Isidore Bethel
Isidore Bethel is a French-American filmmaker who was among Filmmakers "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2020 and DOC NYC's "40 Under 40" in 2023. The films he edits, directs, and produces use filmmaking to make sense of overwhelming experiences and tackle recurrent themes of displacement, sexuality, aging, trauma, grief, therapy, and art-making. His first feature film as director, Liam, premiered at the Boston LGBT Film Festival in 2018 and received the Jury Prize in the documentary section of the Paris LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Isidore Bethel
- Name
- Isidore Bethel
- Birthplace
- Atlanta, United States
- Education
- Harvard École Normale Supérieure SAIC
- Occupation
- * filmmaker
- Born
- 1989 · Atlanta.
- Nationality
- United States
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Isidore Bethel is a French-American filmmaker who was among Filmmakers "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2020 and DOC NYC's "40 Under 40" in 2023. The films he edits, directs, and produces use filmmaking to make sense of overwhelming experiences and tackle recurrent themes of displacement, sexuality, aging, trauma, grief, therapy, and art-making. His first feature film as director, Liam, premiered at the Boston LGBT Film Festival in 2018 and received the Jury Prize in the documentary section of the Paris LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
His second film, Acts of Love, which French actor Francis Leplay co-directed, premiered at Hot Docs, received the Tacoma Film Festival's Best Feature Award, and appeared on MovieWeb's list of the top LGBTQ+ films of 2021. Films he has edited have screened at Cannes, SXSW, and the Berlinale, in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Beirut Art Center, and the Pompidou Center, and on broadcast platforms such as POV, The New York Times Op-Docs, and Netflix. He has worked in France, Mexico, and the United States with directors such as Dominique Cabrera, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Juan Pablo González, Laurent Bécue-Renard, Juan Manuel Sepúlveda, Daniel Hymanson, and Iliana Sosa. He has also collaborated with filmmakers in Lebanon, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, India, and Turkey. He acts as a producer on many of the films that he edits, which have received support from the Sundance Institute, the Ford Foundation, Field of Vision, the CNC in France, Doc Society, Film4 and The Whickers in the UK, and Mexico's IMCINE and FONCA funds. Critics have characterized his editing as demonstrative of "admirable restraint," "tender," "astute," "energized yet never rushed," and "elegant." He has served on juries for the Paris LGBTQ+ Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. A graduate of Harvard University, the École Normale Supérieure, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bethel has received funding from the Institut Français, France's Île-de-France region, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation as well as support from Berlinale Talents, the Tribeca Film Institute, the Villa Medici, the Gotham, Film Independent, the Logan Nonfiction Program, and Eurodoc. He has taught at Stone Soup's filmmaking workshop, Sundance's Art of Editing fellowship, Sarah Lawrence College's Paris campus, La Fémis, and Parsons Paris.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Isidore Bethel • Birthplace — Atlanta, United States • Citizenship — United States France • Education — Harvard École Normale Supérieure SAIC • Years Active — 2011–present • Occupation — * filmmaker • professor • Works — Acts of Love What We Leave Behind Of Men and War • Honors — Filmmakers 25 New Faces Chéries-Chéris Jury Prize DOC NYC "40 Under 40" Gotham nominee
Feature films
Feature films
• Year — Title — Editor — Director — Producer — Writer — Notes • 2013 — Grandir — Directed by Dominique Cabrera. ACID Cannes. • 2014 — Of Men and War — Credited as associate producer. Directed by Laurent Bécue-Renard. Cannes Film Festival. • 2016 — La Balada del Oppenheimer Park — Directed by Juan Manuel Sepúlveda. Best Documentary nominee at the Mexican Academy Awards. • 2018 — Caballerango — Directed by Juan Pablo González. IDFA. • 2018 — Liam — Jury Prize at the Paris LGBTQ+ Film Festival. • 2020 — So Late So Soon — Credited as associate producer. Directed by Daniel Hymanson. True/False. • 2021 — Acts of Love — Co-directed with Francis Leplay. Hot Docs. • 2022 — What We Leave Behind — Directed by Iliana Sosa. Louis Black "Lone Star" and Fandor New Voices Awards at SXSW, Gotham nominee. • 2023 — Hummingbirds — Credited as co-producer. Directed by Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía Contreras. Generation 14plus Grand Prize at the Berlinale, Independent Spirit nominee. • 2023 — The Taste of Mango — Directed by Chloe Abrahams. BFI London Audience Award, BIFA for Best Debut Director, BAFTA longlist.
