Alex Ranarivelo

Alex Ranarivelo is a French-Malagasy filmmaker, he was born in Saint-Jean-d'Angely, France. He studied film at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

After making his feature film debut with the rough-and-tumble romantic comedy from a guy's perspective "Alpha Males Experiment" (aka "Knuckle Draggers"), Alex was hired to direct the action film "Born to Race", which he co-wrote with fellow Art Center alum Steven Sarno.

When producer Ali Afshar and executive producer Forrest Lucas created ESX Entertainment, Alex was brought on to direct their first film, the suspenseful, character-driven "The Dog Lover" (starring James Remar, Lea Thompson, and Sherry Stringfield). Next came American Wrestler: The Wizard, which follows a 17-year-old Iranian refugee who becomes the high school wrestling champion against adversity during the Iran hostage crisis of 1980. In this period piece, Alex directed Jon Voight, William Fichtner and discovered newcomers George Kosturos and Lia Marie Johnson. The film won multiple awards on the festival circuit including "Best Picture" and "Best Ensemble" at the Boston Film Festival, the audience award at the Austin Film Festival and the audience award at the Napa Film Festival.

Next came "Running Wild", where Alex was at the helm of a picturesque, dramatic piece about a California Ranch Socialite poised to lose everything who creates a Prison Rehabilitation Equine Program after finding starving wild horses on her property. Dorian Brown and Jason Lewis go head to head with animal lover Sharon Stone. Tommy Flanagan also stars.

In October 2015, Alex directed Jane Seymour and Paul Rodriguez in "Pray for Rain", a murder mystery set against the backdrop of the Central California drought. A young girl begins to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding her father's death and discovers that the idyllic farm community of her youth has been replaced by crime and desperation. Newcomer Annabelle Stephenson leads the cast. Nicholas Gonzalez also stars.

Alex went back to the motorsports world for "Dirt", his 5th movie with ESX Entertainment. "Dirt" is about a weathered race team owner (Kevin Dillon) who can't quite get his team to gel when he is asked to take on a kid from the hood that needs a work furlough to avoid jail time. He reluctantly agrees and the unlikely pair create quite a stir in the redneck sport of short course off-road truck racing.

Ranarivelo has recently directed "Ride", about a troubled boy from a Neo-Nazi family who is sent to a juvenile detention center after stabbing his dad and ends up being fostered by an interracial couple. Based on the true story of John Buultgens.