Hal Hartley

Hal Hartley has been a fixture in the world of independent film since the 1980s. He is a native New Yorker, born in Lindenhurst, Long Island, on November 3, 1959. Hartley pursued painting at Massachusetts College of Art in 1978 until finances brought him back home after a year. Having built up sufficient funds to continue school, Hartley was back to his studies by 1980; however, this time around he went for film studies, a medium he had developed a passion for while studying painting. In 1984 Hartley graduated from the film school at State University of New York in Purchase. After a steady term of internships, he held an office position with Action Productions, the studio that helped him release his first film and create his first film studio, True Fiction Pictures. Now working with his studio, Possible Films Inc., Hartley can boast of a steady filmography which includes feature films like The Unbelievable Truth, Henry Fool, and The Girl From Monday, as well as a selection of short films. Hartley's films are known for being humorously thoughtful and critical of the large-scale media industry, and he has received many honors including Best Screenplay for Henry Fool from the Cannes Film Festival.