
Todd Solondz
Writing
Biography
Todd Solondz (/ˈsoʊləndz/; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle-class American suburbia", a reflection of his own background in New Jersey. His work includes Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), Happiness (1998), Storytelling (2001), Palindromes (2004), Life During Wartime (2009), Dark Horse (2011), and Wiener-Dog (2016). He is also a professor at New York University. Description above from the Wikipedia article Todd Solondz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

A weekly BBC Two magazine programme focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture and more.
The Culture Show

Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the troubled man she didn't.
Aftersun

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
Happiness

A misanthropic author, a single mother and waitress, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
As Good as It Gets

Angela de Marco is fed up with her gangster husband's line of work and wants no part of the crime world. When her husband is killed for having an affair with the mistress of mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo, Angela and her son depart for New York City to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, Tony has set his sights upon Angela -- and so has an undercover FBI agent looking to use her to bust Tony.
Married to the Mob

An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.
Welcome to the Dollhouse

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.
Venice 70: Future Reloaded

College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.
Storytelling

A dachshund passes from oddball owner to oddball owner, whose radically dysfunctional lives are all impacted by the pooch.
Wiener-Dog

Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
Palindromes

In 1997 New York City, filmmaker Erik bonds with closeted lawyer Paul after a one-night fling. As their relationship evolves through dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries while being true to himself.
Keep the Lights On

Abe is a man who is in his thirties and who lives with his parents. He works regretfully for his father while pursuing his hobby of collecting toys. Aware that his family doesn't think highly of him, he tries to spark a relationship with Miranda, who recently moved back home after a failed literary/academic career. Miranda agrees to marry Abe out of desperation, but things go awry.
Dark Horse

Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.
Life During Wartime
A woman is stuck in a loveless marriage to a brutish husband, but when a handsome vagabond stranger appears, her precocious 11-year-old hatches a plan to get rid of his father so that his mother can marry this new man instead. But things end up backfiring, so he comes up with yet another plan, this one even more devious, with more disastrous and unexpected consequences.
Love Child

CINEMA16 celebrates the short film by showcasing some of the best classic and award-winning shorts on DVD. With over three hours of films CINEMA16: AMERICAN SHORT FILMS is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the moving image. Films include Gus Van Sant's 1982 adaptation of a William S. Burroughs short story, The Discipline Of DE, Tim Burton's early stop motion animated classic Vincent, George Lucas' USC short Freiheit, Alexander Payne's previously unreleased UCLA graduation short Carmen, Paperboys by Mike Mills, D.A. Pennebaker's Duke Ellington scored Daybreak Express, Todd Solondz's NYU short Feelings, along with Oscar Winner The Lunch Date by Adam Davidson, Stefan Nadelman's multi- award winning documentary Terminal Bar, Joe Nussbaum's cult classic George Lucas In Love and 2006 Sundance Winner The Wraith Of Cobble Hill by Adam Parrish King. Films are subtitled in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese, and include commentaries from many of the directors involved.
Cinema16: American Short Films

An unsuccessful playwright faces trials and tribulations as he seeks to find himself in New York City.
Fear, Anxiety and Depression

A trans cop with the New York City Police Department goes undercover to make a drug bust.
Bust

The story follows a young male protagonist as he recalls the babysitters of his youth.
Babysitter

Matoom, a young Thai boy comes to the gradual understanding on the ephemerality of his family life through his re-collected memories - inspired by 'Bright', the first Thai novel by a female writer to have appeared in English.
I Miss My Mom & Dream of Our New Home
The QUARTERS is a film project that brings together four renowned directors from across the globe – Todd Solondz (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse), Anna Muylaert (The Second Mother, Don't Call me Son), Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Kandahar, Salaam Cinema), and Arsinee Khanjian (Ararat, A ma soeur), to tell the story of Jerusalem’s Old City and its four quarters: Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian. Each director will tell a contemporary story in a different quarter of the Old City- four shorts that will coalesce into one full-length feature film.