Stephen Ochsner

Our short film To Novosibirsk is out now on @youtube Dedicated to all fathers and sons—the ones we’ve had and the ones we wish to have.

Last weekend, @kaleyclairemc and I got to try “Turn of the Screw” at close range under the direction of @walkmanjacks . An audience of eight has never felt so full. My apartment has never felt so dangerous. Photos by @sofiadro

Мне посчастливилось стать частью команды спектакля «Бык да птицы». Спасибо @stephenochsner и @mzolotov за этот бесценный опыт, где мы через звук, свет, тени, дым, музыку создавали какую-то особую энергию, атмосферу, в которой зритель ощущал себя частью этого живого пространства.

About three years ago, before life changed for most of the people in my life—and many who were not— we had an idea. What would it be like to make artificial theatre?
To do a play.
To create an illusion of reality.
To allow living, breathing, thinking audience members
to have their effect on it. The result was a vision of pre-recorded and generated content that shifted with each viewer’s perception, directly influenced by their own thinking through EEG, motion, and heat. A room filled with images, faces, voices, sounds, and music.
All responding to you, without ever fully revealing how. We called it iRis. Siri backwards. Based in on one of my favorite plays, by @zaizeva 
We made a trailer. Three years later, the world of AI has changed. Almost everyone now uses a large language model, yet its effect on our lives still feels just beyond reach. Will AI help solve the world’s most urgent problems? Will it be weaponized? Will it consume water and resources for more cat memes? Is this frog soup, or will we think our way out of wars, ecological crises, and deep inequality?  This play, in the form of an Artificial Theatre, would offer a space to sit inside these questions together. Writer: @zaizeva Actors: @anna_nebo @dmitrievaleksandr @stefanielizaveta @496th Associate Producer: @markizraelson DoP: @m_dmntv VFX: @velvet_control Color: @veronica_tiron Directing & Music: @stephenochsner P.S. a link to Natasha’s site with my translation of the play is in the first comment P.P.S. a link to the same video on YouTube is in the second comment

Our mayo add aired four times at @dukesmayobowl before I fell asleep. There was something special in the air at this one. And I lived my dream of being stranded on an island.

What makes great collaborators of friends, and great friends out of collaborators? Maybe experience, struggle, overcoming the odds. Maybe shared love of music, a certain kind of story or way of life. Maybe there’s an invisible thread encouraging us to walk in gentle stride? Producer @mzolotov DoP @cancionsintetica Director @stephenochsner

Location scouting would have been a breeze thanks to Bukhara Cinema, Bukhara Synagogue, and @cancionsintetica , but it was June. We didn’t listen to Rauf Avezov, kept walking the streets midday, and it almost killed us.

“This whole thing started with a fascination I did not understand. Wandering around Bukhara, I found myself in front the 12th century Kalan Minaret—a soaring tower with the Sun etched around its peak. It was there that I started to see Sun symbols everywhere. Something changed in me as a Man, as Sun worshiper. I had no idea it was standing at a crossroads for Persian, Arab, Turkic, and Jewish traditions.” @stephenochsner

“I think the feeling of Shame is really present among men. At least among ones who’re willing to reflect. Our past. The privilege we’re given. What we do with it… Call it naïve, but I think Man has building his collection of Shame since the moment he redirected worship from Earth to the Sun. That’s what our film is about. That collection.” @stephenochsner

If we’re lucky, the connection between human beings can bring about a feeling even through a camera and screen. @cancionsintetica @stephenochsner

My friends came to the city with a theatre piece and their фотоаппараты 📸 @mariyakrol

After many years of a passionate, inspiring relationship full of love, growth, and late-night encouragement, we’re finally making it official. New York and I created a production company @rightnowinnewyork . We make documentaries, fashion films, and brand stories with one commitment: tell the truth, and make it cinematic. I love what I do. NY loves me. Wish us luck. 📸 @parisoff P.S. My daughter, Oda Zueva, worked hard on the font together with @magicxlogic — proud of my little collaborator.