Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Fleck (left) and Boden in 2008
Born	(1979-10-20) October 20, 1979 (age 45) Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	2000–present
Children	1
Born	Ryan K. Fleck (1976-09-20) September 20, 1976 (age 48) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	2000–present

Anna Boden and Ryan K. Fleck are a filmmaking team from the United States. They became well-known for their short film Gowanus, Brooklyn in 2004. This film won a special award at the Sundance Film Festival. They then worked together on Half Nelson, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Their movie Sugar (2008) was named one of the Top 10 films of 2009 by the American Film Institute Awards. It was also recognized as a top independent film by the National Board of Review Awards. They are most famous for writing and directing Captain Marvel. This movie earned over $1 billion worldwide. This made Anna Boden the first woman to direct a live-action movie that reached this huge amount.

The duo also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. This was for their work as executive producers on the TV series Mrs. America (2020). Other films they are known for include It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), Mississippi Grind (2015), and Freaky Tales (2024).

Early Lives and Meeting

Anna Boden's Early Life

Anna Boden was born and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. She loved movies, English books, and photography from a young age. When she was in high school, she learned about filmmaking. She took an "Intro to Film" class and wrote a report on the director Robert Altman.

Boden later studied film and English at Columbia University in New York City. She took a year off during college to join an AmeriCorps program. In this program, she helped create a filmmaking course for students in Seattle.

Ryan Fleck's Early Life

Ryan Fleck was born in Berkeley, California. He grew up there and in Oakland. His stepfather even appeared as a poker player in an old John Wayne movie! Fleck studied theater, acting, writing, and directing at Diablo Valley College. After that, he moved to New York to study film at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

How They Met

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck met during a summer filmmaking course at NYU. This was after Boden returned for her last year at Columbia University. Fleck was working in the film editing department at NYU after he had graduated. They quickly connected over their shared love for the films of Robert Altman. After Fleck finished his short film Struggle, they decided to work together on student films. They also started dating.

Their Filmmaking Journey

Early Short Films

Anna and Ryan first made short documentaries like Have You Seen This Man? and Young Rebels. Then, they wrote and directed the short film Gowanus, Brooklyn. This short film was made to show their style and help them find money for a bigger movie. That bigger movie was their script for Half Nelson.

Gowanus, Brooklyn won an award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Because of this, Boden and Fleck were invited to the Sundance Writer's Lab. There, they got professional advice on their Half Nelson script.

Making Half Nelson

It took years for Half Nelson to get enough money to be made. Boden and Fleck often worked on other projects, like short films about safety, while they kept improving the script. Fleck said that this long wait was helpful because it gave them time to make the script as good as possible.

Even though Fleck was the only one listed as the director for Half Nelson, he has said that they both directed the film equally. They worked as a true team on every part of the movie. Half Nelson was praised by critics. The main actor, Ryan Gosling, even won an award for his performance.

More Movies and Teamwork

After Half Nelson, Boden and Fleck wrote and directed Sugar (2008). This movie premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It tells the story of a 19-year-old man from the Dominican Republic who comes to the United States to play baseball. They wrote the script after learning about many Dominican players who come to America for minor league baseball.

They also worked together on a movie based on the young adult book It's Kind of a Funny Story. This film was released in 2010.

In 2012, the duo started working on Mississippi Grind, a movie about gambling. The idea came to them when they visited casinos on riverboats in Iowa. By this time, Boden and Fleck were fully committed to working together. They said that having a creative partner you can completely trust is a wonderful thing.

Directing Captain Marvel

In 2017, Boden and Fleck were chosen to direct the Marvel Studios film Captain Marvel. They had been considered for another Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, before this. The producer, Kevin Feige, said that Anna and Ryan had a great way of talking about the main character, Carol Danvers. He wanted filmmakers who could focus on the character's journey.

Captain Marvel was released in March 2019 and was a huge success. It earned over $1 billion around the world. In May 2019, it was announced they would direct the first two episodes and produce the TV show Mrs. America. This show starred Cate Blanchett.

Personal Life

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck used to date, but they are not married. Anna Boden had a child around the time Mississippi Grind was released. Boden is Jewish.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Anna Boden y Ryan Fleck para niños