Career

Kijak studied with renowned film scholar and John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes

John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...

 expert Ray Carney

Ray Carney

Ray Carney, also known as Raymond Carney, Ph.D, is an American scholar and critic, primarily known for his work as a film theorist, although he writes extensively on American art and literature as well. He is known for his study of the works of actor and director John Cassavetes...

 as well as the late Mel Howard at Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

’s College of Communication. He wrote, directed and produced the feature film Never Met Picasso (1996

1996 in film

Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...

) which starred Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder

Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....

, Alexis Arquette

Alexis Arquette

Alexis Arquette is an American trans woman, actress, musician, and cabaret performer.-Early life:...

 and Don McKellar

Don McKellar

-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...

 (music by Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh is an American singer/songwriter who performs solo acoustic concerts; she also continues to perform as lead singer and guitarist for alternative rock group Throwing Muses and the hardcore punk-influenced power trio 50 Foot Wave...

). It won awards for both Best Screenplay and Best Actor (for Arquette) at the 1997 Outfest

Outfest

Outfest is an LGBT-oriented film showcase and festival in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1982 as the "Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference", the name was changed to Outfest in 1994.-Programs:...

 film festival.http://www.outfest.org/winners/film.comp.97.html

Kijak followed that with Cinemania

Cinemania (film)

Cinemania is a 2002 German / American documentary about five obsessed cinemaphiles, who, throughout the year, each see two to five films a day.-Cast:...

(2002

2002 in film

The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...

) (co-directing and co-producing with German filmmaker Angela Christlieb), a documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 about five of the most manic-obsessive film-buffs in NYC. The film won the Golden Starfish Jury Award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Hamptons International Film Festival

Hamptons International Film Festival

Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...

.http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/2005/Archive2002.asp

His next film was a documentary on musician Scott Walker

Scott Walker (singer)

Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...

. The film, titled Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man is a 2006 documentary film about Scott Walker. The film gets its title from the Scott 3 song "30 Century Man". It is directed and co-produced by Stephen Kijak, with Grant Gee serving as director of photography...

is executive produced by David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 and features artists including Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

, Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...

, Sting, Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...

 and Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...

 and provides a look inside Scott Walker’s creative process over a 40 year career. The film had its world premiere on October 31, 2006

2006 in film

- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...

 at the 50th London Film Festival

London Film Festival

The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...

 and premiered internationally at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festival

The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...

 in the Panorama.

In television, Kijak has directed episodes of the Bravo original series Queer Eye

Queer Eye

Queer Eye is an American reality television series that premiered on the Bravo cable television network in July 2003. The program's name was changed from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy after the third season to broaden the scope of its content...

and the Sundance Channel's "Big Ideas for a Small Planet

Big Ideas for a Small Planet

Big Ideas for a Small Planet is an American documentary series on the Sundance Channel which focuses on environmental innovations such as alternative fuel and green building techniques. The series premiered on the iTunes Store prior to its release on the Sundance Channel on April 17, 2007...

".

"Stones in Exile", a film he directed that was commissioned by The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 to tell the story of the making of their classic 1972 album "Exile on Main St.

Exile on Main St.

Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...

" had its world premiere at the 2010 Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, followed by broadcast premieres on BBC1's "Imagine" and on a special edition of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....

 on NBC.

External links

• Stephen Kijak at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• club.kingsnake.com: Review of Scott Walker: 30 Century Man; interview with Stephen Kijak
• Village Voice: Tribeca Film Festival interviews
• Official website
• Kevchino Interview with Stephen Kijak on Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
• Interview with Stephen Kijak - RadioLIVE New Zealand, June 2010.