Michael Haussman

Michael Haussman (born 1964) is an American artist, writer, producer and director of motion pictures, television advertisements and music videos.

Haussman's internationally acclaimed commercials have won numerous awards and are featured in advertising books and trade journals. His commercial works include campaigns for United Airlines, Budweiser, Samsung, Levi's, Absolut, BMW, Yves Saint Laurent, Ray-Ban, Diesel and Replay Jeans, among many others.

Haussman has directed music videos for Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Madonna, Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Usher, Shakira, Chris Cornell, Jennifer Lopez, Eric Clapton, Mylène Farmer and B.B. King. His videos have won several MTV and VH1 awards, including MTVLA Best Video and the Museum Of Modern Art award.

A Study in Gravity is Haussman's most recent video art exhibition. It is a study of gravity's effect on human emotion told through five high definition video sequences filmed at 2,000 frames per second. It was chosen by LA Weekly as one of the top ten pieces of art this year in Art Platform Los Angeles. The entire 'Gravity' show opened January 17, 2013 at Young Projects in the Pacific Design Center.

Haussman has done print campaigns for Philips, Replay Jeans, Lancôme's Tresor fragrance and worldwide print and billboards for Martini. His photographic interest in diverse cultures is displayed in Where they Play, a book documenting football (soccer) fields from around the world, and revealing each culture's interpretation of a field within their environment, including perspectives from Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and expanding to include Morocco, Italy, and England, etc.

As a painter Haussman's solo art show 'Naturales', featuring large-scale matador and bull paintings, in ink on paper, premiered at the Desoto Gallery in Los Angeles, and was later featured at the New York Scope Art Fair, and a Group Showing in Los Angeles. 'Naturales' also opened in Rome.

Haussman completed two films in 2013. His short film ‘The Audition,’ which he wrote and directed in Cinecitta studios, Rome was chosen to premiere in competition during the 2013 Venice International Film Festival. The Audition went on to screen at LA Shorts Fest, London Lift-Off, Byron Bay Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Regard Sur le Court and NYC Downtown Short Film Festival. The film explores the consequences when an actor and actress allow their true feelings to overtake their acting during an audition. The Audition was awarded Best Short Film at Byron Bay, and Best Foreign Film at NYC Downtown Short Film Festival.

Haussman's documentary The Unsinkable Henry Morgan, a documentary for the Sundance Channel, premiered in January 2013 at Sundance Film Festival, and covers archaeologists' search for Captain Morgan’s famous fleet of pirate ships, which sank off the coast of Panama in 1671.

Past films include Rhinoceros Hunting In Budapest starring Nick Cave which premiered at the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL; Blind Horizon starring Val Kilmer, Neve Campbell, Sam Shepard, Amy Smart and Faye Dunaway; and a feature-length documentary about two matadors and the world of bullfighting, entitled The Last Serious Thing.

Michael is currently in pre-production for Good Guys, which he wrote and will direct.

2014 - Winner of Best Short Film, "The Audition", Byron Bay International Film Festival

2014 - Winner of Best Foreign Film, "The Audition", NYC Downtown Short Film Festival

2014 - Best Cinematography Nominee, "The Audition", Byron Bay International Film Festival

2005 - Best Music Video, "La Tortura", MTV Latin America Video Music Awards

1995 - Best Music Video by Female Artist, "Take A Bow", MTV Video Music Awards

Films

• Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest (1997)
• Abandoned '58 (2002)
• Blind Horizon (2003)
• The Last Serious Thing (2003)
• Jack Taylor Of Beverly Hills (2007)
• "The Audition" (2013)
• "Good Guys" (Currently in Pre-Production)

Experimental films

• A Study in Gravity (2013)

Music videos

Making the video TV series

• Chris Cornell - "You Know My Name"
• Jennifer Lopez - "Qué Hiciste"
• Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland - "SexyBack"
• Britney Spears - "Someday (I Will Understand)" - Mini Behind The Scenes
• Shakira featuring Alejandro Sanz - "La Tortura"

TV advertisements