NEWS
Congratulations to Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong! The feature film starring Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung had its premiere at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival and was released in theaters and on VOD just in time for Valentine’s Day. Check out Josh’s interview with FilmSlate Magazine about shooting the film, and be sure to watch the trailer on the reel page and check out the film on iTunes. Praise for the film’s cinematography:
“The vibrant nightlife (richly photographed by Josh Silfen) unfurls around them, subtly yet palpably urging them into uncertain emotional territory.” -Michael Rechtshaffen, Los Angeles Times “The film is beautifully executed, with gorgeous cinematography and a lovely sense of rhythm, long walking and talking steadicam shots juxtaposed with environment-establishing shots of the nighttime city. The editing, sound design, and music, both diegetic and non, weave together a sensory tapestry of sound and light.” -Katie Walsh, Indiewire “Shooting almost entirely outdoors at night, she and d.p. Josh Silfen capture the city’s washes of neon in crisp, warmly saturated tones, and she manages to keep the vibe intimate even when Ruby and Josh are trudging through gargantuan crowds. A two-minute Steadicam shot along the water and some deceptively simple staging on a jittery city bus both demonstrate sharp filmmaking instincts.” -Andrew Barker, Variety “Hong Kong emerges as a stunning backdrop… It’s always entertaining to tag along with these attractive actors on their photogenic journey.” -Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter “The city becomes both visually and narratively complicit in the developing relationship, an epic backdrop for personal possibility and reinvention.” -Tom Keogh, Seattle Times “Ting and cinematographer Josh Silfen treat their location as a charming, sparkly bubble bustling with romantic potential.” -Norman Wilner, Now Toronto “She and her cinematographer Josh Silfen capture the East/West metropolis in all the glory of its saturated colors, vibrant streets, neon lights, music venues and iconic skyline… ‘Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong’ has the production values of a much more expensive movie.” -Kirk Honeycutt, Honeycutt’s Hollywood “The cinematography sparkles.” -Time Out Hong Kong “Enchantingly captured by cinematographer Josh Silfen.” -Kenji Fujishima, Paste Magazine “Josh Silfen’s cinematography positively shimmers as it follows Josh and Ruby on their romantic journey. Both tourist landmarks and more unfamiliar places form an attractive backdrop for these equally attractive characters as they chat and are drawn inexorably closer to one another; the frequent use of shallow focus keeps our eyes trained on this central couple during their travels.” -Christopher Bourne, Twitch Film “Cinematographer Josh Silfen provides a welcome variety of angles to all the talk, the camera sometimes following the two from behind, or swinging around to move along ahead of them. Silfen also shows a visual sensitivity to the lights of Hong Kong: they blur and twinkle in the background/foreground, creating a dreamy atmosphere. It’s a poetic style that serves a purpose: despite the attention-getting surroundings, the focus is on the one-on-one interaction of Ruby and Josh.” -Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com “Josh Silfen’s confidently sparkling cinematography makes the place gleam with fascination and life.” -David Noh, Film Journal International “You can get lost in the evocative Hong Kong setting and gorgeous cinematography (courtesy of Josh Silfen).” -CJ Perry, FilmSlate “The city of Hong Kong serves as both the backdrop of the story and as a central character as well. Silfen captures the city nicely, bringing its beauty, its culture and its appeal to the forefront.” -Ernie Trinidad, Film Pulse “The visually stunning Hong Kong — the real star of this movie — is a colorful, neon-lit backdrop.” -Cary Darling, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram “Ting and her DP perpetually put the city’s lights on the edges of the frame, giving the movie an ethereal quality that lends itself well to the atmosphere of two young people in love… It’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong is shot in such a way that makes the city feel intoxicating.” -Ben Pearson, Make My Friday “The tasteful cinematography by Josh Silfen truly serves this film, and chronicles the walk-and-talk romance like pages in a beautifully illustrated book.” -Henrick Vartanian, Brave New Hollywood “Beautifully shot… Beyond just a captivating romance, It’s Already Tomorrow doubles as a postcard of Hong Kong, to the point where the city’s tourism department should give Ting a stipend.” -Andy Greene, Popinsomniacs “Hong Kong is truly portrayed as a city of great wonders and opportunity through Ting’s capture of the bright lights and alluring feel of the city. Ting and Josh Silfen (director of photography) manage to grasp the calmness of the waters in Victoria Bay coupled with the buzzing conversations roaming around. The audience gets a broad understanding of the story under a third-person detached frame taking in everything Ting has to offer.” -Jenny Duan, The Ubyssey “Cinematographer Josh Silfen films the illuminated urban landscape with clear affection for its electrical beauty.” -Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects “It’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong is just as much a travelogue as it is a romance, showcasing the vivid pleasures of the city in loving detail.” -Alex Williams, Cinapse
The Kitchen and 3 Days of Normal are both now available on iTunes, DVD, and VOD. Check out the Buy/Rent page for more on where to find them. 
