 1994, at the age of 23, he traveled to

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and made it his adoptive home. In 1998, while in Mexico, he began a career as a journalist while studying screenwriting at a Vincente Leñero workshop. In 2005, one of his first scripts, '' Naturalezas muertas'' won at the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía. In 2006, he directed his first short film, '' Cacahuates''. '' Silencio'' followed in 2007. Though English is his native language, the bulk of his film work is done in Spanish. In 2010, Rowe directed '' Año bisiesto (Leap Year)'', which garnered him the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or International Critics' Week). The prize, cre ...

prize for best first time feature film director at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. The film was well received by critics. His follow-up film, ''

The Well The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, was launched in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annual income of $2 million. ...

'' ('' Manto acuífero'') premiered at the

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'O ...

in 2013. In 2013, it was announced that Rowe is working on his English feature debut slated for production in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Quebec, Canada. The film is a co-production between a Quebec production house Possibles Media (run by (fr) Serge Noël) and Australia's Freshwater Pictures (run by

Trish Lake Trish Lake is an Australian producer of feature films and documentaries and former ABC TV journalist. Among her works are ''Gettin' Square ''(2003)'', The Burning Season ''(2008) and ''Frackman ''Frackman'' is a 2015 Australian documentary f ...

) and stars Suzanne Clément. The film had a first cut shown in Melbourne film festival where it was reviewed, but the official international premiere of the director's cut was at the Venice Mostra where it won the Venice Days Award for 2015.

Theatre

* ''Impudence and Innocence'' (1993) * ''Reprise for Godot'' (1993)

Feature films

* ''

Leap Year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year o ...

'' (''

Año bisiesto Año Bisiesto (''Leap Year'') is a 2010 Mexican film from the Australian-Mexican screenwriter and film director Michael Rowe. Synopsis Shot almost entirely in a seedy one-room apartment, this psychodrama details the grinding routine of Laura ( M ...

'') (2010) * ''

'' ('' Manto acuífero'') (2013) * ''

Early Winter "Early Winter" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her second solo studio album, '' The Sweet Escape'' (2006). Written by Stefani and English pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, the song was released in Europe as the album's fifth and final sin ...

'' (2015)

References

External links

* https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2341644/ * http://www.evene.fr/celebre/biographie/michael-rowe-54127.php * http://possiblesmedia.blogspot.ca/2012/12/possibles-media-au-cinemart-2013-rest.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20130929181002/http://www.afi.org.au/AM/ContentManagerNet/HTMLDisplay.aspx?ContentID=11473&Section=QandA_with_Michael_Rowe_director_of_Leap_Year_A_o_Bisiesto_ * https://web.archive.org/web/20140116094812/https://www.festivalscope.com/director/rowe-michael * http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ano_bisiesto/#contentReviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Michael 1971 births Living people Australian film directors Directors of Caméra d'Or winners