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{{Short description|American filmmaker}}

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| birth_place = New York City, U.S.| nationality = American| other_names = | known_for = Independent filmmaker| alma_mater = Oberlin College}}Ry Russo-Young (born November 16, 1981) is an American filmmaker and producer, originally from New York City. Her early independent work has been associated with the mumblecore genre, though she has gone on to direct the wide release features Before I Fall (2017) and The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) as well as the HBO documentary Nuclear Family and other film and television projects.

Early life and education

Ry Russo-Young was born in 1981, the younger daughter of same-sex parents Sandy Russo and Robin Young, both real estate brokers in Manhattan. Her mother Sandy is a retired lawyer who formerly worked as the housing law coordinator of Legal Services NYC in Manhattan.WEB,weblink Ry Russo-Young, Colin Spoelman, 8 June 2014, 8 February 2022, The New York Times, Russo-Young was born with the given name "Ry", which is not a nickname. Her elder sister, Cade, was born in 1980, conceived from another donor. When she was young, her sperm donor, Thomas Haus Steel,Marin Independent Journal, Tuesday, 21 July 1998, Section B, p. 2 a lawyer known for civil rights casesNEWS,weblink How this 'Nuclear Family' weathered HBO doc's 'terrifying' spotlight, 11 October 2021, Los Angeles Times, 8 February 2022, and a gay man,WEB,weblink Growing Up With Mom and Mom, Susan, Dominus, 24 October 2004, 8 February 2022, The New York Times, and that of Cade sometimes vacationed with the family, "until those relationships ruptured"; in Russo and Young's view "it was a given that Steel would have no parental rights, although they made it clear he was welcome to visit the family and to get to know Ry and Cade", and when Steel sought permission to take Russo-Young to see his parents and grandmother, they refused, leading him to file for paternity.NEWS,weblink I'll have to ask my mums, part two, Susan, Dominus, 28 November 2004, The Guardian, 8 February 2022, In 1991, Steel sued Russo-Young's mothers for recognition as father and for immediate visitation, losing the initial judgement but winning on appeal to the State Supreme Court; he never enforced his right to visitation and only spoke with Russo-Young once more before his death from AIDS in 1998, aged 48; Russo-Young, having heard of his fatal illness, called him: "'He was high on medicine... saying, "I'm sorry, I loved you, I never meant to hurt you, I always wanted to be your father." But after going through the case, I was rolling my eyes. You know: "So now you want me to forgive you because you're on your deathbed?"... I mean, there was a time when I did care a lot about him... Not as a father - more like an icon of a man.'" Steel's New York Times obituary, listing his partner and son, parents, and siblings, made no reference to Russo-Young.WEB,weblink Thomas Steel, a Lawyer Known For Civil Rights Cases, Was 48, Holcomb B., Noble, 9 August 1998, 8 February 2022, The New York Times, Russo-Young has explored her upbringing in her work, particularly in the 2021 three-part HBO documentary Nuclear Family.WEB,weblink In 'Nuclear Family,' a Filmmaker Frames Herself, Alexis, Soloski, 22 September 2021, 8 February 2022, The New York Times, She attended Oberlin College and Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn. As of 2019, she resided in Los Angeles, California.WEB,weblink Constellation Magazine, Ry Russo-Young,weblink June 11, 2019,

Early work

Her 2005 short film Marion won several awards including a Silver Hugo for Best Experimental Short at the Chicago International Film Festival.WEB,weblink Ry Russo-Young, You Won't Miss Me, Filmmaker (magazine), Filmmaker Magazine, 8 December 2010, 21 June 2020, Smith, Damon, Her first feature, Orphans, won a special jury prize at South by Southwest in 2007.WEB,weblink South By Southwest Film News | South by Southwest 2016 Music, Film and Interactive Festivals - Austin Texas, Sxsw.com, 2016-04-14, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100107024628weblink">weblink 2010-01-07, Her films Nobody Walks and You Wont Miss Me appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. Nobody Walks won a special jury prize and was released by Magnolia Pictures in 2014.WEB,weblink Nobody Walks (Official Movie Site), Magpictures.com, 2016-05-31, You Wont Miss Me won a Gotham Award for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. She also appeared as an actress in Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs and Alex Ross Perry's The Color Wheel.

Career

Russo-Young directed Before I Fall, based on the book by Lauren Oliver. The film stars Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, and Jennifer Beals, and was released by Open Road Films in 2017.WEB,weblink Open Road Falls Hard For 'Before I Fall;' Commits To Wide Release For Awesomeness Pic As Good Universe Shops Intl: Cannes, Fleming, Mike Jr., 2016-05-14, Deadline, en-US, 2016-05-31, Before I Fall premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017 and also had a special screening at the Next Wave 17 Toronto International Film Festival in February 2017.Russo-Young's next feature as director is The Sun Is Also a Star, adapted from Nicola Yoon’s novel of the same name. The film stars Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton, and John Leguizamo, and was co-produced by MGM and Warner Brothers. The film follows high school student Natasha Kingsely (Shahidi) who falls for Daniel Bae (Melton) the day before she is to be deported. It was released on May 17, 2019.In 2018, Russo-Young directed three episodes of the Netflix original series Everything Sucks!, as well as episodes of Sweetbitter, and Marvel's Cloak & Dagger.In 2015, Russo-Young won a Creative Capital award for her film, The Family Movie.WEB, Creative Capital - Investing in Artists who Shape the Future,weblink 2016-11-17, creative-capital.org, which evolved over several years into a 3-part documentary series. Released in 2021 on HBO, Russo-Young directed and appeared in the film, retitled Nuclear Family.WEB,weblink "Incredibly, Intimately Personal": 'Nuclear Family' Tells Story Of Lesbian Moms And Daughter Caught In Monumental Custody Battle, Deadline, Matthew, Carey, September 23, 2021, September 24, 2021, The documentary explores the landmark custody dispute that hinged on the parental rights of her two mothers (a same-sex couple) and the interests of her biological father. Although her biological father was never found.

Personal life

Russo-Young lives in Los Angeles with her husband Colin Spoelman, Yale-educated co-founder and master distiller of the Kings County Distillery whisky manufacturer in Brooklyn, whom she married in 2014,WEB,weblink Ry Russo-Young and Colin Spoelman's Wedding in Brooklyn, 30 July 2014, Vogue.com, 8 February 2022, and their two sons.

Awards

Russo-Young's You Wont Miss Me won a Gotham Award for Best Film Not Coming to Theater Near You. In 2022, Nuclear Family was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, a GLAAD Media Award, and a Peabody Award in 2021.

Filmography

As director

• TBA: NightlifeWEB, Busch, Anita, Female Director Scorecard: Paramount Pictures Gears Up; 'Nightlife' Coming From Neal Moritz,weblink 6 April 2018, Deadline.com, 29 April 2018,
• 2021: Nuclear Family
• 2021: Panic (Episodes: "PANIC" and "HEIGHTS")
• 2019: The Sun Is Also a Star
• 2018: Cloak & Dagger (Episode: "Princeton Offense")
• 2018: Sweetbitter (Episode: "Weird Night")
• 2018: Everything Sucks! (Episodes: "What the Hell's a Zarginda?", "Sometimes I Hear My Voice", and "Cheesecake to a Fat Man")
• 2017: Before I Fall
• 2012: Nobody Walks
• 2009: You Wont Miss Me
• 2007: Orphans
• 2005: Marion (Short)
• 2003: Babes in Toyland (Short)

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• {{IMDb name|1735543}}

{{Ry Russo-Young}}{{Authority control}}