Who is Kelley Baker?

A brief introduction to Kelley Baker otherwise known as The Angry Filmmaker.

Hey there! I have decided it’s time to (re)introduce myself and since I’m starting up a new blog on Substack, this seems to be the perfect time.

I’m Kelley Baker, also known as The Angry Filmmaker. Look out, here comes the bio part...

I’m a graduate of USC’s film school. I have a BA and an MFA in film production. I’m an author, Dennis Barton is a Bastard, From Arrah Wanna To Mule Shoe, Road Dog, and The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide: Part One & Part Two, and an Independent Filmmaker. I’ve written and directed three full-length features, Birddog, The Gas Café and Kicking Bird, eight short films, and quite a few documentaries.

My films have aired on PBS, Canadian, and Australian television, and have been shown at Film Festivals including London, Sydney, Annecy, Sao Paulo, Sundance, Chicago, Aspen, Mill Valley, and Edinburgh. When no distributors were willing to make me a decent deal on my films I ripped a page out of the Punk Rock Handbook.

For seven years I criss-crossed the country in a used mini van with my 120 pound Chocolate Lab, Moses, showing my work at independent art house theaters, college campus’ and media art centers. Hell I even screened my films in bars. Anywhere I could find an audience. These adventures are chronicled in my book, Road Dog.

In addition to my own films I was the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sant's feature films including, My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester, and Todd Haynes film, Far From Heaven. Back in the dark ages I did the post-sound on Will Vinton’s, The Adventures of Mark Twain, and three Claymation specials for CBS.

I continue to do picture editing and sound design on independent films. A guy’s gotta make a living, right?

In all honesty, after 40+ years, I still love what I do and consider myself very fortunate to have carved out a living doing what I love.

About a year ago my daughter Fiona, son-in-law Sam, and granddaughter Luna, who wakes me up every morning at 6 am, bought a fixer house together. Add in two dogs, Marcy and Hank, and it is indeed a multi-generational household.

We have a ton of work to do on this house, but it is slowly coming together. It’s decent sized with a good lay out meaning if we all want to hang out together we can and if any of us wants to be left a lone we have the space to do that as well. Since I work from home it’s nice having my office here but I can also close my office door and go to another part of the house and not think about work.

I’m a storyteller. I write every day and I still make films. In my blog posts I write about my experiences in the film business these last 40+ years. Working on films with big and small budgets and discussing my influences, people, films, and publications I admire and how that gets reflected in what I do. I also tell stories that have nothing to do with any of this that I hope are at the very least entertaining.

I’m bringing out 2 new books and a feature documentary in 2024, along with who knows what else?

What I write on my blog, or wherever, is not set in stone. Sometimes a thought pops into my head and I write about it. I wish I could tell you more specifically what I’m going to write about, but I don’t have a plan in mind. I’m just going to write what I feel like and hopefully that will be enough to keep people interested.

And if not, well at least I’ll be enjoying myself.

Welcome to my world. Sit down and stay a while.

Please check out my website, www.angryfilmmaker.com.

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