Washington Square Films Explained

Washington Square Films
Type:Private
Industry:Film, theater
Founded:1995
Founder:Joshua Blum
Hq Location City:New York City
Hq Location Country:United States

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.[1]

History

The company's debut project was United States of Poetry,[2] a five-part series for PBS, created and produced by Joshua Blum and Bob Holman and directed by Mark Pellington. The program featured sixty poets performing in stylized poetry videos, including Paul Beatty, Joseph Brodsky, Jimmy Carter, Sandra Cisneros, Leonard Cohen, Rita Dove, Allen Ginsberg, Czesław Miłosz, Lou Reed, Johnny Depp, and Amiri Baraka. The series was accompanied by a book of the same name published by Abrams Books[3] and a soundtrack album from Mercury Records.[4] [5]

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.[6] The roster included Spalding Gray, Eric Bogosian, Danny Hoch, David Sedaris, Sandra Bernhard, and many others. The company discontinued booking from its host of services in 2010. In 1998, manager Katherine Atkinson[7] joined the division and built a roster of then unknown talent including Kerry Washington,[8] Dulé Hill,[9] Sarita Choudhury,[10] Victor Rasuk,[11] Adepero Oduye,[12] Alex Désert,[13] 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,[14] Abel Ferrara,[15] and Sally Potter.[16] The company is perhaps best known for supporting and producing the early work of filmmakers including J. C. Chandor,[17] Kelly Reichardt,[18] Alex Ross Perry, and others.[19] The company's projects have been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards (winning one), sixteen Independent Spirit Awards (winning three), three Golden Globes (winning one), and one Peabody Award (won).[20] The company has had fourteen films premiere at Sundance and others at every major film festival including Cannes,[21] Berlin,[22] Toronto,[23] Tribeca,[24] and New York.[25]

In 2023, Washington Square Films produced a live musical based on the 1972 Jamaican film The Harder They Come,[26] with music by Jimmy Cliff 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 and Asani Swann.[27] It premiered in New York at The Public Theater and was nominated for nine Off-Broadway Awards and won the Outer Critics award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical.[28]

Filmography

Washington Square Films selected features! Year !! Title !! Director !! Distributor
1995 United States of Poetry PBS/ITVS
2006 Old Joy Kino International, The Criterion Collection
2007 Adrift in Manhattan Alfredo Rodriguez de Villa Screen Media Films
2008 Wendy and Lucy Oscilloscope Laboratories
2010 And Everything Is Going Fine Sundance Selects
2011 Margin Call Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions
2012 Francine Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky Factory 25
2013All Is Lost Lionsgate
Bluebird Lance Edmunds Factory 25
2014 A Most Violent Year A24
Listen Up Philip Tribeca Film
2015 Queen of Earth IFC Films
2016 My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea GKIDS, Shout! Factory
2017 Crown Heights Matt Ruskin IFC Films, Amazon Studios
Golden Exits Vertical Entertainment
Permanent Magnolia Pictures
Thirst Street Samuel Goldwyn Films
Ari Issler, Ben Snyder Gravitas Ventures
2018 Most Likely to Murder Dan Gregor Lionsgate
2019 ColewellTom Quinn Gravitas Ventures
Flower PunkThe New Yorker
The Projectionist Kino Lorber
The Sound of Silence IFC Films
2020 Save Yourselves! Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson Bleecker Street Media
The Roads Not Taken Bleecker Street Media
2021 Cryptozoo Magnolia Pictures
2022 Allswell in New York Ben Snyder Scatena & Rosner Films
2024 The Room Next Door Sony Pictures Classics, Warner Bros

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Joshua Blum. December 17, 2013.
  2. Web site: The United States of Poetry | ITVS. itvs.org.
  3. Web site: United States of Poetry. Joshua. Blum. Bob. Holman. Mark. Pellington. www.abramsbooks.com.
  4. Web site: AudioFile, Discover the World of Audiobooks. AudioFile Magazine.
  5. Web site: The United States Of Poetry (1996, CD) - Discogs.
  6. Web site: Kathleen Russo: Shaping Spalding's Stories. Broadway.com.
  7. Web site: Katherine Atkinson. December 17, 2013.
  8. Web site: Kerry Washington, Larry Wilmore-Produced Legal Drama Moves to Onyx Collective on Hulu for Development. Joe. Otterson. July 20, 2021.
  9. Web site: ‘The Wonder Years’: Dulé Hill To Star In ABC Reboot Pilot; Laura Kariuki Also Cast. Denise. Petski. March 18, 2021.
  10. Web site: Sarita Choudhury To Star In ‘The Colony’ Drama In Works At HBO Max From ‘Stray Dolls’ Duo Based On Their Film. Nellie. Andreeva. April 12, 2022.
  11. Web site: ‘Reasonable Doubt’: Victor Rasuk, Christopher Cassarino, Brooke Lyons, Eugene Byrd Join Onyx Collective’s Hulu Series. Denise. Petski. April 6, 2022.
  12. Web site: Ava DuVernay’s ‘Central Park Five’ Adds Joshua Jackson, ‘Hamilton’s Christopher Jackson, Adepero Oduye & More. Dominic. Patten. August 24, 2018.
  13. Web site: Alex Désert. press.amazonstudios.com.
  14. Web site: spaldinggray.com | And Everything is Going Fine. www.spaldinggray.com.
  15. Web site: ‘The Projectionist’: Film Review | Tribeca 2019. Todd. McCarthy. April 28, 2019.
  16. Web site: ‘The Roads Not Taken’: Film Review. Peter. Debruge. February 26, 2020.
  17. Web site: Sundance: A24 Acquiring J.C. Chandor-Helmed ‘A Most Violent Year’ With Oscar Isaac And Jessica Chastain. Mike Fleming. Jr. January 22, 2014.
  18. Web site: Old Joy. Scott. Foundas. March 1, 2006.
  19. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Spirit Nominee Alex Ross Perry Discusses New HBO Project ‘The Traditions,’ His Next Feature and Life After ‘The Color Wheel’. Eric. Kohn. February 20, 2013.
  20. Web site: Awards and Accolades | PBS.
  21. Web site: ALL IS LOST. May 22, 2013. Festival de Cannes.
  22. Web site: Golden Exits - Forum 2017. www.berlinale.de.
  23. http://collection.tiff.net/mwebcgi/mweb?request=record;id=388202;type=701
  24. Web site: Films by Washington Square Film Talent and Mr. Bronx Showcase in Competition at Tribeca Film Festival 2022 - Press Kitchen. June 13, 2022.
  25. Web site: Washington Square Films Directors, Writers and Actors Take Sundance. January 25, 2016.
  26. Web site: Carmelo Anthony and Asani Swan Join Washington Square Films-Produced Musical 'The Harder They Come' as EPs | LBBOnline. lbbonline.com.
  27. Web site: Carmelo Anthony, Asani Swann Join Musical ‘The Harder They Come’ as Executive Producers (EXCLUSIVE). Brent. Lang. April 5, 2023.
  28. Web site: Some Like It Hot Dominates 2023 Outer Critics Circle Awards; See the Full List of Winners | Playbill.

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