Work samples

  • CARVING
    CARVING

    Shot in a single unbroken take, a simple lesson on how to cut the Thanksgiving turkey turns darker by degrees as a young woman reveals to her father the real reason she so desperately wants to learn how to carve. 

    16 min. 2023.

  • ANGLE OF ATTACK

    Dallas just got a new smoking tat burned on his back and he’s ready to show it off. But not before his best friend Austin drags him and his beer-swilling buddies to an open-mic poetry jam at a posh wine bar. Is the poetry any good? Does the tat really smoke? What awkward angles do friends have to navigate when telling each other the truth, straight up?

    12 min. 2022.

    World Premiere and Winner Comedy Short Honorable Mention 2023 Oxford Film Festival 

    Official Selections:

    2023 Columbia Film Festival

    2023 Filmland Film Festival

    2023 Fayetteville Film Fest

  • ANIMAL

    Boy meets girl. Boy might become a wild animal at night. Girl might become something even more fearsome. A short film about the existential terror of coming of age.

    15 min. 2019.

    World Premiere: 2020 Oxford Film Festival

    Official Selections:

    2020 Imagine Fantastic Film Festival (Amsterdam)

    2020 Still Voices Film Festival (Ireland)

    2020 Festival Angaelica

    2020 Film Fest Petaluma

    2020 Hallucinations Collectives (France)

    2020 Fixion Film Fest (Chile)

    2020 Filmland Film Festival

    2020 Arkansas Shorts

    2021 Sioux City International Film Festival

     

  • SMALL OF HER BACK

    A suicidal shut-in. A man at her door. And neither is who they seem. A feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Christopher Domig. Written and directed by Russell Leigh Sharman.

    87 min. 2012.

    World Premiere: 2012 Urbanworld Film Festival

    Official Selection: 2012 Pan-African Film Festival

    Released by Image Entertainment in 2013 as Apartment 4E.

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About Russell

Baltimore City

Photo

Russell Leigh Sharman is a writer, filmmaker and anthropologist. He has written for Hollywood since 2008, working for dozens of studios and production companies, including Warner Bros., Fox, Disney, MRC, DeLine Pictures, 21 Laps, Participant Media, Montecito Pictures and… more

View Russell's Resume
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CARVING

Shot in a single unbroken take, a simple lesson on how to cut the Thanksgiving turkey turns darker by degrees as a young woman reveals to her father the real reason she so desperately wants to learn how to carve.

16 min. 2023.

Co-Director, Producer, Sound Editor and Designer.

  • CARVING

    Shot in a single unbroken take, a simple lesson on how to cut the Thanksgiving turkey turns darker by degrees as a young woman reveals to her father the real reason she so desperately wants to learn how to carve.

  • Carving Still 1
    Carving Still 1
  • Carving Still 3
    Carving Still 3
  • Carving Still 2
    Carving Still 2
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    • ANGLE OF ATTACK

    A narrative short about smok'n tats and speaking your truth.

    12 min. 2022.

    Director, Producer, Sound Editor and Designer.

    World Premiere and Winner Comedy Short Honorable Mention 2023 Oxford Film Festival 

    Official Selections:

    2023 Columbia Film Festival

    2023 Filmland Film Festival

    2023 Fayetteville Film Fest

    • Angle of Attack

      Dallas just got a new smoking tat burned on his back and he’s ready to show it off. But not before his best friend Austin drags him and his beer-swilling buddies to an open-mic poetry jam at a posh wine bar. Is the poetry any good? Does the tat really smoke? What awkward angles do friends have to navigate when telling each other the truth, straight up?

    • ANGLE OF ATTACK Poster
      ANGLE OF ATTACK Poster
    • ANGLE OF ATTACK Still
      ANGLE OF ATTACK Still
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      ANGLE OF ATTACK Still
    • ANGLE OF ATTACK Still
      ANGLE OF ATTACK Still
    • ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
      ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
    • ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
      ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
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      ANGLE OF ATTACK Still
    • ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
      ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
    • ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
      ANGLE OF ATTACK BTS Still
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    • COLIN JONES

    A documentary short about the last occupied structure in a condemned housing project in East Baltimore.

