"Filmmaker/Artist Nesya Blue, whose work as Writer/Director/Director of Photography is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, demonstrates a unique capacity to seamlessly move between cinema and fine art. As cinematographer, her credits include Academy Award-winning-films; as a fine artist working with original combinations of painting and photography, her work signifies an emerging artist of note," Greg Smith, Curator, Contemporary Art and Editions. Nesya Shapiro Blue attended the Museum of Fine Arts School of Art and Design in her native Montreal and was trained at the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian feature film industry, coming ‘up through the ranks,’ to become a Director of Photography and Director. Winner of the Agnes Gund (President Emerita of MoMA) and Daniel Shapiro Excellence in Fine Art Award, Nesya Blue's photo-based fine art is increasingly recognized and collected internationally.
COLLECTORS and CLIENTS
SELECTED AWARDS and DISTINCTIONS 1976--the presentMoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, acquisition for permanent collection of the fiction film Passages; NB HUDSON YARDS HELL'S KITCHEN FOUNDATION, New York, grant in support of NB fine art work. ACADEMY AWARD for BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT, I'll Find A Way, NB. Director of Photography. HUDSON YARDS HELL'S KITCHEN FOUNDATION, New York, grant in support of NB fine art work. ACADEMY AWARD for BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT, I'll Find A Way, NB. Director of Photography. CANADIAN GENIE AWARD and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Yorkton Festival, for Prison For Women, NB DP. IATSE UNION One of the first female DPs ever admitted to the New York Cinematographers local. BEST FILM Baltimore International Festival, Passages, NB Writer/Director/Director of Photography. FELLOW at THE MILLAY COLONY For THE ARTS. FELLOW at THE SALTONSTALL FOUNDATION for THE ARTS. CANADA COUNCIL ARTIST AWARDS for film projects. ACADEMY AWARD BEST DOCUMENTARY, American Dream, NB Additional Cinematography. AGNES GUND & DANIEL SHAPIRO EXCELLENCE in FINE ARTS AWARD.
Agnes Gund, President Emerita of MoMA and chair of its International Council: “I enjoy Blue's sense of color and composition and admire the way in which she experiments with interesting material. I also like the scale of these (mixed-media) works: small enough to retain a sense of intimacy, large enough to project a dynamic sense of presence.” Phyllis MacBryde, Director/Producer: “Nesya Blue did a great job for me as Director of Photography for the trailer and promos for my Broadway-bound musical, Zinzi. She lit and shot beautiful images despite our cramped sets and limited equipment budget and she made a huge contribution to the art direction and overall visual approach. She has a keen artistic eye and was invaluable in helping me plan, create and communicate my vision. Nesya’s extraordinary resourcefulness was put to the test and she created magic with very limited resources. Her confident professionalism, courtesy, and good humor also made for a relaxed set and happy actors. Nesya is a gifted cinematographer whom I recommend without hesitation.” C. Calderone, Director/Producer: “Nesya was director of photography on my film. . . I was thrilled with her work. She has a unique wonderfully innovative technical expertise, as well as the ability to motivate and inspire the crew to give their most to the project. After the shoot many crew members commented to me that they had never seen such a complex shoot go so smoothly. This was due, in large part to Nesya--her thoroughness in pre-production, along with her very focussed concentration during production. Nesya’s camera work and hand-held shooting is some of the best I have ever seen. While I attended to producing duties Nesya often worked independently, shooting with a wonderful eye for detail and composition and an excellent editorial sense of establishing and cut-away shots. The editor and I could not have been more impressed with the thorough coverage."
SELECTED MOTION PICTURE CREDITS 1976--the presentRUMBLE-THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD, feature documentary, Directors Catherine Bainbridge, Alfonso Majorana. Music videos and TV docs with STEVIE WONDER; DIANNE REEVES; DAVID BOWIE; THE WHO; ART BLAKELY; PREGNANT POSSIBILITIES, demo trailer for feature comedy/drama. In development. Writer/Director/Director of Photography. UNCERTAIN FUTURES, one-hour TV fiction, prod NFB, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Writer/Director/2nd Unit DP. PASSAGES, independent fiction film, permanent collections MoMA, Japan Film Library. Winner Best Film Baltimore Festival. CBC and PASHTUN NOMADS OF NORTHEASTERN AFGHANISTAN, anthropological documentary series, Director Asen Baliksi, prod by Smithsonian Institution and National Film Board. 2nd Unit DP Director/Director of Photography. THE FIELD, television drama, Director Mark Juergens. A & E. network. Director of Photography. A BAILAR, documentary, Dir. Catherine Calderone. International awards, theatrical & TV distribution. Director of Photography. HOLLYWOOD STYLE, doc, Dir. Laurence Pitkelthy, prod AFI. PBS. Director of Photography. SAN ANTONIO TEXAS, doc, prod M. Blackwood. German TV. Director/Director of Photography. P4W: PRISON FOR WOMEN, doc, Director Cole Dale. Best Documentary Canadian Genie Award. Director of Photography. HOOKERS ON DAVIE, documentary, DirectorCole Dale, International theatrical & TV distribution. Director of Photography. AMERICAN DREAM, doc, Dir. Barbara Kopple. Winner Best Documentary Academy Award. Additional Cinematography. NEW YEAR'S DAY, feature, Director Henry Jaglom. Paramount. Pictures. Venice Film Festival. 2nd Unit Director of Photography. VISIONS OF LIGHT: THE HISTORY OF CINEMATOGRAPHY, doc, Dir. Stuart Samuels, Todd McCarthy, prod American ANDREA DWORKIN: AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY, documentary, Director David Evans. BBC. Director of Photography. THE BRIDGE, fiction starring William Hickey, Dir Aaron Weisblatt. Director of Photography. KEEPERS OF THE FIRE, documentary with First Nations Haida people of the Pacific Northwest, Director C. Welsh, prod QUELQUES FEMINISTES AMERICAINES, doc, Directors Luce Guilbeault, Nicole Brossard. prod National Film Board. GNAWA MUSIC OF MOROCCO WITH HASSAN HAKMOUN; prod TF1 France TV. Director of Photography. MONTREAL MATIN, short fiction, prod Vehicule Art Cinemateque Quebecoise, Writer/Director/Director of Photography. I’LL FIND A WAY, doc, Dir B. Shaffer, prod NFB of Canada. Winner Academy Award Best Short Live Action. Director of Photography.
EXHIBITIONS and COLLECTIONSMoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, permanent collection Vehicule Art, Montreal, Group Show, photography, mixed media. Exhibit A Gallery, Soho, New York, Solo and Group Shows, photography, mixed media. New Jersey Center of Contemporary Art, Group Show, large-scale pigment print. Wild Child (wild space), Chelsea, New York, Solo shows, mixed media. Ft. Lauderdale Airport, Group Show, mixed media. New York Public Library, Manhattan, New York, Solo Show, mixed media. Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Group Show, photography and mixed media. Paper Mill Playhouse, Milburn, New Jersey, planned Solo Show, pigment prints. Collection B. Comte Architects, Paris. Ender Tech, San Jose, California
EDUCATION ongoingTHE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA and Canadian feature film industry: 1st and 2nd assistant camera, 2nd electric, assistant editor, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO CENTER FOR CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY, media studies with Marshall McLuhan. THE ACTORS STUDIO, New York, invited as “foreign director observer.” WOODY ALLEN FEATURE FILMS, observer apprentice on three films directed by Woody Allen, with Directors of Photography Sven Nykvist and Carlo di Palma. SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, directing and cinematography workshops headed by Stan Fox. MAINE MEDIA WORKSHOPS advanced studies in cinematography. INTERN at Robert Rauschenberg studio, making newspaper photo transfers to vellum and canvas. Intern for sculptor and painter D. Sorensen. Model-making, welding, resin application. McGILL UNIVERSITY, studies in modern European history and English literature. MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN, drawing, painting, sculpture, history of art.
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