Peter Sollett | |
|---|---|
 Sollett at the2008 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | (1976-02-09)February 9, 1976 (age 49) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | Eva Vives |
| Children | 1 |
Peter Sollett (born January 1, 1976) is an Americanfilm director andscreenwriter known for his feature filmsRaising Victor Vargas (2002) andNick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008).
Sollett was born on January 1, 1976[1] inBensonhurst,Brooklyn,New York. He is Jewish.[2] His father is a newspaper photographer, which he says inspired him to pick up a camera.[3]
Sollett's first film wasFive Feet High and Rising, a 26-minute short film about the growth and coming-of-age of teenager Victor Vargas.[3] He andEva Vives wroteFive Feet High and Rising as their thesis film in 1998 atNew York University'sTisch School of the Arts and he served as the film's director, cinematographer and editor.[2] After he had the opportunity to work with professionals in the film industry at theCannes Residence Programme,[4] the short film went on to screen on the festival circuit and won a number of awards at theSundance Film Festival,Cannes Film Festival,Aspen Shortsfest, Valencia International Film Festival,South by Southwest Film Festival and Cinema Jove International Film Festival. Two years after the release ofFive Feet High and Rising, Sollett and Vives reunited to collaborate on a follow-up project that becameRaising Victor Vargas, originally namedLong Way Home.[3][5] While Sollett says thatFive Feet High and Rising was purely autobiographical and based on the Italian,Jewish neighborhood he grew up inBrooklyn,[2][6] he and Vives decided to create another film directly about the experiences of the main characters Victor and Judy, continuing on two years after the film left off.[3] Using the same cast as the original short film, he wrote an action-and-dialoguescreenplay which he did not give to any of the actors to encourage them to improvise and create a feeling of spontaneity and authenticity.[5][2]Raising Victor Vargas earned Sollett threeIndependent Spirit Award nominations in the categories ofBest Film,Best Director andBest First Screenplay,[7] as well as other awards and nominations at theViennale,San Sebastián International Film Festival,Online Film Critics Society Awards,Deauville Film Festival,Gotham Awards and theHumanitas Prize.
Sollett directed the2008 filmNick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, starringMichael Cera andKat Dennings, also set in New York City.[8] Though he did not write the film, only directedLorene Scafaria's script, based on a novel of the same name byRachel Cohn andDavid Levithan, he drew from his own experiences when making the film. The film takes place over one night inManhattan, where a number ofNew Jersey teenagers have commuted in for the night—something Sollett was familiar with and often did himself, having lived in Brooklyn as a child andStaten Island as an adult.[9] Many of his personal favorite Manhattan locations also featured in the film, includingKatz's Deli and theLower East Side'sMercury Lounge.[9]
Sollett was a member of faculty atColumbia University School of the Arts.[10] He now teaches at USC School Of Cinematic Arts.
In January 2019, it was reported that Sollett would be directing the film adaptation ofMinecraft.[11] However, as of April 2022, he was replaced byJared Hess.[12]
Sollett says that the character ofVictor Vargas is his fantasy of his teenage self and that Victor is the boy he would like to have been, much more confident than his actual self, describing himself as "the kid in [his] neighbourhood who watched all that stuff going on between boys and girls but could never access whatever juice those guys had to do it."[2] In contrast, he felt that Nick O'Leary ofNick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is "not dissimilar" to his teenage self.[13]
Sollett was influenced byFrançois Truffaut,John Cassavetes,Federico Fellini,Martin Scorsese andIngmar Bergman.[3][5]
Film
Short film
TV series
| Year | Title | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ben and Kate | "Emergency Kit" |
| 2016 | Vinyl | "He in Racist Fire" |
| 2018 | The Path | "The Gardens at Giverny" |
| "The Door" | ||
| Rise | "This Will God Willing Get Better" | |
| 2019 | The Village | "Good Thing" |
| "In Your Bones" | ||
| Almost Family | "Fertile AF" | |
| 2019–2024 | Evil | "Rose390" |
| "Room390" | ||
| "The Demon of the Road" | ||
| "The Demon of Algorithms" | ||
| "How to Train a Dog" | ||
| 2021 | Ordinary Joe | "Happy Birthday Jenny" |
| 2023 | Your Honor | "Part Eleven" |
| "Part Twelve" | ||
| "Part Fifteen" | ||
| "Part Sixteen" | ||
| 2025 | Elsbeth | "Tearjerker" |
| "And Then There Were Nuns" | ||
| Peacemaker | "Need I Say Door" |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