    6 min. 2022.

    Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Editor and Designer.

    • COLIN JONES: THE POWER HOUSE Documentary Short
      Colin Jones was born on the floor of 335 Spring Court in Perkins Homes, one of the oldest public housing developments in southeast Baltimore. He is now director of The POWER House, a community center housed in a repurposed firehouse and the last occupied structure in the condemned housing project.
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    ANIMAL

    A narrative short about the existential terror of coming of age.

    15 min. 2019.

    Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Sound Editor and Designer.

    World Premiere: 2020 Oxford Film Festival

    Official Selections:

    2020 Imagine Fantastic Film Festival (Amsterdam)

    2020 Still Voices Film Festival (Ireland)

    2020 Festival Angaelica

    2020 Film Fest Petaluma

    2020 Hallucinations Collectives (France)

    2020 Fixion Film Fest (Chile)

    2020 Filmland Film Festival

    2020 Arkansas Shorts

    2021 Sioux City International Film Festival

    • ANIMAL Short Film
    • ANIMAL Poster
      ANIMAL Poster
    • ANIMAL Still
      ANIMAL Still
    • ANIMAL Still
      ANIMAL Still
    • ANIMAL Still
      ANIMAL Still
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    • SUSTAINABLE BARBUDA

    A documentary series of shorts on food security in the small island state of Barbuda.

    Co-Director, Cinematographer, Producer, Editor, Sound Editor and Designer.

    Funded by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

    World Premiere 2016 Matsalu Nature Film Festival (Estonia)

    • SUSTAINABLE BARBUDA Documentary Short
    • Before the Storm: Subsistence and Survival on the Small Island of Barbuda
      In September 2017, Hurricane Irma devastated the small island of Barbuda. All 1,800 inhabitants were evacuated. As the island rebuilds, and residents slowly return, government intervention and private investment threaten access to communal land. Traditional subsistence practices such as farming, fishing and hunting, already on the decline before the storm, are at risk of disappearing entirely. These are the voices of farmers, fishermen and hunters on the importance of traditional foodways on the island of Barbuda... Before the Storm.
    • Frances Beazer
    • Papa Joe
    • Arthur "Speedy" Walter
    • Eugene DeSouza
    • Blaine "Righteous" Frank
    • Alcon Nedd and Shaville Charles
    • Shiraz and Anessa Hopkins
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    • ALL DOGS MUST HAVE PEOPLE

    A narrative short about two women, a dog park, and a bichpoo named Todd.

    9 min. 2014.

    Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Producer, Editor, Sound Editor and Designer.

    World Premiere 2014 Louisville International Festival of Film

    Official Selections:

    2014 Off Shoot Film Festival

    2015 Kansas City Film Festival

    • ALL DOGS MUST HAVE PEOPLE Narrative Short
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    NEIGHBORS

    A narrative short about the lengths we will (and won't) go to for imperfect strangers.

    10 min. 2013.

    Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Producer, Editor, Sound Editor and Designer.

    World Premiere and Winner of Best On Screen Chemistry 2013 Offshoot Film Festival

    Official Selections:

    2014 Napa Valley Film Festival

    2014 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival

    • NEIGHBORS Narrative Short
      Jake just got locked out of Aubrey's apartment. In his underwear. Brad was nice enough to step into the hallway to tell him to go home. But if Jake could just borrow a pair of pants... NEIGHBORS is a short film about the lengths we will (and won't) go to for imperfect strangers.
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    SMALL OF HER BACK

    A suicidal shut-in. A man at her door. And neither is who they seem. A narrative feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Christopher Domig. Written and directed by Russell Leigh Sharman.

    87 min. 2012.

    Writer, Director, Producer.

    World Premiere: 2012 Urbanworld Film Festival

    Official Selection: 2012 Pan-African Film Festival

    Released by Image Entertainment in 2013 as Apartment 4E.

    • Small of Her Back
    • Small of Her Back Poster
      Small of Her Back Poster
    • Apartment 4E Poster
      Apartment 4E Poster
    • Apartment 4E Publicity Material
      Apartment 4E Publicity Material
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