Lloyd Michael Williams — Director | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Lloyd Michael Williams (born in 1940) is an American experimental filmmaker from Brooklyn, New York. His first interest in motion was with marionettes. He became involved with photography and by the time he was thirteen was making films. During high school Lloyd was an usher at Cinema 16 in New York City, the only venue exhibiting 16mm experimental movies. Inspired by the poem by Lewis Carroll, and the work he was seeing, Lloyd made "Jabberwock" and won the Silver Medallion at the Cannes Film Festival, 1959.

Lloyd entered New York University majoring in Film, Television & Radio. "They’re Off" was made at the NYU Summer Motion Picture Workshop, which Lloyd directed in 1959. In 1960 Lloyd worked with Mary Ellen Bute on "The Boy with Green Hair." He produced "Ursula" while he was a student and won the Bronze Medallion at Cannes in 1961. "The Creation" is more directed at radio and television commercials than at religion, it points out mankind’s blind belief in both.

After graduating in 1962, Lloyd moved to Chicago to work for the Fred Niles Film Company. He was an assistant director for TV commercials for many familiar household products. Returning to New York, he worked for Ogilvy Benson & Mather, an advertising agency on Madison Avenue. Lloyd designed commercial story boards and became an assistant producer of television commercials, and a member of the Directors Guild of America.

In 1964 Lloyd won a Fulbright to study cinematography in France and while in Paris began shooting sequences for "Line of Apogee." Electronic music pioneer Vladimir Ussachevsky thought so much of the film he composed the original electronic score. In 1975 Suzanne Ciani, famous for the electronic sound heard around the world, the Coca Cola Pop ‘n Pour, composed the soundtrack for "Rainbow’s Children."

In the mid seventies Lloyd served as cinematographer for Rosa Von Praunheim and began shooting film with his protégé, Adrian Salsgiver. But in 1979, Lloyd’s Bolex movie camera was stolen. Lloyd picked up a Bolex again in 1997 to act as cinematographer for Adrian. Adrian taught himself computer film editing and used Lloyd's old and new film to create "Rainbow’s Child," completed in 2001. In 2003, Lloyd and Adrian collaborated on a digital movie, The Kingdom of UUFH, documenting the 31st and final Renaissance Faire of Huntington, NY.

Lloyd made other 16mm films not yet digitized. Special thanks to Jonas Mekas for the safekeeping of Lloyd’s films. Lloyd lives on Long Island and is an active member of the New American Cinema Group.