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 filmsSome Kind of Heaven (2020) andSpermworld (2024). He is also known for creating the HBO documentary seriesRen Faire (2024).
Lance Oppenheim | |
|---|---|
 Oppenheim at the2020 Sundance Film Festival. | |
| Born | (1996-01-26)January 26, 1996 (age 29) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA) |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Website | lanceoppenheim |
Life
editOppenheim was born inFort Lauderdale, Florida, the son of attorneys Roy and Ellen Oppenheim, and raised inSouthwest Ranches, Florida. He attendedPine Crest School from 2010 to 2014. He graduated fromHarvard University in 2019 with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies.[1] At Harvard, Oppenheim studied under filmmakersRoss McElwee,Robb Moss, andGuy Maddin, and lived inAdams House.[2]
Career
editIn high school, Oppenheim directed several short documentaries, one of which PBS distributed nationwide.[3] He sent documentary pitches to theNew York Times Op-Docs' open submission portal, documenting "crazy things happening in [his] backyard", which theTimes would "politely reject."[4]
He broke through to theNew York Times while studying at Harvard's undergraduate Visual and Environmental Studies program. In college, Oppenheim directed three short documentaries acquired and distributed byThe New York Times Op-Docs. His shortThe Happiest Guy in the World, about long-term cruise passengerMario Salcedo, premiered at theTribeca Film Festival in 2018.[4][5][6][7]
Oppenheim directed and produced his debut feature,Some Kind of Heaven, a documentary exploring life insideThe 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 filmmakerDarren Aronofsky andThe New York Times, one of the paper's first feature-length productions.[9][10] The film premiered at the2020 Sundance Film Festival andInternational Film Festival Rotterdam to critical acclaim and was later acquired byMagnolia 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 2024True/False Film Festival to critical acclaim, and is available onFX,Disney +, andHulu.[13]
In 2024, Oppenheim completed his first television series,Ren Faire. The series, produced byHBO andElara Pictures, premiered at the 2024South by Southwest Film Festival.[14]
In 2025, Oppenheim served as a producer onThe Python Hunt directed by Xander Robin, produced byArtists Equity.[15][16]
He is set to make his narrative feature film debut withPrimetime, starringRobert Pattinson.[17]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Editor | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Some Kind of Heaven | Yes | Yes | No | Magnolia Pictures |
| 2024 | Spermworld | Yes | Yes | No | FX Networks &Hulu |
| 2025 | The Python Hunt | No | Yes | No | — |
| TBA | Primetime | Yes | Yes | No | A24 |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ren Faire | Yes | Yes | No | Documentary series;HBO |
Short films
edit| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Dogmatic | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2013 | Quicksand[18] | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2014 | The Off Season[19] | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2016 | Long Term Parking[20] | Yes | Yes | Yes | New York Times Op-Doc |
| 2017 | No Jail Time: The Movie[21] | Yes | Yes | Yes | New York Times Op-Doc |
| 2018 | The Happiest Guy in the World[22] | Yes | Yes | Yes | New York Times Op-Doc |
| 2018 | The Paradise Next Door[23] | Yes | Yes | Yes | New York Times Op-Doc |
| 2024 | Frank[24] | No | Yes | No |
References
edit- ^"Student and alumnus have films premiering at Sundance". January 21, 2020.
- ^"Harvard filmmaker's documentary in Tribeca spotlight". April 20, 2018.
- ^Diaz, Johnny (17 October 2013)."Teen filmmaker focuses on grandfather's lost memories".Sun-Sentinel.com.
- ^abRizov, Vadim (27 August 2019)."Lance Oppenheim".
- ^Radsken, Jill (2018-04-20)."From the Everglades to Tribeca".The Harvard Gazette. Archived fromthe original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved2022-07-01.
- ^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 fromthe original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved2022-07-01.
- ^"Meet 'Super Mario', the man who's lived on cruise ships for two decades".Aeon. 2022-02-24. Archived fromthe original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved2022-07-01.
- ^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) - ^Carey, Matthew (January 28, 2020)."Darren Aronofsky Returns To Sundance With 'Some Kind Of Heaven', Directed By Gifted Young Protégé With "Tremendous Potential"".
- ^Setoodeh, Ramin (January 21, 2020)."Why the New York Times Is Getting Into the Documentary Films Business (EXCLUSIVE)".
- ^Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 17, 2020)."Magnolia Pictures Acquires Darren Aronofsky-Produced Sundance Docu 'Some Kind Of Heaven'".
- ^"Lance Oppenheim".Forbes. Retrieved2024-06-27.
- ^Aguilar, Carlos (2024-03-07)."The 2024 True/False Film Festival Brought a Parade, Sperm Donors, and a Weekend of Documentaries to Missouri".IndieWire. Retrieved2024-06-27.
- ^Khosla, Proma (2024-03-10)."'Ren Faire' Premiere Plunges Viewers Into Medieval Mind Games at SXSW".IndieWire. Retrieved2024-06-27.
- ^Thompson, Anne (March 14, 2025)."'The Python Hunt': How Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity Helped Turn a Snake-Hunting Contest Into a SXSW Doc Hit".IndieWire. RetrievedMarch 15, 2025.
- ^Fleming Jr, Mike (March 8, 2025)."Artists Equity Unveils Slithery Docu 'The Python Hunt' At SXSW".Deadline Hollywood. RetrievedMarch 15, 2025.
- ^Grobar, Matt (October 22, 2024)."Robert Pattinson, Lance Oppenheim Developing Crime Reporting Pic 'Primetime' For A24".Deadline Hollywood. RetrievedMarch 15, 2025.
- ^"Quicksand".Short of the Week. 2013-08-01. Retrieved2021-01-15.
- ^"The Off Season".Short of the Week. 2014-12-22. Retrieved2021-01-15.
- ^Oppenheim, Lance (September 6, 2016)."Opinion | Home Is Where the Parking Lot Is (Published 2016)".The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^Oppenheim, Lance (December 5, 2017)."Opinion | No Jail Time: The Movie (Published 2017)".The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^Oppenheim, Lance (May 1, 2018)."Opinion | The Happiest Guy in the World (Published 2018)".The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^Oppenheim, Lance (February 21, 2021)."Opinion | The Paradise Next Door (Published 2021)".The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^Gauvey Herbert, David (February 28, 2024)."Frank".SXSW Film Festival.