Lou Pepe

Lou Pepe directs both documentary and fiction films, among them Lost in La Mancha, shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary and winner of the Evening Standard’s Peter Sellers Award for Best Comedy; Brothers of the Head, winner of the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature; and The Bad Kids, which premiered at Sundance 2016 and won the Special Jury Award for Verité Filmmaking. Pepe holds an MFA in Film & Media Arts from Temple University and is a fellow of the Sundance Documentary Film Program. He has collaborated with co-director Keith Fulton for over 20 years. Their most recent documentary, He Dreams of Giants, explores film director Terry Gilliam’s 27-year quest to film an adaptation of Don Quixote. They are currently in post-production on an experimental documentary about emotional responses to the ongoing pandemic. (Picture by Robert Beckwith.)

Talks

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Fanboy

By Lou Pepe | July 8, 2020

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Fanboy

Filmmaker Lou Pepe on falling in love with the teen drama SKAM Italia, and the other rare shows or movies that have inspired such ardor in him.

Revisited: On Falling Asleep at the Movies

By Lou Pepe | January 2, 2019

Revisited: On Falling Asleep at the Movies

Director Lou Pepe on the phenomenon of cinematic narcolepsy and why the very best films lull us into a dream state.

On Falling Asleep at the Movies

By Lou Pepe | March 15, 2018

On Falling Asleep at the Movies

Director Lou Pepe on the phenomenon of cinematic narcolepsy and why the very best films lull us into a dream state.

All These Sleepless Nights and That Sweet Spot Between Documentary and Fiction

By Lou Pepe | April 10, 2017

All These Sleepless Nights and That Sweet Spot Between Documentary and Fiction

Lou Pepe speaks out in ardent support of Michał Marczak's gorgeously cinematic doc, a film considered by some to not qualify as non-fiction.

The Thing I Love About Documentary Filmmaking (That Took Me 25 Years to Discover)

By Lou Pepe | December 9, 2016

The Thing I Love About Documentary Filmmaking (That Took Me 25 Years to Discover)

Lou Pepe, the co-director of Lost in La Mancha, on staring, compassion fatigue and his new documentary, The Bad Kids.