Talmage Cooley

Talmage Cooley was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. Received BA in Foreign Affairs and MBA from the University of Virginia and an MPA from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Studied Acting and Directing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/ Playwright's Horizons Theater School in New York with theater directors Anne Bogart (Siti Company), Kevin Kulke (NYU Experimental Theater Wing) and Brian Jucha (Via Theater). Also studied film and photography at The New School/Parsons School of Design. First effort as writer/director was the satirical short film Pol Pot's Birthday (2004). The film quickly became a short film standout known for its sharply awkward style of comedy often compared to the BBC version of The Office. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received numerous Best Film, Best Screenplay and Audience Awards. Pol Pot's Birthday was featured in American Cinematographer for its visual accomplishment in art direction and digital cinematography. Cooley's second film, Dimmer (2005), was a documentary short produced in collaboration with the band Interpol. Dimmer follows a gang of blind teenage boys as they roam the broken down neighborhoods and factories of Buffalo, NY, in search of trouble and girlfriends. Dimmer premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won numerous Best Film, Jury Prize and Audience Awards and was short-listed for the 2006 Academy Awards. Pol Pot's Birthday and Dimmer have been included in the Sundance Film Collection at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and exhibited at both MOMA and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Cooley's first feature, Patriotville (2009), a low-budget comedy/drama starring Justin Long, Rob Corddry, Nick Offerman, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Keir O'Donnell, premiered at the CineVegas Film Festival and was released by Lionsgate Entertainment (who re-edited and renamed it Taking Chances). Cooley has reportedly distanced himself from producers' decisions regarding production and finishing of the film. Cooley has been profiled in magazines such as Create, Fader and Hotdog (UK), and was named by RES Magazine as one of "Ten Most Innovative Talents", and by Screen International as one of "10 Emerging Talents to Watch". His films have won over 20 Best Film and other awards at festivals worldwide, including: Sundance Film Festival -- 2 Premieres Filmstock Festival (UK) -- Best Film Filmstock Festival (UK) -- Best Concept Dubrovnik Film Festival (Croatia) -- Best Film St. Louis Film Festival -- Best Film Newport Beach Film festival -- Best Screenplay Grenada Film Festival (Spain) - Best Cinematography Silverlake Film Festival -- Festival Director's Prize Asian American Film Festival -- Best Film Worldwide Short Film Festival (Toronto) -- Best Film Curtas Vila Do Cordo Festival (Portugal) -- Best Film Seattle One Reel Festival -- Best Film NY Museum of Modern Art -- Special Exhibition Hammer Museum -- Special Exhibition Nashville Film Festival -- Special Mention Aspen Film Festival -- Silver Prize RESfest -- Best Film RESfest -- Special Jury Prize RiverRun Festival -- Best Documentary Short 2006 Academy Awards -- Short Documentary Finalist His feature script Squirt was a finalist for the 2009 Cinequest Mavericks screenplay competition. He and Kate Spade Fashions Founder Andy Spade co-authored a photo and essay book titled Public Love, which was published by Chronicle Books. In addition to his creative career in film, is known for his work as a social activist, co-founding the national anti-gun violence organization PAX/The Center to Prevent Youth Violence, which became the largest non-lobbying organization dedicated to the gun violence issue before its merger with the Brady Center. He was also the Founder and CEO of Democracy.com, an award-winning platform for civic and political engagement, which was sold to Mark Cuban in 2019. Cooley resides in Brooklyn, NY.