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Clancy Chassay

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Clancy Chassay is a writer, director, actor, and journalist. He has covered conflict zones across the world for various British news outlets, including The Guardian, The Economist, The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph, and the BBC. He has produced and directed documentaries for Channel 4 and Guardian Films in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, the United States, and Chechnya. He now works as a director and screenwriter in Los Angeles.

Early life

Chassay grew up in artist David Hockney’s apartment in West London. When Hockney left for Los Angeles he sold his home to Chassay's designer parents and it became a hub for local and visiting artists, musicians and filmmakers.

As a young actor Chassay appeared in two films by Derek Jarman opposite Laurence Olivier and Tilda Swinton as well as a string of commercials and music videos. In his late teens Chassay was recruited to develop television concepts for MTV and the UK's Channel 4, where he was the youngest member of Channel 4's Ideas Lab. Chassay went on to study philosophy and international relations at Sussex University, where he was a regular contributor to the Philosophy Society. During his university years, he was photographed by artist Tina Barney, Mario Testino, and modelled for Italian Vogue.

War reporting

After university, Chassay moved to Lebanon to study Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at the American University of Beirut and work on the Lebanese English-language newspaper The Daily Star. He became a correspondent for The Guardian following the outbreak of the Lebanon war in July 2006, also working as Beirut correspondent for The Economist and The Sunday Telegraph.

He subsequently worked as a reporter and documentary filmmaker in Afghanistan, Israel, Gaza, Myanmar and Chechnya, investigating corruption, abuse, refugee crises, and the disproportionate use of force on civilian populations. He was nominated for the Rory Peck Award for Freelance Reporting and for Best Multimedia Journalist at the British Press Awards.

Writer and director

After several years working as a journalist in the Middle East, Chassay moved to Los Angeles to work with director Rupert Sanders on the development of advertising campaigns and film projects, among them Snow White and the Huntsman. His first screenplay "Arclight", written while living at Carrie Fisher’s house, was optioned by Lloyd Levin and Foundry Pictures. Soon after he was commissioned to write a sci-fi disaster movie for Green Street Films. He then developed a hi-tech spy series with Janet and Jerry Zucker, and a thriller project for Bernado Bertolucci. In 2015 he wrote and directed the short film “The Foreigner”, starring Michael Stahl David. Later that year, he was hired to write a Chinese mythological fantasy film for Road Pictures and then developed a racial revenge thriller, from a story written while working as a journalist, with director Nabil Elderkin. He is currently writing a thriller for director Shekhar Kapur, with Lloyd Levin producing.

Family

Chassay is a descendant of Sir Thomas North (1535-1604), considered the first master of English prose and a major source for William Shakespeare, and of Marianne North (1830-1890), a prolific biologist and botanical artist known for her discovery and depiction of rare plants. He is also descended from Maine Senator Hannibal Hamlin (1809-1891), who served as vice president to Abraham Lincoln.

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