Check out Josh’s article in MovieMaker magazine about shooting The Kitchen. Congratulations to The Kitchen! The feature film starring Laura Prepon, Bryan Greenberg, and Dreama Walker was honored to be chosen as the closing night film of the 2012 GenArt Film Festival. The trailer is now available on the reel page.
“Josh Silfen’s cinematography works well to give the film’s limited space a visually varied look.” -Christopher Bourne, Twitch Film “The beauty of the film’s cinematography and its script is that absolutely none of it tries too hard… there are just simple, raw moments, some of them obviously significant, some of them smaller and quieter in their impact. Filming The Kitchen may have been a challenge, but it’s certainly no challenge to watch.” -Joanna Chlebus, Filmoria
The video for Miss the Misery, by Foo Fighters is now online. The part live action, part stop motion video was shot by Josh and directed by stop motion animator Pete Levin. Catch it on Fuse TV, or watch it here on the reel page. 
Congratulations to Silver Tongues! The film premiered in January, 2011 in narrative competition at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film. The trailer is now online and can be viewed on the reel page.
“Thoughtful widescreen photography” -Dennis Harvey, Variety “Silver Tongues is a really well-crafted psychological drama, made with terrific technical flair.” -Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian “Handsomely shot and slickly executed” -Alison Rowat, The Herald
Josh recently completed work on the feature 3 Days of Normal. The new film from director Ishai Setton stars Mircea Monroe, Ajay Naidu, Richard Riehle, and Lin Shaye, and was shot on location in New Hampshire and New York. Images from the film, and the trailer are now available on the reel page. 
The music video for Americanarama by Canadian band Hollerado was released on October 3rd. The video was shot by Josh and directed by Greg Jardin of Radical Media. It has been viewed over a million times on YouTube, and according to MTV, it “must be seen to be believed.” Spinner calls it the best video of 2010, and it recently won the award for Best Music Video at SXSW! 
Congratulations to To Be Friends! The film was featured as the opening night premiere of the 2010 Boston Film Festival, where it won the festival’s award for Best Cinematography! The film also recently played at the 2011 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
“The cinematography by Josh Silfen is also quite good. It makes a virtue out of digital photography’s innate sharpness to highlight the beauty of the setting as well as capture single tears without getting right in someone’s face.” -Jay Seaver, eFilmCritic “This film is emotionally intense with beautiful cinematography… Sumptuous photography of the Hollister Ranch and Gaviota Coast by Josh Silfen” -Lisa Knox Burns, Edhat.com
Goodbye Baby is being distributed by Cinevolve Studios and is now available on DVD.
“Lenser Josh Silfen’s camerawork stands out.” -Joe Leydon, Variety “Goodbye Baby has a handsome sheen. Shechter’s director of photography, Josh Silfen, enhances the intimacy of the story with warm light and a well-composed frame.” -Chris Claro, DVD Verdict
Josh recently shot and directed a video lookbook for fashion designer Ann Yee on the new Canon 7d HD SLR. Watch it on the reel page. The Big Bad Swim is currently playing on Starz and is also available on Netflix. 
Congratulations to Poundcake, winner of the Jury Prize for Best Original Screenplay and the Audience Award at the Florida Film Festival, and Best Narrative Feature at the Rome International Film Festival. Poundcake premiered in Los Angeles at the 2008 AFI Fest. It had the honor of being the only American film selected for the Narrative Feature Competition.
“Josh Silfen’s photography is stylish and capable.” -Andrew Barker, Variety
Goodbye Baby premiered at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT. 
The Big Bad Swim is now available on DVD and is being distributed by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment. The film premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Praise for The Big Bad Swim‘s cinematography:
“Visually arresting” -Ann Lewinson, Tribeca Film Festival “A good-looking take of adults facing their fear of water” -Ken Eisner, Variety “Wonderful cinematography” -David Greenberg, Home Media Magazine “Perfectly composed shots” -Rob Lineberger, DVD Verdict “An eye for visual detail” -James Van Maanen, Green Cine Guru “Artfully lensed… an eye for inventive composition, palette and camera angles” -Paul Willistein, Parkland Press “The Big Bad Swim was budgeted at $350,000 but it looks like it cost 10 times that much” -Amy Longsdorf, The Morning Call
Josh and The Big Bad Swim are featured in the April, 2006 issue of InCamera magazine.