Kurt Kuenne
Kurt Kuenne
Biography
Kurt Kuenne is an award-winning filmmaker and composer of both fiction and documentary films. He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he won the Harold Lloyd Scholarship in Film Editing, and where he also studied film scoring at the USC School of Music under the tutelage of classic film composers Buddy Baker and David Raksin. His first feature, the teen drama “Scrapbook” (1999), landed him on Filmmaker magazine’s 25 New Faces of Indie Film feature, and he followed it with “Drive-In Movie Memories” (2001), a documentary about outdoor movies which opened the 2001 Telluride Film Festival and played nationally on PBS. In 2002, he won the AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his screenplay “Mason Mule”, while his screenplay “Explode” made the quarterfinals in the same year. He then directed a series of black & white short musical comedies – “Rent-A-Person” (2003),”Validation” (2006), “Slow” (2007), and “The Phone Book” (2008) – which won 40+ awards at 120+ film festivals worldwide. In 2008, he completed his 6 year passion project, the documentary “Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father“, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival. The film was released by Oscilloscope Laboratories and MSNBC Films, was named one of the Top 5 Documentaries of 2008 by the National Board of Review, won numerous awards and placed on more than 40 critics’ lists of the Ten Best Films of 2008. In 2012, PBS POV named it one of the “100 Greatest Documentaries of All Time”. “Dear Zachary” inspired the creation of Bill C-464 in Canadian Parliament, which reformed Canada’s criminal code when it became law on December 15, 2010. (An epilogue chronicling this process – “The Legacy of Dear Zachary: A Journey to Change Law” – was released on the web in 2013.) In 2011, he collaborated for the second time with actor TJ Thyne (“Validation”, “Bones”) on the fiction feature “Shuffle“, a mystery/fantasy about a man who begins experiencing his life out of order, which was released by Screen Media Films and won numerous awards at film festivals worldwide, including the 2013 Frank Capra Award. In 2014, he co-wrote, edited and sound designed the celebrated documentary “Batkid Begins” for his Emmy-winning director pal Dana Nachman. The film premiered once again at the Slamdance Film Festival, won 5 audience awards and was acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema, who released it theatrically on June 26, 2015. Julia Roberts acquired the film’s remake rights. Kurt has since directed numerous episodes of the hit NBC television show “The Blacklist”, starring James Spader. His work as a composer includes re-scoring the restoration of the silent classic “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1925) and writing the book, music and lyrics for an award-winning stage musical adaptation of the New York Times-bestselling novel “The Looking Glass Wars”. Kurt is managed by Good Fear Film and Management.
Known For
Personal Info
Known For
Directing
Known Credits
69
Gender
Male
Birthday
1973-10-24 (52 years old)
Place of Birth
Mountain View, California, USA
Crew

2022

Dear Santa Additional Editor

2020

Dear Santa Additional Editing

2015

Batkid Begins Writer

2015

Batkid Begins Editor

2013

The Blacklist Director

2012

Shuffle Writer

2012

Shuffle Director

2012

Shuffle Original Music Composer

2012

Shuffle Editor

2012

Shuffle Producer

2012

Shuffle Director of Photography

2008

Slow Director of Photography

2008

The Phone Book Director of Photography

2008

Slow Writer

2008

Slow Director

2008

The Phone Book Music

2008

The Phone Book Sound

2008

The Phone Book Producer

2008

Slow Editor

2008

The Phone Book Director

2008

Slow Sound

2008

The Phone Book Writer

2008

Slow Music

2008

Slow Producer

2008

The Phone Book Editor

2007

Validation Writer

2007

Validation Director

2007

Validation Original Music Composer

2007

Validation Producer

2007

Validation Director of Photography

2007

Validation Editor

2004

Rent-A-Person Director of Photography

2004

Rent-A-Person Director

2004

Rent-A-Person Music

2004

Rent-A-Person Sound

2004

Rent-A-Person Editor

2004

Rent-A-Person Writer

2004

Rent-A-Person Producer

2003

Hunting of Man Music

2001

Drive-In Movie Memories Director of Photography

2001

Drive-In Movie Memories Original Music Composer

2001

Drive-In Movie Memories Sound Designer

2000

Bad Seed Music

1999

Scrapbook Sound Designer

1999

Scrapbook Music

1999

Scrapbook Writer

1999

Scrapbook Producer

1999

Scrapbook Director

1999

Scrapbook Editor

1995

Remembrances Director

1995

Remembrances Producer

1995

Remembrances Writer

1995

Remembrances Music

1995

Remembrances Editor

1995

Remembrances Orchestrator