Ethan Higbee

Ethan Higbee is a film director, music producer and gallerist living in Ojai California, most known for directing the film The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry (2008) composing the music for the Lil' Wayne biopic The Carter (2009) and creating Dem Passwords art gallery in Los Angeles. Ethan was born and raised in coastal Maine where he was a six time All American in youth and high school Track & Field and Cross Country, capturing over 25 individual and team State Championships in the sports of Track & Field, Cross Country, Swimming and Soccer. As a 14 year old he was featured in Sports Illustrated Magazine's Faces in the Crowd for winning two state titles in cross country and soccer in the same day. In 1994 he placed 3rd in the 2000m Steeplechase at the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics National Championships. In 1996 Ethan gave up an Olympic dream in running to pursue film after he was accepted early decision into the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University where he majored in Film and Painting. Before attending NYU, he skipped the majority of his senior year at Mt. Ararat High School after convincing the principal to let him enroll in a film residency at the Maine Media Workshops. After graduating from NYU in 2001 he moved west with his band International Friends and formed the production company Permanent Marks with fellow conspirator Sebastian Demian. In 2003 he produced his first feature documentary Haro Hara: Pilgrimage to Kataragama (2006) a film following Tamil devotes of Lord Murugan on the ancient Pada Yatra pilgrimage down the war torn east coast of Sri Lanka. The film is significant for many reasons. Higbee and director Samuel Holt were among the first with cameras allowed into restricted areas held by the LTTE, (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). They were also able to capture never before seen rituals and ceremonies in the long hidden enclaves of Eastern Sri Lanka. Musically Ethan has scored numerous films, released several albums with his band International Friends, a solo album "Viper in a pre dawn raid" in 2008 under the stage name nahte, and has produced songs for the likes of Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Lil B The Basedgod. In 2010 Higbee opened Dem Passwords Gallery in Los Angeles. In 2013 he formed the production company Rain Dominion with collaborator Adam Bhala Lough to produce the skateboard documentary series The Motivation (2013). Upon release The Motivation was the #1 documentary on Itunes for 13 consecutive days. Motivation 2: The Chris Cole Story (2015) will be released worldwide on June 23rd 2015. In 2014 Ethan began production in Cuba directing a film on the life of Cuban Boxer Teófilo Stevenson a co-production with the The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC).