A graduate of Harvard (A.B. English, '91) and Columbia University (M.F.A. Film, '99), Nara Garber has worked professionally in film and video since 1996. While a student, Nara wrote and directed two award-winning 16mm shorts: A Quiet Chapter (1997; First Place, NY Student Film/Video Festival; Best Short Narrative, South Bronx Film Festival; Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival) and Pas de Deux (1999; Silver Bear, Austria's Festival of Nations; Best Diverse Filmmaker, Brooklyn Film Festival; Outstanding Narrative Short, CineWomenNY; online at www.hypnotic.com).
In 1998 Nara and her husband/business partner, Ben Wolf, formed Topiary Productions, Inc. (www.topiaryproductions.com), a boutique film and video production company committed to the advancement of innovative work in both media. Both independently and through Topiary, Nara has worked in a variety of capacities on a wide range of projects, including:
FICTION (features & shorts)
Baby Jane Doe (1996; feature film starring Calista Flockheart) -- Locations Manager; 24 (1999; DV short by Christian Mueller) -- Editor; Have I Got a Script for You (1999; DV feature by Agim Gerbeshi) -- Editor & Sound Mixer; Central Nam (1999; DV short by Donna Tsufura; Central Nam) -- Director of Photography & Editor; Fat Chance (2000; DV Feature by Matt Gavin) -- Editor; Amour Infinity (2000; DV Feature by Jerry LaMothe; Best Film, Jamerican Film Festival; Audience Choice Award, L.A. Black Film Festival) -- Editor; Eyes, Feet (2000; DV short by Gail Karp) -- Second Camera & Editor; A Day in the Park (2000; DV short by Paul Spector) -- Director of Photography; City Alone (2001; DV feature by Marcus Cederqvist) -- Editor; The Dead and the Dying (2001; DV short by Paul Spector) -- Director of Photography; Under Pressure (2001; DV short by Nick Romer) -- Director of Photography & Editor; Business Class (2002; DV short by Russ Pechman) -- Editor; Welcome to Purgatory (2002; DV feature by Johnny Garcia) -- Director of Photography & Editor; Pretend (2003; DV feature by Julie Talen) -- B Camera Operator; The Hu$tle (2003; DV feature by Jerry Lamothe) -- Assistant Director; Mimmo & Paulie (2003; DV short by Domenic Silipo; Best Emerging Filmmaker, Sarasota Film Festival; Best Live Action Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival) -- Director of Photography & Editor; Allergic to Nuts (2003; DV short by Rosalyn Coleman-Williams; Best Short, Spaghetti Junction Film Festival) -- Director of Photography & Editor; Jihad! (2004; DV feature by Muhammed Rum; Best Feature, New Jersey Int'l Film Festival) -- Director of Photography & Editor; Territory (2004; DV feature by Lawrence Levine) -- shared cinematographer credit.
DOCUMENTARY
Killer Geishas: the Documentary (1998; director -- NaRhee Ahn) -- Camera Operator; Vojtech Jasny: a Life in Film (1998) -- Director/Shooter/Editor; Papa Smurf for Mayor (2001) -- Director/Producer/Shooter/Editor; Power (2001; director -- Mary Katzke; shot on location in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) -- Director of Photography; Running Madness (2002; director -- Sue Cohn Schulz) -- Camera. Beyond Flowers (2003; director -- Mary Katzke) -- Camera.
TELEVISION
Profiles from Snug Harbor and Special Edition (1999; Staten Island Cable) -- shooter/field producer; 100 Years of Food (2000; The Food Channel) -- B Camera; The It Factor (2001; Bravo) -- Shooter/Field Producer; The Verge (2002; Dutch MTV) -- shooter/editor; American Masala (2004; Zee TV) -- Editor; NOW with Bill Moyers (2004; PBS) -- shooter; The Secret Science of Everyday Things (to be aired in 2005; Discovery Channel) -- shooter.
INDUSTRIAL/PROMOTIONAL
Nara has held key positions (director, DP, or editor) on promotional/industrial videos for The American Society of Journalists and Authors, Health Alliance International, The Snug Harbor Cultural Center, and The Flea Theater. Recurring clients include CitiGroup/Smith Barney and The Insight Works, Inc.
OTHER
Nara is currently developing two feature projects: Remaining Marguerite, a film about a young woman living in the shadow of schizophrenia, and Lucy and the Belle Brioche, a musical set in 1950's New York.