James Rasin

James Rasin is a New York-based writer and filmmaker. After its world premiere at the Berlinale, his feature film directorial debut, "Beautiful Darling", was selected by MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion at their 2010 New Directors/New Films. The film went on to screen at over thirty major international film festivals (winning Best Documentary at the 2010 Chicago International Film Festival and Best Film at the 2010 Montenegro International Documentary Film Festival), and was given special screenings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.; the Museum of Modern Art in New York City; the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh; and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Distributed by Corinth Films, "Beautiful Darling" had its U.S. theatrical release in spring of 2011. Rasin's first short film, "The Burning Ghat", starred his friend the Beat writer Herbert Huncke. It was screened internationally, debuting at the Venice Biennale, and won the Gold Plaque Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. His short documentary, "Gregory Corso Reads From the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights", starred Beat poet Corso. It was included in the Whitney Museum's "Beat Culture and the New America". Rasin has written and sold several never produced screenplays including * for director Abel Ferrara and based on the photographs of Nat Finkelstein - the story of Andy Warhol and his Factory. He also co-wrote (with Jack Walls) "Somebody's Sins", the story of Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith.