The Original Badass

Celebrating American ingenuity, innovation and influence.

The Original Badass

Celebrating American ingenuity, innovation and influence.

Watch Film

(Best watched on a large screen in high volume)

The Film

A group of award-winning filmmakers
have created a provocative short film -
The Original Badass - to inspire hope
and bring people together.

The Original Badass celebrates
American ingenuity, innovation and
influence that is so innate to the
American experiment.

The film aims to remind people of all the
achievements that makes America so
unique and extraordinary, and reiterates
the importance of all eligible Americans
to vote in this momentous election.

”

“

America has never stopped being great. This short film encapsulates its brilliance and hope in a brilliant, beautiful, eleven minutes.

Richard Saul Wurman
Founder of TED

The Filmmakers

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Simantini Chakraborty

Director / Producer
Simantini is a documentary film director, producer and editor, technologist and world  traveler. Her recent film joyful won 18 awards and has screened in 22 countries / 6  continents. It is available fleetwide on Virgin Atlantic, SBS Australia and others. joyful has won awards for Best Short Film, Best Editing, Audience Award, Best  Cinematography and Best Inspirational Film. It was also chosen as a closing film at the  prestigious Breckenridge Film Festival (attended by the Governor of Colorado).
Notable mentions:
•
Chosen as a closing film at the prestigious Breckenridge Film Festival (attended by the Governor of Colorado)
•
Screened at the iconic TCL Chinese Theater  in Hollywood
•
Screened in exciting global venues: Greek Amphitheater, Spanish opera house, public plaza, open air amphitheater, in the heart of Napa Valley wine country, as well as in large and local movie theaters (Regal, AMC, Greenwich Village and others)

Godfrey Reggio

Co-Director / Producer
Godfrey is an acclaimed filmmaker best known for his groundbreaking trilogy of Qatsi  films, with Koyaanisqatsi being the most well-known. Godfrey’s latest film Once Within a  Time, was produced by Steven Soderberg. The bulk of his cinematic records,  manuscripts, papers, photographs and film rolls over 40 years have been acquired  by Harvard University’s Houghton Library. Santa Fe International Film Festival awarded  him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. Godfrey was also recognized  by the Museum of Arts and Design in New York with a full career retrospective in 2014.
Notable mentions:
•
Godfrey’s latest film Once Within a Time, was produced by Steven Soderberg (Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 13, Erin Brockovich and others). Santa Fe International Film Festival awarded him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2022.
•
The bulk of Godfrey’s cinematic records, manuscripts, papers, photographs and film rolls over 40 years have been acquired by Harvard University’s Houghton Library, and the Harvard Film Archive. In 2014, Godfrey was recognized by the Museum of Arts and Design in New York with a full career retrospective.

David Aubrey

Editor
David is a two-time Emmy award-winning editor, cinematographer and director for However Wide the Sky in 2022 and Canes Of Power in 2013. He was also nominated for  the American Cinema Editors for Best Edited Documentary in the hit film Baraka in  1993. David’s work has spanned feature, documentary, television, commercial and  collaborative arts projects. David was recently inducted into the Film and Television Hall  of Fame in New Mexico.
Notable mentions:
•
Won an Emmy as a director for However Wide the Sky in 2022
•
Won an Emmy as an editor and cinematographer for a 4-part Docuseries on native voices called Canes Of Power in 2013
•
Inducted into the Film and Television Hall of Fame in New Mexico
•
Nominated for the American Cinema Editors for Best Edited Documentary  in the hit film Baraka in 1993
•
Garnered numerous festival awards   for Defending the Fire, 2017 and A Thousand Voices, 2014

Gil Talmi

Composer
Gil is a Emmy-nominated film composer and recording artist. He has created a signature  sound that can be heard in many award-winning productions worldwide, including Harry  & Meghan, Man on Fire, The Great Hack, The Fight For Democracy, and others. Gil has  scored Peabody award-winning documentaries and his score for Backyard Wilderness  was nominated for Best Original Score in the 2018 Giant Screen Cinema Association  Awards. He was also nominated for National News and Documentary Emmy Award for  his work on CBS Evening News and won Best Documentary for his score for Tales Of  The Waria.
Notable mentions:
•
Scored the Peabody Award winning documentaries Between The Folds, Who Killed Chea Vichea? and New Year Baby  - winner of Amnesty International 'Movies That Matter' Award
•
Score for Backyard Wilderness was nominated for Best Original Score in the 2018 Giant Screen Cinema Association Awards
•
Score for Chavela was nominated for Best Original Composition ­Feature Film Score by the Music & Sound Awards in 2017
•
Nominated for National News and Documentary Emmy Award for his work on CBS Evening News and won Best Documentary for his score for Tales Of The Waria
© 2024 The Original Badass. All rights reserved.
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© 2024 The Original Badass. All rights reserved.