Short films
Short films
• Year — Title — Editor — Director — Producer — Writer — Notes • 2011 — "Someone I Love or Someone Who I Want to Be" — Harvard Hoopes Prize. • 2013 — "Goat Milk" — Directed by Dominique Cabrera. Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival. • 2016 — "We Eat the Earth/The Earth Eats Us" — Credited as associate producer. Directed by Lucy Pawlak. Athens Digital Arts Festival. • 2016 — "We Died and Here We Are" — Directed by Mohamad Kanaan. Ashkal Alwan's Video Works 2016 at the Beirut Art Center. • 2021 — "Some Kind of Intimacy" — Directed by Toby Bull. Sundance London. • 2022 — "Blue Room" — Credited as associate producer. Directed by Merete Mueller. AFI Fest. • 2022 — "Suddenly TV" — Credited as consulting editor. Directed by Roopa Gogineni. Documentary Short Special Jury Award at SXSW. • 2025 — "Rehearsal for an Encounter" — Directed by Dahee Kim. New/Next Film Festival. • 2025 — "Wi Cyah Stay" — Directed by Nordia Hunt. Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Isidore Bethel. Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces of Independent Film. 19 October 2020.
- 2.Documentaire: Liam, d'Isidore Bethel. University of Évry Val d'Essonne.
- 3.Isidore Bethel - DOC NYC. DOC NYC 40 Under 40. 21 October 2023.
- 4.Gotham Awards: 'Tár,' 'Aftersun' Lead Nominees. The Hollywood Reporter. 25 October 2022.
- 5.Isidore Bethel. Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces of Independent Film. 19 October 2020.
- 6.Isidore Bethel - DOC NYC. DOC NYC 40 Under 40. 21 October 2023.
- 7.Isidore Bethel – Projects. Isidore Bethel.
- 8.WORLD PREMIERE: Liam. Wicked Queer Boston LGBT Film Festival.
- 9.Chéries-Chéris : Grand Prix pour " Les Moissonneurs " et deux films brésiliens au palmarès. Komitid. 27 November 2018.
- 10.Acts of Love. Hot Docs.
- 11.TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS. Tacoma Film Festival.
- 12.Top 10 LGBTQ+ Movies of 2021. 26 December 2021.
- 13.Hummingbirds. Berlinale.
- 14.Troubled Veterans Recount War's Horrors in POV Documentary 'Of Men and War'. POV.
- 15.Blue Room. The New York Times. 13 December 2022.
- 16.100 Must-See Documentaries Streaming on Netflix This October. Nonfics. 4 October 2016.
- 17.Les Films autobiographiques de Dominique Cabrera. Potemkine Films.
- 18.The Staircase: Last Chance, Credits. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- 19.Caballerango. Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
- 20.OF MEN AND WAR (DES HOMMES ET DE LA GUERRE). Cannes Film Festival.
- 21.List of Selected Projects, Screenings 2015. Cinéma du Réel Dead link. September 2024.
- 22.'So Late So Soon' Review: Aging Artists Face Realities of Mortality and Marriage in Beautiful Doc. IndieWire. 19 November 2021.
- 23.Lab Alumni: 2020 Documentary Projects & Fellows. The Gotham Film & Media Institute. 30 August 2011.
- 24.Video Works 2016. Ashkal Alwan.
- 25.Some Kind of Intimacy. British Council.
- 26.Shadow of His Wings: Doc Lab Fellows Level Up (and You Could be Next). Film Independent. 19 September 2017.
- 27.The Gotham Announces 20 Projects and Selected Fellows for The 2021 Documentary and TV Series Labs. The Gotham Film & Media Institute. 27 May 2021.
- 28.Bazaar Protocol. IMDb.
- 29.Sundance Institute: Over Half a Million Dollars to Documentary Projects. Sundance Institute.
- 30.Ford Foundation Announces 2019-2020 JustFilms Documentary Grantees. Ford Foundation. 16 December 2020.
- 31.Iliana Sosa's beautiful feature WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND will have its world premiere at #SXSW 2022!. Field of Vision.
- 32.Sélections Cannes - 20 films d'avance sur recettes : un record historique. CNC.
- 33.Re-Evaluation. Doc Society.
- 34.Welsh sci-fi ‘Out There’ with Michael Sheen among BFI London Film Festival works-in-progress titles. Screen Daily.
- 35.Film & TV Funding Award Winners 2022. The Whickers.
