Gavin Heffernan

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Gavin Heffernan
Heffernan at Grand Canyon National Park in April 2014
Born (1980-04-02) April 2, 1980 (age 45)
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, photographer, producer
Years active1999–present
Websitewww.gavinbheffernan.com

Gavin Heffernan (born April 2, 1980) is a Canadian filmmaker, photographer, and producer. He co-wrote the psychological horror film The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) [1] and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)[2] with writing partner Adam Robitel. Also known for directing experimental visual works, primarily timelapse,[3] featured in the Rolling Stones' 2015 Zip Code Tour[4] as well as their 2016 Desert Trip shows. Heffernan also contributed visuals to Pink Floyd's Roger Waters' 2016 concerts, Paul Simon's 2018 Homeward Bound Farewell Tour, and John Mayer's 2022 Sob Rock tour.

Early life

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Gavin Heffernan was born on April 2, 1980, in Oakville, Ontario. He is an alumnus of McGill University and the American Film Institute. While attending McGill, Gavin wrote, directed, and starred in the feature film Expiration (2003). Though budgeted at a meagre $10,000, the film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Canadian Filmmakers' Festival, received a 76% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes,[5] and acclaim from publications Variety,[6] and Ain't it Cool News.[7]

Career

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His unconventional anti-war documentary Grand Wheel (2008) premiered at SXSW and played more than fifty film festivals in twenty countries. His 2010 collection of experimental shorts about the fall of man titled "Devolution" premiered at the Florida Film Festival and won an Audience Award at the 2010 HollyShorts Film Festival. The sci-fi follow-up "Devolution: Reckoning" premiered at the 2011 Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal. In October 2011, Heffernan was attached to co-write the screen adaptation of Ray Manzarek's The Poet in Exile, a novel exploring the notion that Jim Morrison of the Doors staged his death in 1971.[8]

Heffernan's timelapse art has been featured in Leonardo DiCaprio's Ice on Fire global warming doc for HBO, Virgin America flights, BBC Earth,[9] Bravo's first scripted show Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, and many other press and TV outlets including The New York Times,[10] CNN,[11] Time,[12] National Geographic,[13] CBS News,[14] and Wired.[15] Borrego Springs, California, named their 2014 town festival after Heffernan's "Borrego Stardance" astro timelapse and October 25 was subsequently named "Gavin Heffernan Day" in San Diego County[16] by Senator Joel Anderson.

SKYGLOW event at the Annenberg Photo Space in Los Angeles

In 2015, Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic co-founded SKYGLOW, a crowdfunded book and Blu Ray project to tackle the rising danger and damage of urban light pollution. The fundraising campaign generated significant publicity and ended on May 9, 2015, as the fourth most successful Kickstarter campaign ever in the Photobooks category. The SKYGLOW book released in April 2017 at SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM and was created in association with the International Dark Sky Association.

In July 2021, Heffernan and Robitel had partnered with Darren Aronofsky on a thriller series for Netflix titled The Craving.[17] In July 2019, the duo had teamed up with Sam Raimi on an "Untitled Supernatural Thriller"[18] for Sony Pictures.

Notes

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  1. ^ The Taking of Deborah Logan' Is a Netflix Horror Gem
  2. ^ Paramount has released the poster for Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
  3. ^ Profile SunchaserPictures.com; accessed April 2, 2015,
  4. ^ [1] Archived August 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine PLSN - The Rolling Stones ZIP CODE tour.
  5. ^ [2] Expiration / Rotten Tomatoes
  6. ^ [3] Expiration Variety Review
  7. ^ Expiration review, aintitcool.com; accessed April 2, 2015.
  8. ^ [4] Variety - Manzarek sets up Morrison tale
  9. ^ "Spectacular New Desert Timelapse". BBC Earth.
  10. ^ "The Push to Reclaim Starry Skies". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Chasing 'dark skies' to focus on light pollution". CNN.
  12. ^ "Two Filmmakers Set Out to Capture the Last Mesmerizing Dark Skies". Time.
  13. ^ "Gorgeous New Dreamlapse From Death Valley's Racetrack Playa Lakebed". National Geographic.
  14. ^ "Timelapse video discussion", CBS News; accessed April 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Time-Lapse Video Shows Spectacular Desert Sky at Night". Wired.
  16. ^ "NBC San Diego Profile", nbcsandiego.com; accessed April 2, 2015.
  17. ^ [5] Deadline - Adam Robitel & Gavin Heffernan Set Up Thriller Series At Netflix With Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures.
  18. ^ [6] Deadline - ‘Escape Room' Director Sets Up Untitled Supernatural Thriller At Sony.
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