Darius Marder

Early life Marder grew up in Conway, Massachusetts with his parents and four siblings. His parents, Lauri and Efrem Marder, both artists from New York, lived according to the teachings of the Russian philosopher and mystic George Gurdjieff. The family lived there with about 35 other followers, which Marder has described as a "beautiful experience." Marder performed poorly in high school, and did not attend college. At 18, he began teaching literature to middle school students. He later started a sushi catering business in Vermont. He made his directorial debut with the documentary Loot, which premiered at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival where it won the Best Documentary Feature award. The documentary focuses on Larson as he travels with two World War II veterans, Andrew Seventy and Darrel Ross, in search of the stolen materials in Europe that they buried after the war.

Marder co-wrote The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) with his friend Derek Cianfrance and Ben Coccio. Cianfrance had previously been working on the hybrid documentary film Metalhead, which centered on a metal drummer whose eardrums are ruptured and then becomes deaf. The film featured the members of the band Jucifer portraying themselves. However, the project was later scrapped and abandoned, until Marder took it up, resulting in the fictionalized and distinct narrative film Sound of Metal. Starring Riz Ahmed, the film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was released by Amazon Studios in 2020. The film was shot in 2018 in Marder's native Massachusetts, primarily in Ipswich, but also in Boston, Lynn, Cambridge, Danvers, Framingham, Lawrence, Malden, Rowley, and Topsfield. Marder, his brother Abraham Marder, and Cianfrance received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination for the film.

Personal life Marder moved back to Massachusetts after living in New York City for 25 years. He now lives in Ashfield.

Filmography

As editor

Select awards Academy Awards 2021: Nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2020: Nomination for the Milos Stehlik Award for Promising Filmmaker (Sound of Metal)

Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2021: Nomination for Best Screenplay (Sound of Metal)

Deauville American Film Festival 2020: Competition selection (Sound of Metal)

Directors Guild of America Award 2021: Winner of Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film (Sound of Metal)

Hollywood Critics Association Awards 2021: Winner of Best Male Director (Sound of Metal) 2021: Nomination for Best First Feature (Sound of Metal) 2021: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)

Independent Spirit Awards 2009: Nomination for the Truer Than Fiction Award (Loot) 2021: Winner of Best First Feature (Sound of Metal)

LA Film Festival 2008: Winner of Best Documentary Feature (Loot)

PEN Center USA Literary Awards 2014: Winner of Best Screenplay (The Place Beyond the Pines)

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2021: Nomination for Best Director (Sound of Metal) 2021: Runner-up for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)

Satellite Awards 2021: Nomination for Best Director (Sound of Metal)

Toronto International Film Festival 2019: Nomination for the Platform Prize (Sound of Metal)

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2021: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)

Writers Guild of America Awards 2021: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Sound of Metal)

Zurich Film Festival 2019: Winner of the Golden Eye for Best International Feature Film (Sound of Metal)