THIS WORLD IS NOT MY OWN
The Limitless Story of Nellie Mae Rowe
thisworldisnotmyown.com
A wealthy gallerist, chewing-gum sculptures, a firebrand wrestler, a notorious murder case and the segregated south—it’s all part of Nellie Mae Rowe’s boundless universe. This World is Not My Own reimagines this self-taught artist’s world and her life spanning the 20th century.
Format: Non-Fiction Feature
Roles: Co-Director, Co-Writer, Cinematographer, Animator
Cast: Uzo Aduba, Amy Warren
Screenings: SXSW, Hot Docs, Atlanta Film Festival, Hamptons Intl. Film Festival, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Awards: Atlanta Film Festival - Best Cinematography, Nashville Film Festival - Nashville Public Television Human Spirit Award
Support: Swedish Film Institute, New York State Council on the Arts, Jewish Story Partners, Cinema Conservancy, Judith Alexander Foundation, David Schwartz Foundation
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
Opendox collaborated with Lever Architecture to visualize the winning design concept, Greeting the Light, for the Portland Museum of Art redesign competition.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
THE NEW BAUHAUS
The Life & Legacy of Moholy-Nagy
thenewbauhaus.com
Format: Non-Fiction Feature
Roles: Producer, Cinematographer, Designer
Screenings: Chicago Intl. Film Festival, Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival, Archicture & Design Film Festival, LACMA
Support: Terra Foundation, Graham Foundation, David Schwartz Foundation
THE NEW BAUHAUS TEASERS
Four promotional teasers for the film The New Bauhaus. Watch them all here.
Format: Promotional
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Designer
THE LIMESTONE CONFLICT
The fight over limestone mining in the ancient Ojnare forest of Gotland, the largest island in Sweden.
Format: Non-Fiction Short
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Screenings: Gothenburg Intl. Film Festival, Telluride Mountain Film
Awards: Envirofilm Festival - Best Short Film
THE LOWLINE LAB
Under the streets of New York’s Lower East Side lies a new project straight out of science fiction.
Format: Non-Fiction Short
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Screenings: Released through Nowness
SHIELD & SPEAR
Art, Music & Freedom in South Africa
shieldspear.com
Format: Non-Fiction Feature
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Screenings: Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Gothenburg Intl. Film Festival, Big Sky, The Hammer Museum, Film at Lincoln Center
Awards: Passion for Freedom Award - Silver Price
QUESTIONS FOR MY FATHER
Questions for My Father is a document of the inquiries, doubts and reservations of a generation of men who came of age in the late 20th century.
questionsformyfather.com
Format: Art Film
Roles: Co-Director, Editor
Screenings: Miami Art Basel, Wexner Center for the Arts, Utah MoCA
THE RUSSIAN WINTER
Brooklyn-born John Forté was a Grammy-nominated musician in The Fugees at 21 and a federal prison inmate at 26. When his prison sentence was remarkably commuted in 2008, Forté was given a second chance to share his talents with the world.
Format: Non-Fiction Feature
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival, IDFA, Moscow Intl. Film Festival, Gothenburg Intl. Film Festival
INDIA HICKS
A commissioned film about craftsmanship for fashion and lifestyle brand, India Hicks.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
MARFA, TEXAS
Visit Marfa, a small town in the high desert of far West Texas that has become a center for site specific art.
Format: Non-Fiction Short
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
XQ SUPER SCHOOL CHALLENGE: NXU
Opendox produced three short films that present the NXU concept for the XQ Super School Challenge initiated by Laurene Powell Jobs.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
STRATEGY WORLD TOUR: MEXICO CITY
IIT’s Institute of Design takes participants to transforming cites in order to experience innovation first hand. Here, the focus is on Mexico’s position in the global economy.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
STEWART-SCHAFER FOR DANNIJO
Stewart - Schafer design and build a New York Fashion Week presentation for the jewelry company, Dannijo.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN
A Creative Symposium in the Swiss alps.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
WOLF TRACKING
We spent a week in northern Wisconsin learning how to track wolves.
Format: Non-Fiction Short
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
SUNDAY AT THE RACES
A day of flat track racing at the Oakland Valley Race Park.
Format: Non-Fiction Short
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
JONATHAN ADLER CONQUERS ESPAÑA
Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan travel to Spain to receive an award from Architectural Digest España.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
STREET PARADE
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a street parade during Mardi Gras.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
DANNIJO
One of several commisions for jewelry brand, Dannijo.
