Hannah Takes the Stairs

Joe Swanberg (born August 31, 1981) is an American independent filmmaker and actor.

Known for micro-budget dramas which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film movement. His films often focus on relationships, sex, technology, and the filmmaking process.

Swanberg was born on August 31, 1981 in Detroit. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as a film major, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in 2003. Two years later, Swanberg directed his first feature, Kissing on the Mouth. He followed it with LOL (2006), which marked Swanberg’s first time working with actress Greta Gerwig. Gerwig and Swanberg collaborated on the director’s next two features: Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), which also starred filmmakers Andrew Bujalski, Ry Russo-Young, and Mark Duplass and marked Swanberg’s first collaboration with animator and actor Kent Osborne; and Nights and Weekends (2008), on which Gerwig shared a directing credit. Swanberg’s next feature, Alexander the Last, was produced by Noah Baumbach, who would later cast Gerwig opposite Ben Stiller in his 2010 film Greenberg.

After a period of relative inactivity in 2010, Swanberg directed seven features in 2011: Uncle Kent, Caitlin Plays Herself , The Zone, Art History, Silver Bullets, Privacy Setting and Autoerotic (co-directed with horror filmmaker Adam Wingard). Four of these were later included in Joe Swanberg: Collected Films 2011, a DVD boxed set from the music and video label Factory 25.

Swanberg is a noted proponent for Internet-based distribution for independent films. —Wikipedia