- 36.La cinta mexicana "La balada del Oppenheimer Park" compite en. 20 minutos.
- 37.True/False 2020 Dispatch 1: The Viewing Booth, So Late So Soon, That Cloud Never Left. RogerEbert.com. 17 March 2020.
- 38.So Late So Soon. The DocYard.
- 39.'What We Leave Behind' Review: A Filmmaker's Lyrical and Gripping Tribute to Her Grandfather. The Hollywood Reporter. 29 September 2022.
- 40.‘Hummingbirds’ Review: A Buzzing and Vibrant Coming of Age Doc Shot by Two Best Friends in a Texan Border Town. IndieWire. 21 June 2024.
- 41.Daniel Hymanson 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Filmmaker. 19 October 2020.
- 42.Édito et Jurys. Paris LGBTQ+ Film Festival. November 2022.
- 43.Festival Juries - Cinema Chicago. Chicago International Film Festival. October 2024.
- 44.Meet the 2025 Jury. Chicago International Film Festival. 2025.
- 45.MANUEL SEPULVEDA. Riviera Maya Film Festival.
- 46.Zielinski, Beth. Cooke Alumni Buzz. Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
- 47.HORS LES MURS : LAURÉATS 2016. Institut Français.
- 48.AIDES À L'ÉCRITURE DE SCÉNARIO : 23 AUTEUR.TRICE.S SOUTENU.E.S. Film Paris Region.
- 49.LAURÉAT DE LA BOURSE 2013. Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation.
- 50.JACK KENT COOKE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2014 GRADUATE ARTS AWARDS RECIPIENTS. Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
- 51.ISIDORE BETHEL EDITOR, PRODUCER. Berlinale Talents.
- 52.Isidore Bethel. Tribeca Film Institute.
- 53.Call for Entries Aristoteles Workshop. Aristoteles Workshop.
- 54.IFP Announces Documentary Projects For Its Annual IFP Labs. Independent Filmmaker Project. 23 May 2017.
- 55.Shadow of His Wings: Doc Lab Fellows Level Up (and You Could be Next). Film Independent. 19 September 2017.
- 56.Logan Nonfiction Program Announces 12th Class of Journalism & Documentary Fellows. Logan Nonfiction Program. 24 March 2021.
- 57.EURODOC Current Cycle Participants. Eurodoc.
- 58.Portraits of Self and Others: An Introduction to Short-Form Filmmaking with Isidore Bethel. Stone Soup. 4 August 2021.
- 59.Gordon, Sarah. Isidore Bethel. Logan Nonfiction Program.
- 60.Play is a Very Serious Thing. Talkhouse.
- 61.Zielinski, Beth. Cooke Alumni Buzz. Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. 12 February 2018.
- 62.GRANDIR (Ô HEUREUX JOURS). ACID.
- 63.La Balada del Oppenheimer Park. La Casa de la Universidad de California en México.
- 64.Caballerango. IDFA.
- 65.True/False 2020 Dispatch 1: The Viewing Booth, So Late So Soon, That Cloud Never Left. RogerEbert.com. 17 March 2020.
- 66.I Love My Dad, Master of Light Win Top Feature Prizes at SXSW. Filmmaker. 16 March 2022.
- 67.Gotham Awards: 'Tár,' 'Aftersun' Lead Nominees. The Hollywood Reporter. 25 October 2022.
- 68.Berlin: 'Adolfo', 'Hummingbirds' Win 2023 Generation 14Plus Sidebar. Hollywood Reporter. 25 February 2023.
- 69.Hummingbirds - Film Independent. Film Independent.
- 70.67th BFI London Film Festival brings in record audience and announces LFF Audience Award winners. British Film Institute. 30 October 2023.
- 71.Winners & Nominations The Awards 2023. British Independent Film Awards. 16 October 2023.
- 72.Longlists, 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards. British Academy Film Awards. 16 October 2023.
- 73.85 Undergraduates Receive Hoopes Prize. The Harvard Crimson.
- 74.Goat Milk. Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival.
- 75.Videonale 16: Festival for Video and Time-Based Arts. Athens Digital Arts Festival.
- 76.Video Works 2016. Ashkal Alwan.
- 77.SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: LONDON ANNOUNCES BIGGEST LINE-UP TO DATE. Sundance Film Festival.
- 78.Blue Room Short Film Competition. American Film Institute.
- 79.Suddenly TV. SXSW.
- 80.Rehearsal for an Encounter. New/Next Film Festival.
- 81.Wi Cyah Stay. Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.
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