Format: Commision
Roles: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
CONTACT
Productions: opndx.com
Email: info@petterringbom.com
Commercial Partner: Group Thrpy
Vimeo: vimeo.com/petterringbom
Instagram: instagram.com/petterringbom
Twitter: @petterringbom
IMDB: imdb.com/name/nm3471749
BIOGRAPHY
Petter Ringbom is a Swedish-American filmmaker based in New York. As a director and cinematographer with a background in design, Petter takes a hands-on approach to filmmaking that honors the craft. His films have screened at SXSW, Tribeca, IDFA, Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Film at Lincoln Center, LACMA, the Hammer Museum, Miami Art Basel and Gothenburg Intl. Film Festival. Petter has been a Film Independent Fast Track Fellow, a Gotland Film Lab resident at the Ingmar Bergman Estate, a Berlinale Talent, and a Midpoint Feature Launch participant. He’s a partner in the film production company, opendox.
Petter started his career as a designer and art director. After studying at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York, he became a partner in the creative agency Flat, where he worked for clients like MoMA, Red Cross and ESPN. He has taught at Parsons School of Design and New York University, and served on the board of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.
AWARDS
Atlanta Film Festival, USA, 2023
(Best Cinematography)
This World is Not My Own
Nashville Film Festival, USA, 2023
(Nashville Public Television Human Spirit Award)
This World is Not My Own
Hamptons Intl. Film Festival Nominee, USA, 2023
(Golden Starfish Award)
This World is Not My Own
Envirofilm Festival, Slovakia, 2017
(Best Short Film)
The Limestone Conflict
Passion For Freedom Awards, UK, 2015
(Silver Price)
Shield and Spear
Oslo Film From the South Festival Nominee, Norway, 2014
(DOC: South Awards)
Shield and Spear
IDFA Nominee, Holland, 2012
(Melkweg Competition for Music Documentaries)
The Russian Winter
Tribeca Film Festival Nominee, USA, 2012
(Online Film Awards)
The Russian Winter
Deadline
Matt Grobar. Nov 29, 2023
“This World Is Not My Own: Juno Films Acquires SXSW Doc On Folk Artist Nellie Mae Rowe”
Dagens Nyheter
Helena Lindblad. Oct 5, 2023
“The imaginative This World is Not My Own tells a fascinating story about art and oppression.”
(Review in Swedish)
Print
Steven Heller. Jun 21, 2023
“I spoke to Ringbom about the creative decisions that lead to such a compelling live action, stop motion animated art film experience.”
POV Magazine
Jason Gorber. May 5, 2023
“Ringbom and Stillwell’s daring work may in fact prove to be a groundbreaking mode for telling such stories in this kind of inventive, impressive way”
Film Book
David McDonald. Mar 22, 2023
“This World is Not My Own: Extraordinary Journey Deep Into the Heart of an American Folk Artist Close to Perfection”
The Hollywood Reporter
Sheri Linden. Mar 11, 2023
“This World Is Not My Own Review: The Story of a Self-Taught Artist Breaks From Doc Tradition in Rewarding Ways”
Deadline
Matthew Carey. Mar 10, 2023
“SXSW First Look: Uzo Aduba Provides Voice Of Artist Nellie Mae Rowe In Remarkable Documentary Featuring 3D Animation”
New York Times
Roberta Smith. Sept 2, 2022
“With over 100 of her paintings on paper, several sewn dolls (and one chewing gum sculpture) as well as two amazing reimaginings (not replicas) of her home and yard recently constructed for a hybrid documentary-feature, the show fills the museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.”
New York Times
Jane Margolies. Oct 5, 2019
“Today, when newcomers to America are often regarded as suspect, Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell of Opendox, the film’s production company, seek to highlight Moholy-Nagy‘s contributions as an immigrant.”
Architectural Digest
Rebecca Holland. Sep 30, 2019
“Moholy started messing with the traditional gallery space by introducing moving sculptures and adding the element of time—of interacting with the pieces,” Ringbom tells AD PRO. “At the time, that was completely new.”
Horisont Magazine
Christer Nilsson. Nov 1, 2015
“He’s making a feature film inspired by the Ojnare conflict.”
The Hollywood Reporter
John DeFore. Oct 23, 2014
“Introducing outsiders to a creative scene seemingly far more vibrant than most of us realized, Petter Ringbom’s Shield and Spear finds post-Apartheid South Africa brimming with art, music and activism despite widespread disappointment with those leading its government.”
Design Matters Podcast
Debbie Millman. Oct 21, 2014
Debbie Millman talks to Petter Ringbom about his years at the creative agency Flat, and how he moved away from graphic design into filmmaking.
New York Post
Page Six Team. Aug 12, 2014
A hip Brooklyn crowd trekked to the Walter Reade Theater for the premiere of director Petter Ringbom’s “Shield and Spear.”
T Magazine Blog
Stephen Heyman. Apr 20, 2012
Why has it taken so long for someone to make a movie about musician John Forté? His life story certainly has the requisite sweep…
New York Times
Roberta Smith. Oct 27, 2011
Karl Haendel and Petter Ringbom: ‘Questions for My Father’. One of the genuine sleepers among Chelsea’s sleepy fall shows…