FILMMAKERS

Ivan Kral is a Grammy award winning songwriter, media composer, producer, guitarist, bassist, pianist, vocalist and filmmaker.

He entered the New York music scene at age 18, after defecting Czechoslovakia before the 1968 Russian invasion.

Since the ‘70s, Kral filmed the New York’s glam/punk scene while performing in the Patti Smith Group, Iggy Pop and Blondie.

“I made home movies of friends – not knowing they’d be famous someday. The films were my souvenir in case I was deported back to the Eastern Bloc.”

During the ‘80s, Kral toured and wrote. His music was recorded by U2, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and others.

Kral composed film scores, including Diner, and art-house films, like The Foreigner, Unmade Beds, and Subway Riders.

After the ‘90s fall of communism, Kral returned to his native Czech Republic to jumpstart the new rock scene.

Kral recorded 9 solo albums on BMG and Universal, while also writing and producing for the Czech Republic's top performers and media.

List of recordings: www.ivankral.net

In 2009, Kral continues to write music internationally, recently completing songs for Japan TV’s “Yozakura Quartet” animation.

Kral’s life as a teen performer in Czechoslovakia is the subject of a forthcoming documentary. His struggles to hear illegal rock music behind the iron curtain are the focus of a new biopic.

A biography of the New York punk/glam scene from an immigrant’s perspective is scheduled for 2010 completion.

Amos Poe is one of the leaders of the No Wave Cinema movement (1975-85) that grew out of New York City's downtown music and art scene.

Currently, Poe lives in New York City and continues to write, direct, and produce.

He completed Empire II in 2007, an homage to Andy Warhol's Empire. He wrote the screenplay for The Guitar (2007), directed by Amy Redford. Poe teaches Experimental Film making and Screenwriting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.