# Steven Bernstein (filmmaker)

Steven Bernstein, ASC, DGA, WGA is an American cinematographer, director, screenwriter and author. In 1992 he won the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for Like Water for Chocolate alongside Emmanuel Lubezki. He also won the Cannes Golden Lion for his work in commercials. His book Film Production (Focal Press) has been translated into several languages and at one time was the bestselling textbook about film making. Bernstein was a 2014 ASC nominee for the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series Award for his work on Magic City. Bernstein is a regular contributor to SonyCine Magazine where he writes articles on various aspects of filmmaking. Bernstein is a regular subject matter expert for articles about screenwriting and filmmaking for Adobe creative hub.
Bernstein has directed shorts, music videos and television commercials, and has lectured widely. He made his directing feature film debut with 2014's Decoding Annie Parker (Helen Hunt, Samantha Morton, Aaron Paul), for which he was awarded The Alfred P. Sloan Award at the Hampton's International Film Festival. Bernstein's second feature, Last Call was released theatrically in the US on 25 November 2020. It is a surrealistic biopic about the final day of Alcoholic poet Dylan Thomas's life, starring John Malkovich, Rhys Ifans, Rodrigo Santoro, Romola Garai, Zosia Mamet, and Tony Hale, and which Bernstein wrote, produced, and directed. Bernstein's recent script commissions include; A Perfect Place, Angela and Althea and Last Resort
Since 2016 Bernstein has worked with members of the Greek government to expand the Greek film industry and attract international film and television production to Greece. Bernstein spearheaded an initiative to introduce a tax rebate as an incentive to film producers to shoot in Greece. The tax incentive bill was passed in August 2017 and became effective in February 2018. As part of his initiative, Bernstein is training 400 to 500 Greek film students a year and is building a state of the art film studio in Greece.
Bernstein has been featured as the subject of articles in many publications including American Cinematographer Magazine, MovieMaker Magazine, People Magazine, Playboy Magazine and Mancode Magazine.
Bernstein co-hosts the weekly podcast, Film Maker And Fan's Podcast with Vince Grimes, Executive Producer and the former head of creative at Google.

## Personal life

Bernstein was born in Buffalo, NY in 1958 to parents Charles Bernstein, M.D. and Sylvia Bernstein. He has a son Adam from his first marriage to Elizabeth Bernstein and currently resides with his partner the designer and film producer Carolyn Rodney.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 1992 | No Head for Heights | Yes | No | No | TV short; Co-directed with Nicholas Wright |
| 2013 | Decoding Annie Parker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also wrote the song "Falling Out of View" |
| 2015 | Dominion | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| TBA | GRQ the Movie | Yes | Yes | Yes | |

### Cinematographer
#### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1986 | Smart Alec | Jim Wilson | With John Huneck |
| 1986 | The Passion of Remembrance | Maureen Blackwood Isaac Julien | With Nina Kellgren |
| 1989 | Conspiracy | Chris Bernard | |
| 1992 | Like Water for Chocolate | Alfonso Arau | With Emmanuel Lubezki |
| 1995 | Moondance | Dagmar Hirtz | |
| 1995 | Kicking and Screaming | Noah Baumbach | |
| 1996 | Underworld | Roger Christian | |
| 1996 | Bulletproof | Ernest Dickerson | |
| 1996 | Curdled | Reb Braddock | |
| 1997 | Murder at 1600 | Dwight H. Little | |
| 1997 | Mr. Jealousy | Noah Baumbach | |
| 1997 | Highball | Noah Baumbach | |
| 1998 | Half Baked | Tamra Davis | |
| 1998 | The Waterboy | Frank Coraci | |
| 1999 | The Wood | Rick Famuyiwa | |
| 2000 | More Dogs Than Bones | Michael Browning | |
| 2000 | Goodbye Casanova | Mauro Borrelli | |
| 2001 | Christmas in the Clouds | Kate Montgomery | |
| 2001 | The Forsaken | J. S. Cardone | |
| 2001 | Scary Movie 2 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | |
| 2001 | Corky Romano | Rob Pritts | |
| 2003 | Monster | Patty Jenkins |
| 2004 | White Chicks | Keenen Ivory Wayans | |
| 2006 | Behind the Smile | Damon Wayans | |
| 2006 | Little Man | Keenen Ivory Wayans | |
| 2006 | One Night with the King | Michael O. Sajbel | |
| 2007 | Tortured | Nolan Lebovitz | Direct-to-video |
| 2009 | Not Forgotten | Dror Soref | |
| 2009 | Love at First Hiccup | Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg | |
| 2020 | Walkaway Joe | Tom Wright | |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director |
| 1988 | Jade | Jonathan Hourigan |
| 1992 | Life's a Gas | Phil Davis |
| 2007 | Crawl Space | Michael Tiddes |
| 2013 | Tandem | Matthew Douglas Helfgott Jared Hillman |

#### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1991 | 4 Play | Phil Davis Norman Hull | Episodes "Deptford Graffiti" and "Work!" |
| 1991 | The Diamond Brothers | Anthony Horowitz | Miniseries |
| 1992 | No Head for Heights | Himself Nicholas Wright | TV short |
| 1995 | The Monroes | Rick Wallace Vern Gillum Michael Nankin Michael W. Watkins James Quinn | 5 episodes |
| 2000 | Opposite Sex | Randy Zisk Danny Leiner Kenneth Fink | 4 episodes |
| 2005 | Threshold | David S. Goyer | Episode "Trees Made of Glass: Part 1" |
| 2006 | The Jake Effect | Marc Buckland Kevin Dowling Rodman Flender | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | Magic City | Terrence O'Hara Simon Cellan Jones David Petrarca | 3 episodes |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director |
| 1995 | The Secretary | Andrew Lane |
| 1996 | Trade-Off | Andrew Lane |
| 1998 | Bad Cop, Bad Cop | Jon Favreau |
| 1999 | Smog | Jon Favreau |
| 2002 | Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie | Ernest Dickerson |
| 2002 | Couples | Marc Buckland |
| 2011 | Last Man Standing | Ernest Dickerson |

### Other credits

First assistant director
* Three Kinds of Heat (1987)
2nd unit director
| Year | Title | Note |
| 2013 | Magic City | Episode "The Sins of the Father" |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2006 | Behind the Smile | British Reporter |
| 2006 | One Night with the King | Father of Esther |
| 2009 | Love at First Hiccup | Co-Host Cooking Show (Voice role) |

## Awards

| Year | Film | Position | Award | Organization |
| 1992 | Like Water for Chocolate | Cinematographer | (Won) Best Artistic Contribution Award (Shared with Emmanuel Lubezki) | Tokyo International Film Festival |
| 2003 | Monster | Cinematographer | (Won) Creative Ensemble Award | AFI |
| 2013 | Decoding Annie Parker | Director / Writer | (Nominated) Golden Space Needle Award - Best Film | Seattle International Film Festival |
| 2013 | Decoding Annie Parker | Director / Writer | (Won) Alfred P. Sloan Award Foundation Feature Film Prize in Science and Technology | Hampton's International Film Festival |
| 2014 | Magic City | Cinematographer | (Nominated) ASC Award - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series | American Society of Cinematographers |
| 2014 | Decoding Annie Parker | Director / Writer | (Nominated) Leonardo's Horse - Best Directing | Milan International Film Festival |
| 2014 | Decoding Annie Parker | Director / Writer | (Nominated) Leonardo's Horse - Best Screenwriting (Shared with Adam Bernstein and Mike Moss) | Milan International Film Festival |