Director Chris Newberry (2001 bio)

CONTACT CHRIS NEWBERRY

Christopher Newberry was born and raised in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and graduated from Minnetonka High School. He went on to study at Northwestern University where he received his Bachelors Degree in 1997. While at Northwestern, he was involved with many student and independent Chicago productions, and eventually wrote and directed his own student short, Baby In My Drink.

Newberry returned to the Twin Cities in 1997 and directed his first post-graduate short film, 2o/2o Vision, which enjoyed a national festival run after earning the "Best of Fest" designation and a gala opening night premiere at the 1999 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. 2o/2o Vision also received significant attention from the national media when its featured player, wrestling-star-turned-pop-culture-icon Jesse “The Body” Ventura, was elected Governor of Minnesota in a surprising upset election. More recently, Newberry received a grant to produce his newest short film, Agora, which was shot in August of 2000 at the Minnesota State Fair. Agora was invited to premiere at the 2001 Melbourne International Film Festival in July, competing as a finalist in the International Short Films Competition. Agora will make its stateside debut at the Academy-recognized Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films.

Newberry has worked in the commercial sector of the Minneapolis production industry as well, having designed and produced promotional video programs for such clients as Discovery Channel, Target Stores, and Blockbuster Video. He returned to academic study in 2000 and spent a year in the United Kingdom, earning his Masters Degree in Feature Film at the University of London. During his time in London, Newberry forged valuable relationships with his lecturers and mentors, most notably Jennie Howarth (Producer, Distant Voices Still Lives, Blame It on the Bellboy) and Jan Harlan (Executive Producer, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut, A.I. Artificial Intelligence).

Chris Newberry is the recipient of a 1997 Northwestern University Mini-Grant and a 2000 Jerome Foundation Media Arts Grant, both in support of his filmmaking. His work has been presented at film festivals around the world, and his films have frequently appeared throughout the Twin Cities both as programmed screenings and gallery exhibitions. Local venues include the Walker Art Center, the Historic State Theater, Intermedia Arts, Bell Auditorium, and the Weisman Art Museum.

Matt Mellin is a native of Elkhart, Indiana, where he graduated as Valedictorian of his high school class. Mellin also attended Northwestern University, where he collaborated for the first time with Chris Newberry on the short film, Baby In My Drink. While pursuing his Bachelors Degree, Mellin spent a semester abroad studying at the London School of Economics. He now lives in Minneapolis, where he served as Producer for the widely publicized short 2o/2o Vision. From 1998 to 2001, Mellin has worked as an Accountant and Coordinator on a number of studio productions and independent features, including New Line Cinema’s Drop Dead Gorgeous and Sugar and Spice, Clouds Productions’ Christmas in the Clouds, and for HBO For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story and Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 2000 he collaborated again with Newberry on the short films Ain’t No Bull and Agora, and in 2001 he worked on location in Luxembourg for Fox’s World War II drama Lost Battalion.