Industry Days - Master Class: Directing the Actor with Tim Blake Nelson
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM until 4:00 PM
AMC Newcity | Screen 5, 1500 N Clybourn Ave c301, Chicago, IL 60610
festival
Tim Blake Nelson is most famous for his work as an actor, providing memorable and much-lauded performances, but he is also a celebrated filmmaker. As a writer-director, this year’s Festival selection The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd marks his sixth film, joining The Grey Zone, Eye of God, Leaves of Grass, Anesthesia, and O. His filmography of over 100 on-screen credits includes the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Minority Report, Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, and HBO’s Watchmen. He next stars in the feature The Leader and Season 2 of HBO’s Task. As a longtime professional working both in front of and behind the camera, Nelson will offer advice, inspiration, and best practices for creating a productive relationship with a filmmaker and their most valuable collaborator, their actors.
Moderator Audrey Francis (Co-Artistic Director, Steppenwolf Theatre)