First Run Features

1979–Present
Location

New York City, New York, United States of America

Description

First Run Features was founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers to advance the distribution of independent film. Under the leadership of the late Fran Spielman, First Run Features quickly gained a reputation for its controversial catalog of daring documentaries and fiction films. Seymour Wishman continued her legacy over the next 38 years. Today First Run remains one of the largest independent distributors in North America, releasing 10 films a year in theaters nationwide and an additional 20 films annually to educational institutions, on home video, to television broadcasters, and online through a diverse mix of digital platforms.

The First Run legacy includes films by such notable directors as Spike Lee, Michael Apted, Peter Jackson, Alex Gibney, Joe Berlinger, Allan Miller, Rose Troche, Josh Aronson, Sven Nykvist, Jane Campion, Ross McElwee, Michael Winterbottom, DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Barbara Kopple, Dariush Mehrjui, David O. Russell, Lizzie Borden, Michael Verhoeven, Claude Chabrol, Jan Svankmajer, Claire Denis, Benoit Jacquot, Marleen Gorris, Radley Metzger, Deborah Shaffer, Manfred Kirchheimer, The Brothers Quay, George Sluizer, Monika Treut and Satyajit Ray.

Over the years, First Run Features has survived everything from FBI surveillance to the demise of so many of its competitors. First Run proudly celebrated its 30th Anniversary in August 2009 with a retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. In 2001 we were honored with a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

“First Run Features,” First Run Features, accessed March 25, 2024, http://firstrunfeatures.com/about.html.
Works in catalogue
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    Female Misbehavior

    film/video, 1992

    Four documentaries in one. BONDAGE - In 'Bondage,' Carol, dressed in peekaboo leather, explains the appeal of S & M, tit torture, and the 'very warm, very safe, very secure' feeling of bondage. ANNIE - The eponymous star of 'Annie' is born-again porn queen (now performance artist) Annie Sprinkle, who transforms herself from mouse into sex kitten. DR. PAGLIA - 'Dr. Paglia' is a portrait of Camille Paglia, professor for humanities at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, who catapulted herself into infamous stardom with her book "Sexual Personae." She has been called brilliant, outrageous, 'the intellectual pin-up of the 90s,' an anti-feminist feminist, and 'an academic rottweiler.' MAX - 'Max' is a portrait of Max Valerio who used to be Anita Valerio, a lesbian Native American from San Francisco. A couple of years ago Anita felt that she was no longer comfortable in her female body. Identifying herself as a heterosexual male, she embarks on a journey to become a man.

  • Black and white documentary film poster that has a bold black statement background with a white font that is reminscent of classical Hollywood titles. A black and white archival photograph is centered in the poster, which is a portrait of three siblings.

    Prodigal Sons

    film/video, 2008

    Filmmaker Kimberly Reed returns home for her high school reunion, ready to reintroduce herself to the small town as a transgender woman and hoping for reconciliation with her long estranged adopted brother Marc.