Phil Messerer

Phil Messerer, sometimes referred to as Philly The Kid, is an award-winning independent filmmaker, having directed such cult narrative features as Underbelly Blues and Blood Born. He is also a professional video editor with over twenty years experience. He is the recipient of the Asian Television Award for Best Editing for a documentary on the life of Yuna Kim, South Korea's mega star figure skater. His ability to craft a narrative out of unscripted content is so sought after that Discovery Asia flies him out to Singapore and South Korea to edit documentaries. As a first generation Russian American, Phil Messerer comes from a long line of creative artists in his native Russia. His father, Azharik Messerer was a child star of Russian cinema, most notably as a six year old in the Russian classic, 15 Year Old Captain. His aunt, Maya Plisetskaya is one of the most renowned ballerinas in Russian history. After her death a square in Moscow was named after her and a 50 foot tall monument was erected commemorating her contribution to Russian culture. Phil Messerer grew up in New York City and is an avid fan of the New York Yankees. He is also a citizen of Australia, having lived there and graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts majoring in Creative Writing from the University of Wollongong, just south of Sydney. He now resides with his girlfriend and their two Persian cats in Hollywood, California, freelances as a video editor and continues to write and work on passion projects in the form of narrative cinema whenever he can. His greatest love is collaborating with actors on the creation of ever more challenging characters. He feels blessed to have been able to live a life of rewarding creative endeavor. He refers to himself simply as a story teller.