To view selected documentary, drama, corporate, commercial and experimental work visit Andi’s Video Village.
Biography
Andi Reiss is an award-winning indie media creative and educator with twenty years experience working around the world. He is a writer, documentary filmmaker (producer, director, photographer, editor) artist and currently also a part time professor in the US.
At the age of sixteen, having firmly set his sights on becoming a human rights lawyer his dreams were inadvertently dashed and he left academia to pursue the life of a teenage rock ‘n roll session drummer. Then a fine art course posed an interest and subsequently political theatre caught his attention. After setting up his own touring company eventually he meandered into making films, and after study at Raindance and The National Film and Television School he set up his own independent production company in Soho, London.
Fast forward a decade he’s found himself living and working in a dozen countires, having created many varied digital content including a feature drama, shorts, commercials, corporates, music videos and also documentayr/journalistic content in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and parts of Middle Africa. This was an experience not to have been missed.
Eventually his inherent fascination with documentary drew him towards the independent sector and he has focussed of late in telling human stories that are often complex and challenging in subject matter. Assisted dying and legislative change, the European refugee crises and vaccine injury are recent topics of documentary with films about transgender hate crime, plant based hallucinogens and cosmography helping to identify certain elements of climate change being projects in development.
His work has screened at BAFTA and AMPAS qualifying festivals and some have influenced government think-tanks and policy. Festival screenings include: Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, New York IFF, Telluride Film Festival, Taormina Film Festival and Queens World Film Festival.
“Reiss’ documentary work has a firm and immersive, yet upolished quality which only highlights the credibility of his subject matter, especially in an era of verite new media.”
James Christopher, The Guardian.
A connoisseur of insect repellent, he has lived and worked in the UK, Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, China, Australasia, Africa, Canada and in the US. He has worked in war zones, hippy camps and distant communities with equal interest, and is a firm believer that lessons learned through travel are unmatched.
Originally from London, he is currently based in Palm Springs, California. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a member of British Film Editors (BFE), Directors UK, BAFTA Connets and PACT, holds a Masters in Digital and New Media and in addition to making his own work, he often produces for like-minded filmmakers. He also consults with companies and individuals alike on literature, photography, fine art and journalism projects.
He is as passionate about encouraging young talent as anything else and whilst developing new projects has taken up a professorship at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, one of the most creative and artistic communities in the US. There he is part of a team that brings a unique energy from which students can draw and develop their own unique, creative voice.
Education
Sept 1981 – July1986 : John Hampden Grammar School
Sept 1986 – July1989 : Amersham College of FE, Art and Design
Sept 1989 – July1992 : Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
September – January 1992 : Vocational training at The National Film and Television School and Raindance.
Sept 2017 – July 2018 : University of Coventry, UK : Masters (with Distinction) in 21st Century Media Practice
Professional Production
August 1992 – December 1995: Media Producer at Natural Sound, London
Jan 1996 – Dec 1996: Director at The Court Theatre, New Zealand.
Jan 1997 – April 1999: Freelance Filmmaker, Video Artist and Designer, London & in Stratford Upon Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Fringe Festival.
May 1999 – June 1999: Multimedia Producer, Hong Kong
July1999 – April 2012: Formed Yellow Media Group, and with a small team based Soho, London began producing award winning documentaries, video journalism and reportage, commercials, branded content and short drama. Working with leading ad agencies and production houses during this time he travelled extensively around the world, including in conflict zones in the Middle East and Africa and many third world countries. Also produced and directed multi-media verbatim theatre projects in Auckland, Hong Kong, London and Edinburgh.
In 2008 was commissioned to write 12 feature drama scrips, whilst beginning to work as an associate lecturing at University.
May 2012 – August 2012: Creative Director for Resolution Productions in Doha, Qatar.
Sept 2012 – Dec 2012: Creative Director for Fashion One in Cebu in The Philippines.
Jan 2013 – June 2022: Back in London and Oxford, continued to work as a freelance/self employed writer, filmmaker, multimedia video artist, graphic designer, camera operator, sound designer, painter, cartoonist, and associate lecturer. Created a documentary consulation business in the UK to advise, oversee and produce indie projects.
Freelance lecturer at The London Academy of Media, Film and TV, The School of Audio Engineering (SAE), MET Film School and other private institutions.
June 2022: Relocated to Palm Springs, California for new adventures in media, documentary production, feature development, art, design, non-profit production and education.
Currently developing three documentaries, a feature drama and two multi-media projects, whilst also teaching online at Film Oxford, and in person at Idyllwild Arts, which has been described as one of the most diverse arts communities in the US.
- Judge at the Queens World Film Festival, New York City and the London Independent Documentary Festival.
- Trustee of ScreenTalk Oxfordshire (2016 – 2022)
- Trustee of Oxfordshire Mind (2016 – 2022)
- 2004 – 2010 – served on Committee of Directors UK
Recent Projects:-
Producer : CR 69 – Chas’in The Championship (Documentary 2022)
Producer/Director – A World Apart (Multi Channel Installation 2018)
Writer/Producer/Director – Endgame (Documentary 2018)
Future Projects 2022:–
Producer/Director – A Small Stone (Documentary)
Producer/Director – The Aya Experiment (Documentary)
Producer/Director – Cosmic Light Chasers (Documentary)
Writer/Producer – If Only (Multimedia Stageplay)
Lead Artist Exhibition
Past Work:
Documentaries from 2010 – 2021
Screenplays for Option: https://andireiss.wordpress.com/writing/
Andi is experienced in writing, teaching and overseeing the following educational masterclasses, modules and courses:-
- Tech Skills: Camera and Editing (Premiere Pro)
- Writing for film and television: documentary
- World of Journalism (with a focus on video journalism, reportage and short form documentary)
- Writing for film and television: fiction (focussing on ‘how to read a script’, short visual narrative and feature script development)
- Technical skills: lighting and sound
- An introduction to photography
- Advanced technical skills
- Photography for Design, Advertising and Promotion: Editorial
- The Media Business and creating business plans
- Production Management
- Music Video Production
- Editing Print and Online Content
- Media Lifestyle and Culture
- Professional Preparation (Placement Plus)
- Photography for Design, Advertising and Promotion: Campaign and Publicity
- Art Film Production (focussing on the difference between art and experimental film and commercial film)
- News Truth and Power (with a focus on video journalism, reportage and short form documentary)
- Presentation for Broadcast Media
- Social media marketing
- Filming on mobile phones (with a focus on using specific apps that turn a phone into a DSRL kit)
- Professional Preparation 2
- Industry Practice Research Project (focussing on historical or social value and content analysis research methodologies)
- Independent Script Project
- Creative Portfolio Production
- Placement Plus Work based project
- Introduction to producing branded film and corporate video
- Event production
- Performance video production
- Creative VJing
- Directing Drama and working with actors (both with script and improvisation)
- Creating your showreel
Download his teaching assessment report from Film Oxford here:-
Andi Reiss SCP Observation template 2019-20
https://andireiss.wordpress.com/production/lecturing/
Curation
Me My City My World Exhibition for Film Oxford
Art and Digital Design
ANDI REISS 