Jason Neulander is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and theater artist based in Austin, Texas. Neulander received his BA and MA in theater from Brown University. He founded and was the artistic director of Austin’s Salvage Vanguard Theater from 1994 to 2008. Over his tenure he directed and produced more than 50 world-premiere plays, musicals, and operas. His play THE INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS (2010), which he wrote, directed, and produced, toured to more than 200 venues around the world between 2010 and 2017, including runs on Broadway and sold-out performances at the Kennedy Center, was featured on CONAN, and was adapted for television by PBS. His first short film HIT & RUN (2016) was selected for the Texas Filmmakers Showcase. His second short Buttercup (2017) was broadcast nationally on PBS’s “On Story”. His award-winning debut feature film Fugitive Dreams (2024) (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) is available to stream across all platforms.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2025
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What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
My first film experience that I have a clear memory of is Star Wars when it was released in 1977. That opening shot of the ships flying overhead blew my seven-year-old mind and still kind of blows my mind. I made my first movie when I was 12: Lego Wars. It was a combo of stop-motion and live action with neighborhood kids playing the parts. Naturally, it was pretty bad, and what made it even more terrible was that it was shot on super-8 without sound. I created the soundtrack (sound effects and dialogue) on cassette tape, but the batteries were old on the recorder so when it came time to screen the film, the image and sound got out of sync almost immediately!
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
It’s a bit schizophrenic, but my favorite filmmakers are Steven Spielberg and Ingmar Bergman. In particular, Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders, and ET from Spielberg; and Persona, Autumn Sonata and Fanny & Alexander from Bergman.
What are you working on that no one knows about?
A live adaptation of Treasure Island that matches up voice acting, sound effects, music, and 1200 original comic-book panels by an amazing artist named Johnny Dombrowski. This’ll premiere in Austin (where I live) in 2026 and then tour the country and (hopefully) the world.
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
I’m not sure who I’d play in a movie, but my go-to movie snack is milk duds. The film title that best describes my life is It’s A Wonderful Life. Is that totally cheesy?
