Biography
Daniel M. Cohen has worked as a filmmaker, journalist, and film critic for over 30 years. He has written and directed two award-winning independent features and continues to write essays on film for RealReporting.org, a website of news and opinion that originates from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Dan began working in journalism when he published his own, local newspaper in high school. He went on to serve as co-editor in chief of his college paper, the Franklin and Marshall College Reporter, and then to work for the local media central Pennsylvania. After a short stint in the army, he played the college circuit doing stand-up comedy. Later he made regular appearances as a columnist and reporter for central Pennsylvania’s largest NBC affiliate, WGAL.
Changing careers mid-stream, he went on to write and direct three independent features, all of which were shot in his home state. His first, The Whole Truth, won several festival prizes and received positives reviews in the New York Times and The New York Post. Janet Maslin compared the movie to early Woody Allen. The Post rated the ultra- low budget comedy three stars. His next feature, Diamond Men took several festival prizes, and was later was cited by National Board of Review for “excellence in filmmaking.” During its extended theatrical life Diamond Men received enthusiastic reviews from some of the nation’s most esteemed film critics, including Roger Ebert, Joe Morgenstern, Stephen Holden, Stanley Kauffman and Andrew Sarris. Morgenstern wrote that it was “extraordinary on several counts,” and Ebert proclaimed it “a treasure.”
Between features Dan co-wrote and directed Bruce Smirnoff’s award winning one man show, Other Than My Health, I Have Nothing, which played in a series of venues throughout Los Angeles for nearly two years. It later played sold out engagements in Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach.
Dan then wrote and directed another feature, Ted’s MBA, aka Corporate Affairs, and served as an associate producer on Slava Zuckerman’s (Liquid Sky) Perestroika He continues to work as a film critic for RealReporting.org, although recently he has devoted most of his time to writing and researching Single Handed, his first book.
Dan is eager to speak about the story and to share a wealth of anecdotes about Tibor, some of which do not appear in the text. He’s well equipped with photos, documents, and audio materials to make an arresting presentation that much more vivid.
