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Lance Oppenheim

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Lance Oppenheim
Oppenheim at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Born (1996-01-26) January 26, 1996 (age 28)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University (BA)
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2013–present
Websitelanceoppenheim.com

Lance Oppenheim (born January 26, 1996) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and producer. His work blends nonfiction storytelling with heightened, cinematic formalism. Oppenheim has received critical acclaim for his films Some Kind of Heaven (2020) and Spermworld (2024). He is also known for creating the HBO documentary series Ren Faire (2024).

Life

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Oppenheim was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the son of attorneys Roy and Ellen Oppenheim, and raised in Southwest Ranches, Florida. He attended Pine Crest School from 2010 to 2014. He graduated from Harvard University in 2019 with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies.[1] At Harvard, Oppenheim studied under filmmakers Ross McElwee, Robb Moss, and Guy Maddin, and lived in Adams House.[2]

Career

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In high school, Oppenheim directed several short documentaries, one of which PBS distributed nationwide.[3] He sent documentary pitches to the New York Times Op-Docs' open submission portal, documenting "crazy things happening in [his] backyard", which the Times would "politely reject."[4]

He broke through to the New York Times while studying at Harvard's undergraduate Visual and Environmental Studies program. In college, Oppenheim directed three short documentaries acquired and distributed by The New York Times Op-Docs. His short The Happiest Guy in the World, about long-term cruise passenger Mario Salcedo, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018.[4][5][6][7]

Oppenheim directed and produced his debut feature, Some Kind of Heaven, a documentary exploring life inside The Villages, Florida, as part of his undergraduate senior thesis.[8] In it, he follows four seniors living in The Villages and how they cope with later adult life. The film was produced by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and The New York Times, one of the paper's first feature-length productions.[9][10] The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and International Film Festival Rotterdam to critical acclaim and was later acquired by Magnolia Pictures.[11]

In 2023, Oppenheim appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Hollywood & Entertainment.[12]

Oppenheim's second film, Spermworld, premiered at the 2024 True/False Film Festival to critical acclaim, and is available on FX, Disney +, and Hulu.[13]

In 2024, Oppenheim completed his first television series, Ren Faire. The series, produced by HBO and Elara Pictures, premiered at the 2024 South by Southwest Film Festival.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Producer Editor Distribution
2020 Some Kind of Heaven Yes Yes No Magnolia Pictures
2024 Spermworld Yes Yes No FX Networks & Hulu

Television

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Year Title Director Producer Editor Notes
2024 Ren Faire Yes Yes No Documentary series; HBO

Short films

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Year Title Director Producer Editor Notes
2012 The Dogmatic Yes Yes Yes
2013 Quicksand[15] Yes Yes Yes
2014 The Off Season[16] Yes Yes Yes
2016 Long Term Parking[17] Yes Yes Yes New York Times Op-Doc
2017 No Jail Time: The Movie[18] Yes Yes Yes New York Times Op-Doc
2018 The Happiest Guy in the World[19] Yes Yes Yes New York Times Op-Doc
2018 The Paradise Next Door[20] Yes Yes Yes New York Times Op-Doc
2024 Frank[21] No Yes No

References

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  1. ^ "Student and alumnus have films premiering at Sundance". January 21, 2020.
  2. ^ "Harvard filmmaker's documentary in Tribeca spotlight". April 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Diaz, Johnny (17 October 2013). "Teen filmmaker focuses on grandfather's lost memories". Sun-Sentinel.com.
  4. ^ a b Rizov, Vadim (27 August 2019). "Lance Oppenheim".
  5. ^ Radsken, Jill (2018-04-20). "From the Everglades to Tribeca". The Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  6. ^ Goldrich, Robert (2018-05-03). "Tool Director Lance Oppenheim In Cruise Control At Tribeca: His New York Times' Op-Doc "The Happiest Guy in the World" debuts at festival". Shoot. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  7. ^ "Meet 'Super Mario', the man who's lived on cruise ships for two decades". Aeon. 2022-02-24. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  8. ^ Willman, Thomas K. Arnold,Jem Aswad,Randee Dawn,Diane Garrett,Shirley Halperin,Paula Hendrickson,Steven J. Horowitz,Carole Horst,Todd Longwell,Brooke Mazurek,Addie Morfoot,Jenelle Riley,Chris; Arnold, Thomas K.; Aswad, Jem; Dawn, Randee; Garrett, Diane; Halperin, Shirley; Hendrickson, Paula; Horowitz, Steven J.; Horst, Carole; Longwell, Todd; Mazurek, Brooke; Morfoot, Addie; Riley, Jenelle; Willman, Chris (August 5, 2020). "Variety's Power of Young Hollywood List 2020".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Carey, Matthew (January 28, 2020). "Darren Aronofsky Returns To Sundance With 'Some Kind Of Heaven', Directed By Gifted Young Protégé With "Tremendous Potential"".
  10. ^ Setoodeh, Ramin (January 21, 2020). "Why the New York Times Is Getting Into the Documentary Films Business (EXCLUSIVE)".
  11. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 17, 2020). "Magnolia Pictures Acquires Darren Aronofsky-Produced Sundance Docu 'Some Kind Of Heaven'".
  12. ^ "Lance Oppenheim". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  13. ^ Aguilar, Carlos (2024-03-07). "The 2024 True/False Film Festival Brought a Parade, Sperm Donors, and a Weekend of Documentaries to Missouri". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  14. ^ Khosla, Proma (2024-03-10). "'Ren Faire' Premiere Plunges Viewers Into Medieval Mind Games at SXSW". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  15. ^ "Quicksand". Short of the Week. 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  16. ^ "The Off Season". Short of the Week. 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  17. ^ Oppenheim, Lance (September 6, 2016). "Opinion | Home Is Where the Parking Lot Is (Published 2016)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  18. ^ Oppenheim, Lance (December 5, 2017). "Opinion | No Jail Time: The Movie (Published 2017)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  19. ^ Oppenheim, Lance (May 1, 2018). "Opinion | The Happiest Guy in the World (Published 2018)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  20. ^ Oppenheim, Lance (February 21, 2021). "Opinion | The Paradise Next Door (Published 2021)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  21. ^ Gauvey Herbert, David (February 28, 2024). "Frank". SXSW Film Festival.
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