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Raymond De Felitta (born 30 June 1964) is an American
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
director, screenwriter, musician, blogger and podcaster.


Early life

De Felitta was born in New York City. His father
Frank De Felitta Frank Paul De Felitta (August 3, 1921 – March 29, 2016) was an author, producer, pilot and film director. He was most well known for his novels ''Audrey Rose (novel), Audrey Rose'' and ''The Entity.'' Life and career Frank De Felitta was bo ...
was Italian American and his mother Dorothy Gilbert De Felitta was of
Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
descent.The Los Angeles Times
/ref> De Felitta graduated from Bard College in 1985 and the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
's directing program, class of 1990.


Career

The next year, he was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...
at the
63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 25, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the cer ...
for his AFI thesis short,
Bronx Cheers
'. Later in 1991, he was awarded a
Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a fellowship program founded in 1986 to aid screenwriters. It is administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. History Gee Nicholl, widow of producer Don Nicholl, worked w ...
for his screenplay "Begin The Beguine". In 1995 he wrote and directed ''
Cafe Society A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...
'' starring
Frank Whaley Frank Joseph Whaley (born July 20, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, musician and comedian. His roles include Brett in ''Pulp Fiction'', Robby Krieger in ''The Doors'', Jim Dodge in '' Career Opportunities'', young Archie ...
,
Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, and ...
and
Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for playing Donna Hayward in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). After appearing in Penelope Spheeris's comedy ''Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World'' (1 ...
. The film premiered in Director' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section of the 1995
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
and was shown on the Showtime Network in 1996. It was released theatrically in 1997. In 2000 De Felitta directed the
indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
''
Two Family House ''Two Family House'' is a 2000 American film produced by Alan Klingenstein, based on the story of the uncle of the film's writer and director Raymond De Felitta. The film won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Many of the film's ac ...
'' which won the Audience Award at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
along with an
Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...
nomination for Best Screenplay. In 2003 he directed
Paul Reiser Paul Reiser (; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom ''My Two Dads'', Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom ''Mad About You'', Modell in the 1982 film ''Diner (1982 f ...
's ''
The Thing About My Folks ''The Thing About My Folks'' is a 2005 American comedy drama film directed by Raymond De Felitta and starring Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, and Olympia Dukakis. The screenplay by Paul Reiser focuses on the effect a terminal illness has on the marriage ...
'' which received the Audience Award at the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...
. The film was released in 2005 by
Picture House A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...
. In 2006 De Felitta directed his first documentary
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris
', which won the Best Jazz Documentary at the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee. The film was released in 2007 by Outsider Pictures. In 2009, De Felitta wrote and directed the independent film '' City Island'', which received the First Place Audience Award 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 ...
. The film opened in theaters 19 March 2010 and had a long theatrical run. In 2012, De Felitta directed '' Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story''. The documentary was inspired by a previous documentary that De Felitta's father, Frank De Felitta, made for NBC News in 1966 titled "Mississippi: A Self Portrait". The earlier film contained a frank and shocking interview with an African-American waiter, Booker Wright, who told the cameras what it was like working in a whites-only restaurant in the south. The resulting fallout for the waiter and his family was the subject of the second documentary. "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story" was the subject of a full one-hour episode of "Dateline NBC". In 2014, De Felitta directed "Rob The Mob", which starred Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia and Ray Romano. It marked De Felitta's second collaboration with Garcia, who had starred in and co-produced "City Island". In 2016, De Felitta directed "Madoff", a four-hour mini-series for ABC television based on the rise and fall of the notorious financier Bernard L. Madoff. The film starred Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner. De Felitta was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies For Television and Mini-Series. In 2018, De Felitta directed the baseball-themed drama 'Bottom Of The Ninth', starring Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello


'Movies Til Dawn' Blog and Podcast

De Felitta's long running daily blo
"Movies Til Dawn"
hosted on hi
official site
features YouTube clips and discussions of subjects that include film, urban history, music, dance and vintage television. His podcast of the same nam
"Movies 'Til Dawn"
features conversations with fellow filmmakers. Guests have included Peter Bogdanovich, John Sayles, Mary Harron, Harold Becker, Griffin Dunne, Andy Garcia, Mel Brooks and others.


Theater

De Felitta wrote the libretto for "Buddy's Tavern", a musical version of his film "Two Family House". The musical won the prestigious Richard Rodgers Award which is given annually through the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It 2010 it received a production at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Summer Musical Workshop. Later that year it had a limited run at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York City. In 2012 it received a workshop production at The York Theater Company, in New York City.


Music career

De Felitta is a lifelong jazz pianist. In 1994 he self-produced his first CD, ''Movies 'til Dawn.'' His second CD was a piano/vocal collaboration with Peter Bogdanovich titled ''Monday Morning Quarterbacks''. His third CD, ''Fatha Land,'' was produced in 2007. This album is a tribute to
Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
. His fourth CD, ''Pre-War Charm'', featuring his jazz trio was released in late 2017.


Personal life

De Felitta has been married to Sherry Brennan since 2001 and has one son, Lorenzo De Felitta.


Filmography


Accolades


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Felitta, Raymond 1964 births American male screenwriters American male musicians American jazz pianists Living people Screenwriters from New York City Film directors from New York City Jazz musicians from New York (state) Sundance Film Festival award winners AFI Conservatory alumni