Wes Hurley is a Russian-American writer and filmmaker. He has collaborated with many theater, drag, and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

performers in

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and raised awareness of human rights violations in Russia.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(present-day

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

), Hurley moved to

in the 1990s at the age of 16 with his mother after she married an American.Natasha Lipman
"'I hated my homophobic stepdad, then he came out'"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, February 21, 2020.

Career

Hurley's films, many with gay themes, include '' Waxie Moon'', '' Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel'', ''Zolushka'', ''Rusalka'', Matt Baume
"People to Watch in 2015"
''The Advocate'', January 2, 2015. and the web and later TV series ''Capitol Hill'', which premiered in 2014.Brangien Davies
"After growing up gay in Russia, a Seattle filmmaker wins big"
''Crosscut'', January 18, 2019. He has also collaborated with theater, cabaret, and drag performers including Waxie Moon, Sarah Rudinoff, Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme, and Jackie Hell, and raised awareness of human rights violations in Russia.Wes Hurley
"Growing Up Gay in Russia"
''

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'', February 2, 2016. His film ''Little Potato'' had its online premiere on ''Topic'' and was later picked up by ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' and Criterion Channel. The short is also a Vimeo Staff pick, was short-listed by '' The Wrap'' and nominated for Best Short by Cinema Eye Honors. The companion VR piece ''Potato Dreams premiered at

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 ...

Film Festival and International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.'' In 2021, Hurley completed '' Potato Dreams of America'' - a dark autobiographical comedy starring Dan Lauria, Lea DeLaria, Jonathan Bennett, Sera Barbieri, Tyler Bocock, Marya Sea Kaminsky, Hersh Powers, Lady Rizo, Sophia Mitry Schloss and Lauren Tewes. The film premiered in Narrative Competition at

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 ...

on March 16, 2021 and subsequently had its European premiere at

Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival () is a yearly film festival devoted to Cinema of the United States, American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Chouchan, André Halimi, and then ...

where it was nominated for Grand Prize along with

Sean Baker Sean Baker (born February 26, 1971) is an American filmmaker. He is a director, writer, editor, and producer of Independent film, independent narrative feature films which are most often about the lives of marginalized people, especially immi ...

's '' Red Rocket'' and '' Pig''. The film won several audience and jury awards at festivals around the world including Outstanding Screenplay at Outfest for Hurley and Best Supporting Performance for Lea DeLaria at Tallgrass Film Festival. Cult filmmaker John Waters praised the film's performances and comedic timing after attending its screening at Provincetown International Film Festival. Following its limited theatrical run, the film was positively received by critics and audiences, certified Fresh by

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with 91% approval from critics and 85% approval by audiences on the site. ''Salon'' named Potato Dreams of America one of "9 of the Best Movies About American Immigrants" along with Everything Everywhere All At Once, ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

'' and ''Scarface''. The Bay Area Reporter wrote: "Hurley harvests his storytelling skills, resulting in a bumper crop of emotions, with laughter and tears in equal measure." While '' Variety'' stated that: "The very existence of ''Potato Dreams of America'' is its own happy ending: It’s a calling card, at least, that prompts curiosity over what stories, or whose stories, Hurley will tell next." Hurley has been a regular contributor to ''

''.

Personal life

Hurley realized he was gay before leaving Russia; he came out to his mother when he was 16. His autobiographical film ''Little Potato'', co-directed by Nathan Miller, tells the story of their migration, his adolescence, and his mother's relationship with her spouse, who ultimately came out as

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

Honors

In 2013 Hurley was chosen as one of the Artists of the Year by ''City Arts'' magazine, along with Megan Griffiths, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and Jinkx Monsoon. He was chosen as a Person to Watch in 2015 by ''The Advocate''. In 2019 he won a Creative Capital grant. ''Little Potato'' won over two dozen awards from around the world including Jury Awards at

South by Southwest 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 ...

, Oslo Fusion, Sarasota Film Festival, Annapolis Film Festival, USA Film Festival and Audience Awards at Outfest, Ashland Independent Film Festival and Mardi Gras Film Festival. For '' Potato Dreams of America'', Hurley was nominated for Grand Jury Award at

and Special Grand Prize at Deauville Film Festival and won Outstanding Screenplay from Outfest and Audience Award at Seattle Queer Film Festival. Hurley also helped produce ''Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Story'' for director, Aaron Bear. Narrated by Zachary Quinto and featuring

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, film won Special Recognition at GLAAD Media Awards. In 2024, Hurley was awarded

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

Courageous Documentary Filmmaking Grant for his new film on Shelly's Leg.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Wes Living people Film directors from Washington (state) American television producers American gay entertainers American gay writers Gay screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people) Soviet emigrants to the United States Russian LGBTQ screenwriters LGBTQ people from Washington (state) Filmmakers from Seattle American LGBTQ film directors 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century Russian LGBTQ people Film producers from Washington (state)