NYC FILM BIO
I’m Gentry Fry, a filmmaker on a weight-loss journey and PTSD advocate. I share my story on YouTube to inspire others who are as hopeless as I was.
NOTE: The filmography below was written by a friend of mine for a film festival. It’s well-written, so I decided to use it here.
FILMOGRAPHY
After graduating with Highest Honors from the University of Florida in 1995 with a B.S. in Neurobiology, Gentry Fry turned down an acceptance from New York Medical College to pursue a dream of becoming an actor. He relocated from his native state of Florida to New York City and studied acting at the William Esper Studio, whose alumni include William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum and Kathy Bates.
Fry developed a passion for the theatre and successfully auditioned and became a member of the 42nd Street Workshop theatre company, where he performed in several off-Broadway plays. Within a year, however, Fry became increasingly aware of his passion for writing and directing.
At the urging of his then mentor, actor Austin Pendleton, Fry wrote and directed his first play at the 42nd Street Workshop, entitled “The Lucky Ones”. Based on Fry’s own pre-med experiences working as a recreational therapist at a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients, “The Lucky Ones” enjoyed a solid showcase run on 42nd Street with sold out audiences. Later, that play became Fry’s second short film of the same title.
Fry’s first film project was a Nike commercial, which he wrote and directed in conjunction with the NYU Graduate School of Film and a grant from Panavision Cameras. He then went on to write, produce and directe two award-winning short films and a mini-documentary, all of which have enjoyed multiple television broadcasts and rich film festival runs.
Fry has also written several award-winning original feature-length screenplays, and he is currently working on his first novel, all of which reflect his fascination with the diversity of American subcultures.
PRODUCTIONS
NIKE COMMERCIAL
(color 35mm; 1-min, 1997)
WHAT IS FREEDOM?
(color DV; 6-min, 1999)
RUTH ANNS ETIQUETTE
(color 16mm; 20-min, 1998)
THE LUCKY ONES
(color 16mm; 25-min, 2000)
AWARDS
Distinguished Panel Member – The 2001 New York Guerilla Film Festival (NYC)
Best Short Film Finalist – The 1998 Worldfest International Film Festival (Flagstaff, AZ)
New Vision Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking – The 2000 Brooklyn Film Festival
The “Good Guy” Award – Presented by CineWomenNY & The Brooklyn Film Institute, 2000
Finalist – The 1999 Cynosure Screenplay Competition
Finalist – 1999 Austin Film Festival “Heart of Film” Screenplay Competition (Austin, TX)
Finalist – 1999 Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition (Los Angeles, CA)
Finalist – 1997 Writer's Network Screenplay Competition
Finalist – 1997 & 1996 Lone Star Screenplay Competitions (Dallas, TX)
FILM FESTIVALS
AngelCiti Film & Music Market – Los Angeles, CA (2000)
Boston Film Festival (2000)
Brooklyn Film Festival – NYC (2000)
Dallas-Ft. Worth Int’l Film Festival – Dallas, TX (2000)
Director's Guild of America Summer Shorts Film Festival – NYC (2000)
Guerilla Film Festival (Distinguished Panel Member) – NYC (2001)
IFP Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM) – NYC (2000)
Outfest Film Festival – Los Angeles, CA (1999)
Mix Brazil Film Festival – Sao Paolo, Brazil (1999)
New York Comedy Film Festival (1999)
New York Film Anthology New Filmmakers Series (1999)
Philadelphia Int’l Film Festival (2000)
Temecula Valley Int’l Film Festival – Temecula, CA (2000)
Void Film Screening Series (Featured in Time Out Magazine) – NYC (2000)
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
Ruth-Anns Etiquette
A 20-minute short film about a murder at an interstate highway rest area. Filmed on location at the I-684 rest area in Bedford, NY and at the Sing-Sing maximum security correctional facility in Ossining, NY.
“The Lucky Ones”
A 25-minute short film about a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients. Based on Fry’s own experience working part-time as a recreational therapist at a nursing home while he was a pre-med student at the University of Florida (circa 1995). Filmed at a raw production space in New York City that was made to look like a nursing home.
Nike Commercial
A spec Nike commercial produced in conjunction with the NYU Graduate School of Film and a grant from Panavision Cameras.