Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi | |
---|---|
Born | 1965 |
Education | Ontario College of Art |
Occupation(s) | Photographer, director |
Spouse | Lillian Berlin |
Children | Tosca Vera Sigismondi-Berlin |
Parent(s) | Lina and Domenico Sigismondi |
Floria Sigismondi (born 1965 in Pescara, Italy) is a Canadian-naturalized photographer and director.
Apart from her art exhibitions, she is best known for directing music videos for Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, Björk, The Cure, Christina Aguilera, The White Stripes, Sigur Rós, Muse, Interpol, Incubus, and having directed some commercials for Old Navy, MAC, Adidas and Eaton's. Her trademark dilating, jittery camerawork, noticeable as early as her video for Manson's The Beautiful People, has been replicated by a great number of directors since.
Her life
Her parents, Lina and Domenico Sigismondi, were opera singers. Her family, including her sister Antonella, moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada[1] when she was two. In her childhood she became obsessed by drawing and painting. Later, from 1987 she studied painting and illustration at the Ontario College of Art, today's Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD). When she took a photography course, she became obsessed once more, and graduated with a photography major.
Floria Sigismondi started a career as a fashion photographer. She came to directing music videos when she was approached by the production company The Revolver Film Co., and directed music videos for a number of Canadian bands. Her very innovative, but also very disturbing video works, located in sceneries she once described as "entropic underworlds inhabited by tortured souls and omnipotent beings", attracted a number of very prominent musicians. Sigismondi is currently represented for Music Videos by the production company [Symphony 19] in Los Angeles, CA.
With her photography and sculpture installations she had solo exhibitions in Hamilton and Toronto, New York, Brescia, Italy, Göteborg, Sweden and London. Her photographs also were included in numerous group exhibitions, together with those of photographers like Cindy Sherman and Joel-Peter Witkin. The German art press Die Gestalten Verlag has published two monographs of her photography, Redemption (1999) and Immune (2005).
In October 2004 she gave birth to a daughter, Tosca Vera Sigismondi-Berlin. The father is her husband Lillian Berlin, the lead singer of the American alternative rock band Living Things. Sigismondi resides in Toronto, New York City, and Los Angeles. Her daughter is named after the Italian opera Tosca. Floria herself was named after the main character.
Floria makes an appearance in the 2008 feature documentary by Nik Sheehan about Brion Gysin and the Dreamachine entitled 'FLicKeR'.
Film Project
Floria is currently working on her first feature film. She is both writing and directing this film, which is a coming of age story based on the '70s all girl rock 'n' roll band, The Runaways.[1]
Film (selection)
Music videos (selection)
Director
- 2009 "Let It Rain", Living Things
- 2006 "Broken Boy Soldier", The Raconteurs
- 2006 "Hurt", Christina Aguilera
- 2006 "Red Flag", Billy Talent
- 2006 "Supermassive Black Hole", Muse
- 2006 "Bombs Below (version 2)", Living Things
- 2005 "O' Sailor", Fiona Apple
- 2005 "Bom Bom Bom", Living Things
- 2005 "Blue Orchid", The White Stripes
- 2004 "The End of The World", The Cure
- 2004 "Talk Shows on Mute", Incubus
- 2004 "I Owe...", Living Things
- 2004 "Megalomaniac", Incubus
- 2003 "Fighter", Christina Aguilera
- 2003 "Bombs Below (version 1)", Living Things
- 2003 "Anything", Martina Topley-Bird
- 2003 "Obstacle 1", Interpol
- 2003 "Untitled #1 (Vaka)", Sigur Rós
- 2002 "John, 2/14", Shivaree
- 2002 "She Said (version 2)", Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
- 2002 "Black Amour", Barry Adamson
- 2001 "In My Secret Life", Leonard Cohen
- 2000 "4 Ton Mantis", Amon Tobin
- 2000 "I've Seen It All" (interactive version), Björk
- 1999 "Get Up", Amel Larrieux
- 1998 "Can't Get Loose", Barry Adamson
- 1998 "Most High", Robert Plant & Jimmy Page
- 1998 "Sweet Surrender", Sarah McLachlan
- 1998 "Anything But Down", Sheryl Crow
- 1997 "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do", Filter & The Crystal Method
- 1997 "Makes Me Wanna Die", Tricky
- 1997 "Dead Man Walking", David Bowie
- 1997 "Black Eye", Fluffy
- 1996 "Little Wonder", David Bowie
- 1996 "Tourniquet", Marilyn Manson
- 1996 "Anna is a Speed Freak", Pure
- 1996 "The Beautiful People", Marilyn Manson
- 1996 "Four Leaf Clover", Catherine
- 1995 "Blue", Harem Scarem
- 1994 "The Birdman (version 1)", Our Lady Peace
- 1993 "The River", The Tea Party
- 1993 "Save Me", The Tea Party
- 1993 "A Certain Slant of Light", The Tea Party
Cinematographer
- 2000 "4 Ton Mantis", Amon Tobin
Awards (selection)
- 2004 Juno Awards, Canada - Best Music Video, for "Fighter" (Christina Aguilera)
- 2003 MTV European Awards - Best International Video Award, for Untitled (Sigur Rós)
- 2003 New York Underground Film Festival - Audio/Visual Award, for Untitled (Sigur Rós)
- 2003 Advertising and Design Awards, Toronto, Canada - Special Merit Award for Music Video, for "Fighter" (Christina Aguilera)
- 1999 German Kodak Photobook Award, for her book Redemption
- 1998 British Music Video Awards, UK - Nomination for Best Video: "Little Wonder" (David Bowie)
- 1997 MTV Music Video Awards, USA - Nomination for Best Rock Video: "Beautiful People" (Marilyn Manson)
References
- ^ a b "Official web site: Floria Sigismondi". Retrieved 2007-01-18. Cite error: The named reference "FLORIA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Sigismondi, Floria (1999). Redemption. Gestalten Verlag. ISBN 3-931126-18-8.
- Sigismondi, Floria (2005). Immune. Gestalten Verlag. ISBN 3-89955-069-2.
External links
- Official website
- Floria Sigismondi at IMDb
- Interview in Revolutionart International Magazine 4
- The Raconteurs' video for 'Broken Boy Soldier' + interview with director Floria Sigismondi.
- CoolHunting.com Video Interview
- A Short Film directed by Floria also with a brief interview
- Commercials, select music videos and a biography at Believe Media
- Official site for the feature documentary 'FLicKeR'