Geoffrey Fletcher
Birthday:
4 October 1970, New London, Connecticut, USA
Birth Name:
Geoffrey Shawn Fletcher
Initially working with a video camera and cast of toys and action figures, Geoffrey Fletcher began making films as a child. Those films in part led to his acceptance to NYU's Tisch Graduate Film Program, which he attended after his graduation from Harvard University. He has also apprenticed under Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. Magic Markers, a...
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Initially working with a video camera and cast of toys and action figures, Geoffrey Fletcher began making films as a child. Those films in part led to his acceptance to NYU's Tisch Graduate Film Program, which he attended after his graduation from Harvard University. He has also apprenticed under Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. Magic Markers, a short film Geoffrey wrote, directed, shot and edited, received accolades from numerous organizations including the Directors Guild of America and the Sundance Film Festival. The film has since been instituted as part of New York University's curriculum for its Graduate and Undergraduate Film Programs.Geoffrey is the screenwriter of Precious (2009): Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire and received an Oscar for Writing (Adapted Screenplay) from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on March 7, 2010. He is the first African American to win in this category. Precious (2009) was presented by executive producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry and released by Lionsgate in November of 2009. Precious (2009) won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It is only the third film to do so in the Festival's twenty-five-year history. Precious (2009) also won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, making it the only film to win the top prizes at both Sundance and Toronto.In addition to being honored by the Academy, Geoffrey was heralded by Variety as one of its "10 Screenwriters to Watch.". He also received the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay; the Black Reel Award for Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted and the Best Adapted Screenplay award from the Chlotrudis, AAFCA and the Satellite Awards.Geoffrey has also been an adjunct professor of film at Columbia University and New York University where he taught courses ranging from "Directing the Camera" to "Developing the Screenplay". He also has an extensive background in photography and editing. His feature directorial debut is Violet & Daisy (2011). Show less «
From stoplights to skyscrapers, turn anywhere in civilization and you will see imagination at work. It's in our inventions, advances and rem...Show more »
From stoplights to skyscrapers, turn anywhere in civilization and you will see imagination at work. It's in our inventions, advances and remedies and how a single parent masterminds each day. Imagination is boundless, surrounds us and resides in us all. Show less «
If humanity is being swallowed by a modern primitivism, imagination might be the thing that saves us all.
If humanity is being swallowed by a modern primitivism, imagination might be the thing that saves us all.
I'm interested in how innocence fares when it collides with hard reality.
I'm interested in how innocence fares when it collides with hard reality.
Characters who experience great trauma will sometimes create an escape.
Characters who experience great trauma will sometimes create an escape.
It's so easy today to get swept up in celebrity fixation and materialism and searching for some validation outside of yourself when we know ...Show more »
It's so easy today to get swept up in celebrity fixation and materialism and searching for some validation outside of yourself when we know it's really found within and through meaningful connections with other people. Show less «
I think there are many more stories still to be told about women.
I think there are many more stories still to be told about women.
My M.F.A was in directing, and all the films I've made, for film school and after, I've written, directed and shot.
My M.F.A was in directing, and all the films I've made, for film school and after, I've written, directed and shot.
It's always healthy to be taken down a notch, even though it's humbling.
It's always healthy to be taken down a notch, even though it's humbling.
I was always writing scripts, and I had made several shorts, before and after film school. But I worked a variety of temp positions over the...Show more »
I was always writing scripts, and I had made several shorts, before and after film school. But I worked a variety of temp positions over the years. Show less «
My brothers were the ones who taught me about mythology and storytelling, and showed me how to do stop-motion animation.
My brothers were the ones who taught me about mythology and storytelling, and showed me how to do stop-motion animation.
I often think about the many remarkable things that my personal computer can do which I never ask it to do. I probably use a small fraction ...Show more »
I often think about the many remarkable things that my personal computer can do which I never ask it to do. I probably use a small fraction of its capabilities. I often wonder if the same dynamic occurs with our capacity for creativity. Show less «
You can be moved by an animated film and not by a live action film. There could be great inspiration in and humanity in that animated story.
You can be moved by an animated film and not by a live action film. There could be great inspiration in and humanity in that animated story.
'Precious' is strangely uplifting. It goes down into the valley but it also goes to the mountain tops. A lot of difficult realities are expl...Show more »
'Precious' is strangely uplifting. It goes down into the valley but it also goes to the mountain tops. A lot of difficult realities are explored in 'Precious,' but the peaks make the valleys and the valleys make the peaks. Show less «
I don't have to go into outer space to write about an astronaut.
I don't have to go into outer space to write about an astronaut.
You only get one world premiere of your directorial debut.
You only get one world premiere of your directorial debut.
I love so many different genres. I love crime films - and unusual coming-of-age pieces.
I love so many different genres. I love crime films - and unusual coming-of-age pieces.
I think if you get your fifth script made, that's the fast track. But there's no guarantee any of them will get made.
I think if you get your fifth script made, that's the fast track. But there's no guarantee any of them will get made.
If you do the math, films featuring women are a good investment.
If you do the math, films featuring women are a good investment.
I don't think there's enough breadth to the stories told about African-Americans.
I don't think there's enough breadth to the stories told about African-Americans.
The brutality that can take place in a crime film heightens the tenderness that can also be there.
The brutality that can take place in a crime film heightens the tenderness that can also be there.
There is so much talent out there and not quite as much opportunity.
There is so much talent out there and not quite as much opportunity.
Women have a greater verbal capacity.
Women have a greater verbal capacity.
There are few films where you have women really driving the plot.
There are few films where you have women really driving the plot.
My mother enjoyed few things more than investing in the underdogs and showing them that they were special and could achieve their dreams.
My mother enjoyed few things more than investing in the underdogs and showing them that they were special and could achieve their dreams.
I devoted myself to writing for years without representation or a promise of anything. And there were times when I felt quite down about my ...Show more »
I devoted myself to writing for years without representation or a promise of anything. And there were times when I felt quite down about my prospects. Show less «
It may take hundreds of pages before you begin to get a handle on the craft of writing, and your first scripts may not work. The next five t...Show more »
It may take hundreds of pages before you begin to get a handle on the craft of writing, and your first scripts may not work. The next five to twenty may not either. However, the ones that do work owe everything to the ones that didn't. Show less «
In these times of stress, snark, division and despair, I still suspect that two of the most important features we possess are imagination an...Show more »
In these times of stress, snark, division and despair, I still suspect that two of the most important features we possess are imagination and a capacity for goodness. Those are qualities for which we will be remembered most fondly. Show less «
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