Washington Square Films (WSF) is an American production and management company based in New York City and Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Joshua Blum.

History

The company's debut project was '' United States of Poetry'', a five-part series for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, created and produced by Joshua Blum and Bob Holman and directed by

Mark Pellington Mark Pellington (born March 17, 1962) is an American film director, writer, and producer. Life and career Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebacker who played American Football, football with t ...

. The program featured sixty poets performing in stylized poetry videos, including Paul Beatty,

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled ("strongly ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Sandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros (born December 20, 1954) is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel, ''The House on Mango Street'' (1984), and her subsequent short story collection, ''Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories'' (1991). Her wo ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have bee ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

, and

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...

. The series was accompanied by a book of the same name published by

Abrams Books Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mar ...

and a soundtrack album from

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. The USOP also produced a live touring component, which was booked and managed by Kathleen Russo and Mary Shimkin. In 1996, Russo and Shimkin joined Washington Square Films to book and manage performers and spoken word acts, naming the division Washington Square Arts. The roster included

Spalding Gray Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – ) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and 1990s, as well ...

Eric Bogosian Eric Michael Bogosian (; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian-American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended the University ...

, Danny Hoch,

David Sedaris David Raymond Sedaris ( ; born December 26, 1956) is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay " Santaland Diaries". He published his first col ...

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is also well kn ...

, and many others. The company discontinued booking from its host of services in 2010. In 1998, manager Katherine Atkinson joined the division and built a roster of then unknown talent including

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fil ...

Dulé Hill Karim Dulé Hill (; born May 3, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series ''The West Wing'', for wh ...

Sarita Choudhury Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury (born August 18, 1966) is a British actress. She made her screen debut starring in the romantic drama film ''Mississippi Masala'' (1991). She later appeared in American and international film productions, includ ...

, Victor Rasuk, Adepero Oduye,

Alex Désert Alex Désert is an American actor and musician, known for his roles in the TV series ''The Flash'', '' The Heights'' with Jamie Walters, ''Becker'' with Ted Danson, and Mr. Williams on ''Boy Meets World'', as well as the voice of Nick Fury for '' ...

, and others, all who are still represented by Atkinson and Washington Square Films.

Films and theater

Washington Square Films has worked with and produced films for

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...

, and

Sally Potter Charlotte Sally Potter (born 19 September 1949) is an English film director and screenwriter. She directed '' Orlando'' (1992), which won the audience prize for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival. Early life Potter was born and raised in L ...

. The company is perhaps best known for supporting and producing the early work of filmmakers including

J. C. Chandor Jeffrey McDonald J. C. Chandor (; born November 24, 1973) is an American filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''Margin Call'' (2011), ''All Is Lost'' (2013), and ''A Most Violent Year'' (2014). His acco ...

Kelly Reichardt Kelly Reichardt (; born March 3, 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her minimalism, minimalist films closely associated with slow cinema, many of which deal with working class, working-class characters in small ...

Alex Ross Perry Alex Ross Perry is an American filmmaker and actor. Prolific in independent film, he is best known for writing and directing ''Listen Up Philip'' (2014) and ''Her Smell'' (2018). Early life Perry is Jewish. He grew up in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania ...

, and others. The company's projects have been nominated for two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

(winning one), sixteen

Independent Spirit Awards 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 ...

(winning three), three

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

(winning one), and one

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

(won). The company has had fourteen films premiere at

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

and others at every major film festival including

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. In 2024, Washington Square Films served as the NY production company for Pedro Almodóvar's first US production and first English-language feature film '' The Room Next Door''. WSF's Joshua Blum and Han West served as Executive Producers in New York. In 2023, Washington Square Films produced a live musical based on the 1972 Jamaican film '' The Harder They Come'', with music by

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

and a book and additional songs by Suzan-Lori Parks. The show was developed by Blum and Bruce Miller, and its executive producers included

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony ( ; born May 29, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Anthony played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a ten-time NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA T ...

and Asani Swann. It premiered in New York at

The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...

and was nominated for nine Off-Broadway Awards and won the Outer Critics award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. On September 3, 2024, Stratford East announced that a stage adaptation of ''The Harder They Come'' will be a part of their 140th anniversary season lineup with a book and additional new songs by Suzan-Lori Parks. Blum and Miller return as producers and

Matthew Xia Matthew Xia (born 1982) is a British theatre director, DJ (under the name DJ Excalibah), composer, broadcaster and journalist. Early life Xia was born to a Scottish and English mother and Jamaican father in Waltham Forest, London, and was ...

is set to direct. The musical will run from September 13, 2025 to October 25, 2025.

Filmography

References

External links

*{{official website, https://wsfilms.com/ Film production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in New York City