Andrew Swant

Andrew Swant (born 1976 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American filmmaker and artist best known for William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, and What What In the Butt.^[1] He attended film school at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and art school at University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire where he majored in Fine Art and minored in Women's Studies.

In 2012 Swant co-wrote and starred in The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, a feature film about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer which premiered at the SXSW film festival. It received positive reviews, including being a New York Times Critics' Pick.^[2] Swant's portrayal of Dahmer was called "chillingly effective" by The Hollywood Reporter and "dead-on creepy perfection" by Entertainment Weekly.^[3] The film was picked up by IFC Films and released in early 2013.^[4]

In 2007 Swant and collaborator Bobby Ciraldo created the YouTube video What What (In the Butt), which immediately went viral.^[5] As of September 2018 their YouTube channel had over 78 million views.^[6] In 2009 the duo co-directed William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, a documentary starring William Shatner, Ben Folds, and Henry Rollins.^[7] Later that year they released Frankie Latina's Modus Operandi, an arthouse film which screened at the American Film Institute Film Festival in Los Angeles and stars Danny Trejo.^[8] In 2014 they premiered a feature length comedy called Hamlet A.D.D. at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. The partially animated film is based on Shakespeare's Hamlet and guest stars Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Dustin Diamond, and Gregg Turkington as Neil Hamburger.^[9] Swant co-created a broadcast television show with Bobby Ciraldo and David Robbins called Something Theater, which aired sporadically from 2009 through 1911.^[10]

He has worked on multiple Found Footage Festival projects, including The Found Footage Show, Glue Man, Found vs. Found, and the Found Footage Festival Volumes 5 & 6.

Swant played The Creature in Drew Rosas' horror/comedy feature Blood Junkie (2010), and Lloyd in Scott Reeder's sci fi/comedy feature Moon Dust (2014).

In 2017 he directed a documentary called Silently Steal Away, which screened at Hot Docs International Documentary Festival in Toronto. The film stars musician Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and is narrated by Mark Borchardt of American Movie. He also produced The Dundee Project, a documentary directed by Mark Borchardt which premiered at Slamdance in Park City, Utah and later screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.^[11]

Swant and Ciraldo (as the collaborative Special Entertainment) were awarded the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for Established Artists in 2013.^[12][13] Other awards include the Best Documentary award at the Marbella International Film Festival, first place at Milwaukee's 24-hour Film Festival in 2005 and 2007,^[14] and he was a Sundance TV Lab finalist in 2003.^[15]

Filmography

• Silently Steal Away (2017) - Director
• Hamlet A.D.D. (2014) - Director, Actor, Writer
• Moon Dust (2014) - Actor, Editor
• The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012) – Actor, Writer
• The Found Footage Show (2010) - Director, Producer
• William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet (2009) - Co-Director
• Modus Operandi (2009) - Producer, Writer, Actor
• Something Theater (2009) - Producer, Director, Writer
• What What (In the Butt) (2007) - Director, Writer, Producer

References

External links

• Andrew Swant on IMDb
• Volume One Magazine article

Filmography

• Hamlet A.D.D. (2014) - Director, Actor, Writer
• Moon Dust (2014) - Actor, Editor
• The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012) – Actor, Writer
• The Found Footage Show (2010) - Director, Producer
• William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet (2009) - Co-Director
• Modus Operandi (2009) - Producer, Writer, Actor
• Something Theater (2009) - Producer, Director, Writer
• What What (In the Butt) (2007) - Director, Writer, Producer

References

External links

• Andrew Swant on IMDb
• BlogCritics Magazine interview with Andrew Swant