Anna Biller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anna Biller
Biller in June 2022
Born	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director producer screenwriter actress editor production designer musician costume designer
Known for	Feminist films
Notable work	Viva The Love Witch
Partner(s)	Robert Greene

Anna Biller is an American filmmaker who wrote and directed the feature films Viva (2007) and The Love Witch (2016). Biller considers herself a feminist filmmaker and consciously explores feminist themes throughout her work, including exploring the female gaze in cinema. She is vocal on both her website and in interviews about gender inequalities in the film industry.

Early life

Biller was born in Los Angeles to a Japanese-American mother who is a fashion designer and a white father who is a visual artist. She grew up watching her mother design clothes, watching her father paint with a bright color palette, and watching classic cinema, all of which has had a big influence on her filmmaking practice. She has a B.A. in art from UCLA and an MFA in art and film from the California Institute of the Arts in 1993 During her time at CalArts, she studied both art and film and began making 16 mm films, and was mentored by Morgan Fisher and Paul McCarthy. She started making 8 mm films while she was living in New York.

Career

At the beginning of her career, Biller was known for her short films and staged musicals, which played with old Hollywood genres and tropes from the 1930s to the 1950s. She made her first short film, Three Examples of Myself as Queen, while studying at CalArts. In the film, Biller plays Pointsettia, a teenager who turns into a princess and has the power to transform men into dogs. The film screened at small venues and film festivals. Lane Relyea of Artforum International wrote "the film's humor and graceful perplexity may not have caused any sudden shifts in the local fault lines but did crack a glorious smile on this audience member's face." John Hartl of The Seattle Times called it a "bizarre, Warholian musical fantasy."

In 2001, she directed two short films: The Hypnotist, a melodrama written by her frequent collaborator Jared Sanford, and A Visit from the Incubus, a Western horror musical.

Her 2007 debut feature film, Viva, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and won the Best of Fest Award at the Boston Underground Film Festival. The film was also entered into the main competition at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival. Viva had a very limited theatrical release.

Biller's second feature film, The Love Witch, premiered in 2016 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film took Biller seven years to complete because of her attention to detail in directing, writing, costume and set design, and work with her cinematographer.

In May 2016, The Love Witch was acquired for distribution by Oscilloscope Laboratories. The Love Witch was included in many lists for the best films of 2016, including those of The New Yorker and IndieWire. It won in a tie for the Trailblazer Award and Best Costume Design at the Chicago Indie Critics Awards, and also won the Michael Cimino Best Film Award at the American Independent Film Awards.

In 2019, she became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Biller said in 2017 that her next film will be a Bluebeard story. She stated that "I want to make this film because I have a yearning to see more quality films for women, like the ones that were made in Hollywood’s golden age."

On December 5, 2021, Biller announced she had completed her first novel, Bluebeard's Castle. The book was published in October 2023 by Verso Books. Bluebeard's Castle was listed as one of the best fiction books of 2023 by The Telegraph.

In July 2022, Biller announced her next film, the horror film The Face of Horror.

Personal life

Biller lives in Los Angeles with her partner, author Robert Greene.

Filmography

Biller served as director, producer, writer, editor, production designer, and costume designer on all films listed.