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Kyle Rankin (born September 13, 1972) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker known for directing The Battle of Shaker Heights and Night of the Living Deb. In 2020, his film Run Hide Fight, about a school shooting, was shown at the Venice Film Festival.

Early life and education

Rankin was born in Danbury, Connecticut and attended the University of Maine, where he was the president of the student video club, and was a winner at the Maine Student Film and Video Festival. As a college student, Rankin was the star and co-producer, along with Efram Potelle, of a movie called Dorm. The film was originally intended to be a serial for campus TV, but ended up being a campus-murder mystery. The pair convinced their friends to appear in the film, and received donations from campus organizations, which they used to rent out empty dorm rooms as a set. The film took 3½ months to make, and was shown in Maine theaters, and was available to rent from video stores in Maine.

Career

Kyle co-directed The Battle of Shaker Heights through the second season of HBO's Project Greenlight. He wrote and directed a movie produced by Icon Productions, called Infestation, starring Chris Marquette, Ray Wise, Brooke Nevin; it was shot in the summer of 2007 in Bulgaria. He created the feature/web-series Nuclear Family, and the indie features Night of the Living Deb and The Witch Files. Run Hide Fight was filmed in Red Oak, Texas in the fall of 2019 and stars Isabel May, Thomas Jane, and Radha Mitchell. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2020.

Personal life

As of 2020, Rankin lives in Encino, California with his wife and daughters.

Filmography

• Run Hide Fight (2021)
• The Witch Files (2017)
• Night of the Living Deb (2015)
• Nuclear Family (2011)
• Exhibit B-5 (2010)
• Infestation (2009)
• Hellholes (Internet film) (2006)
• Insex (short film) (2006)
• The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
• Alias: The Lost Episode (2002)
• They Came to Attack Us (2001)
• Pennyweight (1999)
• The Girl in the Basement (1997) (Formerly known as "Reindeer Games")
• Dorm (1995)

References

1. ^ Saperstein, Pat (September 9, 2020). "Venice Entry 'Run Hide Fight' Braves a School Shooter Storyline". Variety Magazine.
2. ^ "Two new films round out the line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival". La Biennale di Venezia. August 11, 2020. Archived from the original on June 16, 2023.
3. Kloehn, Steve (July 7, 1994). "Picket line marks conflict offstage". Maine Day. The Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. B1.
4. Gadberry, Greg (June 4, 1995). "The Spring of Two Old Moviemakers". Audience. Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. pp. 1E, 9E. story continued on page 9E
5. "Dorm: A Maine Made Murder Mystery". Newborn Pictures. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.
6. Quiet Earth (March 10, 2010). "Exclusive: Kyle Rankin of Infestation fame is back with the PA Nuclear Family". Quiet Earth. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010.
7. ^ Harthill, Daniel (July 5, 2009). "Maine filmmaker to premiere 'Infestation'". Sun Journal. Lewiston, Maine. p. B1.
8. Ellis, Colin (May 4, 2016). "Witches brew, Maine native brings Hollywood home to Portland, Bath, Brunswick". The Portland Forecaster. Vol. 14, no. 18. Portland, Maine. pp. A1: A31.
9. Singer, Dan (September 19, 2020). "Movie about a school shooting, filmed in Red Oak, hits the Venice Film Festival". Dallas News. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023.
10. Toto, Christian (March 18, 2020). "'Run Hide Fight' Director Shares Film's Amazing Journey". Hollywood in Toto. Retrieved February 13, 2021.

External links

• Interview with Rankin at The Hollywood Reporter
• Kyle Rankin at IMDb
• Kyle Rankin at Rotten Tomatoes

• 1972 births
• English-language film directors
• Film directors from Connecticut
• Film directors from Maine
• Living people
• Participants in American reality television series
• People from Danbury, Connecticut
• University of Maine alumni