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Vadim Perelman | |
|---|---|
 Perelman at theOdesa International Film Festival in 2011 | |
| Born | (1963-09-08)September 8, 1963 (age 61) Kyiv,Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Film director |
Vadim Perelman (Ukrainian:Вадим Перельман; born 8 September 1963) is aUkrainian-Canadian-Americanfilm director. Perelman made hisfeature film directorial debut in 2003 withHouse of Sand and Fog, following a career as a commercial director. The film, nominated for threeAcademy Awards, also marks his firstscreenplay credit. Perelman was drawn to the story, having been shaped by his ownimmigrant experience.
Born inKyiv,Ukrainian SSR (now inUkraine), Perelman was anonly child who lived with his extended family in acommunal flat. He is from aJewish background. When Perelman was nine, his father was killed in a car accident. Five years later, he and his mother were granted permission to leave Kyiv and lived inVienna for two months before moving toRome, a transfer point in the 1980s for Jewish emigrants from the USSR.
Remembering that period, Perelman likens himself to the kids inLuis Buñuel'sLos Olvidados — a streeturchin "always searching for a hunk of bread or ascam to pull." He supported himself and his young mother in this fashion for a year. When a Canadian visa finally came, they left for that country where Perelman would ultimately build a new life and start his career.
Following some rather tumultuous teenage years, Perelman finally began to concentrate on his formal education.[1] He attended theUniversity of Alberta, majoring inphysics andmaths, before a sophomore-year class in film-making changed his focus. Moving toToronto, he studied film atRyerson University's School of Image Arts for two years, before launching his own Toronto-based production house, called Canned Films. After honing his skills directing and editing music videos, he decided to move toLos Angeles to further his career.
Over the next three years, Perelman directed multinationaltelevision commercials forMicrosoft,General Motors,Panasonic,Nike, Airwalk, AT&T, Sony PlayStation, Coors and MasterCard, andmusic videos including Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You."
Perelman is known for being selective about his projects. "I don’t want to spend a year of my life working on a film that does not resonate with me on an emotional level. Since great scripts are a rare commodity, I realized that I have to create my own opportunities and not wait for the right project to come along — forfate to smile upon me."[This quote needs a citation]
With this in mind, Perelman began to option thefilm rights toliterary works. He discoveredHouse of Sand and Fog byAndre Dubus III before it was an acclaimedbestseller and anOprah selection.[2] "I closed that book after I finished it, and through the tears managed to call my agent to check into the rights." Despite his lack of experience, Perelman convinced Dubus to give him the rights, telling him, "You're going to get all these people coming at you, but they will all have agendas. I have nothing to lose, and I will fight for this to the death." Perelman got Shawn Otto to adapt the novel for thescreen, broughtBen Kingsley andJennifer Connelly into the project and raised financing for what would become his first feature film.Harvey Weinstein offered $500,000, a producer credit and a script of his choosing from theMiramax slate to letTodd Field direct instead, but Perelman declined.[3] Weinstein would acquire the film's UK distribution rights.DreamWorks acquired domestic distribution rights and released the film to critical acclaim.
Perelman's second feature film,The Life Before Her Eyes, was shot in 2006 inConnecticut. The film, independently financed by2929 Productions, starsUma Thurman andEvan Rachel Wood. It is based on the novel of the same name byLaura Kasischke.Emil Stern adapted the book for the screen. Perelman produced the film along with Aimee Peyronnet and Anthony Katagas.
In 2007, he was attached to the film adaptation of Ayn Rand'sAtlas Shrugged.[4]
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