Ira Sachs

Ira Sachs
Ira Sachsis an American filmmaker. His first film was the acclaimed short Lady...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth21 November 1965
CountryUnited States of America
act aids alive both came city dying height including involved movies time york
I came to N.Y.C. in 1988 and got very involved with Act Up. I also started making movies, including two very gay shorts, 'Vaudeville' and 'Lady.' It was the height of the AIDS epidemic, and New York City was both dying and very alive at the same time.
almost capturing close excites interested intimacy inviting meaningful movies obscene personally
Capturing intimacy is pretty much the only thing I'm interested in. That's what excites me and what I find beautiful in movies personally - that almost obscene sense that we shouldn't be this close to these people. I find that very inviting and meaningful as an audience member.
aspects exciting good hidden life movies revealing secrets truths
Secrets make for good drama, and revealing the hidden truths and contradictions of life is, for me, one of the most exciting aspects of making movies.
discovered early few movies paris stay three watched
I started making movies in the early '90s, a few years after I discovered 'the cinema' during a three month stay in Paris during which I watched 100s of films.
dad happened present staying
I happened to be staying with my dad and his present 19-year-old girlfriend. So that was really fascinating ? it was a mirror-image kind of experience.
A lot of what I think I do as a director is try to give everything over to the actor. So I disappear.
embracing instead realize strength
I realize I have strength as an artist and professional by embracing my difference instead of what makes me the same.
conflict continue conversation director influenced
I have been very influenced by the director Maurice Pialat, who I continue to be in conversation and conflict with and get inspiration from.
age filmmaking opportunity order personal seems
I got into filmmaking in order to tell very personal stories, and in this day and age, the opportunity seems all the more precious.
cannot filmmaker fully
I could not - and I still cannot - see a sustainable career as a filmmaker in which I focus fully on our gay stories.
best cannot survive
'How to Survive a Plague' is history-telling at its best. It's a film I'll show my two children, now toddlers, when they are old enough to understand. It's a movie that I cannot forget.
coming films iran stuff taiwan
I find the stuff that is exciting to me are the films coming out of Taiwan and Iran and France. So I have the feeling I'm not making the films that American distributors want to make.
career easy hard
It's easy to make a film, but it's hard to make a career of being a filmmaker.
crucial life since
I've been hiding crucial events in my life since I was 13.