Jerome Hiler

Directing

Birthplace: Jamaica, New York, USA

Jerome Hiler began his creative life as a painter and was a student of Natalia Pohrebinska at Pratt Institute. Within a few years, Mr. Hiler became enthralled with the visual and poetic possibilities of 16mm experimental film. In particular, his encounter with the films of Marie Menken, Gregory Markopoulos and Stan Brakhage deeply affected his own artistic path. It completely changed the focus of his creative energies and led to decades of work as a filmmaker. For most of his life, Mr. Hiler only screened his work among his circle of friends. However, from 1995 on, his work has been seen more publicly. He has shown his films at London's LUX film series, the San Francisco Film Festival, many seasons at the New York Film Festival, the London Film Festival and was selected by the Whitney Museum of American Art to participate in the 2012 Biennial for a week of screenings. Throughout his career, Mr. Hiler has also worked on feature films and documentaries. In the documentary field, he has worked either as photographer, editor or director and, occasionally, all three. Mr Hiler also works in the field of stained glass, which he considers a sister-art to film. Under the title CINEMA BEFORE 1300, he has presented slide lectures on medieval glass, culled from his extensive collection of photographs on the subject at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Princeton University and The Art Gallery of Toronto. Mr. Hiler brought his love of classical music together with film in working as co-director on MUSIC MAKES A CITY.