Sugerfoot Photo Shoot

A short and silent 3-minute autobiographical film of how a 1956 Hollywood photo shoot for a child actor became the catalyst for him to become an independent filmmaker as an adult. WINNER of "Best Silent Short" at the Sunworld International Film Festival.

  • R. Christian Anderson
    Director
    The Ghosts of San Francisco, Defcon 2012, Tea and Destiny
  • R. Christian Anderson
    Writer
  • Grover James Taylor
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Silent Film, Children
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 56 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 30, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji International Film Festival
    Chaakan, Pune
    India
    December 24, 2017
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Sunworld International Film Festival
    Temple City Sirkali Tk
    India
    January 5, 2023
    Winner
Director Biography - R. Christian Anderson

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Hollywood, his passion for motion pictures came at an early age. His mother, Lita, was a radio personality for station KMPC, at the time a music and entertainment station. He was performing on live radio in commercials by the age of 3.

At the age of 9, his mother married Raymond D. Bowman, a jazz and classical music impresario and noted music critic who taught and encouraged Christian to write. At age 12 he met legendary dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis, who encouraged his love of art and shared her life and career with him.

In 1969 Christian volunteered to serve in the United States Air Force where he was trained as an illustrator and worked on military training films with the Aerospace Audiovisual Service (MAC), and worked with one of the first units to produce films on video tape, rather than film stock. He received an Honorable Discharge for his service.

By 1973 he moved to San Francisco where he freelanced as a graphic designer, creating numerous posters, brochures, print ads and collateral materials over the next couple of decades.

He directed his first feature-length film "Defcon 2012" in 2008. In 2015 he co-wrote the song "The Ghosts of San Francisco," sung by Chris Clark for the film "When the World Came to San Francisco", which he also wrote and directed. The music video of which won the "Mixed Genre Jazz Film Award" at the "New York Jazz Film Festival" in Harlem in November 2016.

Today he is married and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he continues to write, compose, and direct films. He is a member of ASCAP.

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Director Statement

"Sugarfoot Photo Shoot" is the true story of a personal childhood experience in Hollywood in 1956. I was being considered for a television part, so my mother had professional photos taken. I didn't get the part, but the photo shoot was among the first memories I had of wanting to be involved with film.