Richard Levien has been writing, directing and editing award-winning films for 15 years. Levien's first feature as a writer/director was “Collisions”, about a twelve-year-old Latina whose mom is taken away by immigration police. It won the inaugural SFFILM Rainin grant, for screenwriting, and three further SFFILM Rainin grants. "Collisions" premiered at Mill Valley, winning the Indie Audience Award. It went on to win 13 awards from 19 festivals, was broadcast on Fuse, and won an Imagen Award (the premier Latino entertainment awards) for “Best Young Actor – Television” (Izabella Alvarez). It was also nominated for two other Imagen Awards, for “Best Primetime Program: Special, Movie or Limited Series” and “Best Actor – Television” (Jesse Garcia), and a NAMIC Vision Award in the “Original Movie or Special” category.

 

Levien’s short “Immersion”, about a ten-year-old boy from Mexico struggling at his new school in the U.S., premiered at Slamdance and won Best Bay Area Short at SFIFF. “Immersion” is used by more than 50 school districts and universities to support education about English Language Learners.

 

Levien’s editing credits include Barry Jenkins' ("Moonlight") short film "Remigration," and feature documentaries, “A Fragile Trust" and "D Tour", broadcast on Independent Lens. Levien has edited several of Farley's previous films, including "Plastic Man, the Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish," which debuted at the Mill Valley Film Festival. His motion graphics work for the Center for Investigative Reporting earned him a national Emmy nomination.

 

Levien is from New Zealand. He has a PhD in theoretical physics from Princeton University.