Paul Harrill’s films have screened around the world at festivals (Sundance, Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Clermont-Ferrand, Sydney, etc.) and museums (MoMA, ICA London, Warsaw Centre for Contemporary Art, etc.), and on curated streaming platforms (Netflix, Mubi) and television (PBS, Cinemax, ORF Austria).
Light From Light, Harrill’s latest feature, stars Marin Ireland and Jim Gaffigan. Upon its premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival it was called “a remarkable achievement” (C. Mason Wells, Film Comment), “transfixing” (David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter), and “a gem” (Elizabeth Weitzman, The Wrap). The film is produced by Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sailor Bear (The Old Man and the Gun), Ten Acre Films (Sorry to Bother You), and Ley Line Entertainment. Light From Light was released by Grasshopper Film to theaters, where it earned a “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Harrill’s debut feature Something, Anything was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick, earned an “Essential Viewing” tag from The Dissolve, and was called a work of “simple, unforgettable beauty” on RogerEbert.com. His short films include Gina, An Actress, Age 29, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and Quick Feet, Soft Hands, a co-production with the Independent Television Service starring Greta Gerwig.
Paul’s work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, IFP, MacDowell, Yaddo, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Aperture Film Grant, among others. He was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”
Harrill resides in Knoxville, Tennessee where he is the co-founder (with critic Darren Hughes) of The Public Cinema and teaches at the University of Tennessee.