Ari Gold (filmmaker)

Ari Gold (born 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor and musician. His short film Helicopter was about the aftermath of his mother Melissa Dilworth Gold's 1991 death. His feature debut Adventures of Power premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and made its European debut at the 2008 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Early life
Ari Gold was born in 1970 as son of writer Herbert Gold and Melissa Gold (née Dilworth) in San Francisco, California. His twin brother is musician Ethan Gold, and he has a sister Nina Gold. He also has two half-sisters from his father's first marriage. His mother, Melissa Dilworth, is the daughter of J. Richardson Dilworth, a longtime financial advisor of the Rockefeller family.

He attended New York University (NYU) to study film, and Columbia University, graduating in 1992.

Career
The Song of Sway Lake (2017) was co-written and directed by Gold, the story centers on Ollie (Rory Culkin), a record collector who, with a friend, Nikolai (Robert Sheehan), makes a furtive trip to his family’s lakefront summer home in Upstate New York, months after where Ollie’s father committed suicide in the icy lake. The film was considered ultra low-budget and did not track at the box office in its limited release, with Variety calling it "A clunky, lurching affair populated by barely sketched individuals who seem to be competing for a most-intolerable prize."

Adventures of Power (2008) was written and directed by Ari Gold, and is a cult comedy about a mine worker (played by Gold) who discovers an underground subculture of air-drummers that has the power to change the world.

Helicopter (2001, copyrighted 2000) is a short film dealing with the aftermath of the death of his mother Melissa in the 1991 Vallejo helicopter crash that also took the life of rock impresario Bill Graham and pilot Steve Kahn. An experimental narrative combining animated sequences and live action, the film was awarded in 2000 the Student Academy Awards competition for film students (not to be confused with the official Academy Awards).

Culture (1999), which Gold directed and starred in, is a 60-second short film, shot entirely in one take with no rehearsal. Gold followed set of self-imposed rules while making the film, including “only black, white, & primary colors may be used” and “the camera must not move.” Culture premiered in the United States at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and Reel.com called it “the best sixty seconds of film” at that festival.

Some of Ari's more unusual distinctions include winning High Times Magazine’s "Stoner of the Year" award (2001). He's also enshrined in the Guinness Book of World Records for commanding the largest air-drum ensemble on earth.

Music
Gold is an occasional member of two comedic music projects with The Brothers Gold, with his brother Ethan Gold on guitar; Ari sings and plays ukulele.

Gold also sings in the new wave folk band, The Honey Brothers. The Honey Brothers started small in 2001, a few college friends singing for people on the street corners of New York. Since then, they have released two studio albums, one live album, and made a guest appearance on the TV show, 90210. The other core members of The Honey Brothers are Andrew Vladeck, Daniel Posner, and Adrian Grenier. Ethan Gold is a former member of the band, in 2010 he was replaced by Dan Green.