Alex Ghassan(1981-2016)
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Producer
Alex Frantz Ghassan was born in Irvington, New Jersey to parents of Haitian descent. He started making films as a student at the Art Institute of New York.
Alex had spent several years producing and directing projects for various institutions, record labels, along with various independent artists and corporations in the New York City market. He had also worked in California as a contributing documentary producer for PBS affiliate KQED in San Francisco.
As a producer in New York he gained notoriety for curating two successful seasons of a web series on FuseTV. The series profiled up and coming indie talent in music called "Behind the Unsigned".
As a director Alex has earned a reputation for producing and directing the highest caliber of work on budgets of varying scales. Working with artists like Spike Lee, Talib Kweli, Skyzoo, !LLmind, Iamsu/HBK and Bodega Bamz. On the label side of things he has worked with indie labels Duck Down Records, Sony Records, K7 Records, Gold Dust Records, BBE Records, Brooklyn HipHop Festival, to name a few.
The Oakland Museum commissioned Alex to direct three short films to support the upcoming art installation by Oakland based artist Chris Treggiari. The films were released in the summer of 2016 when the installation opened to the public.
Alex exhibited in a group Art show in San Francisco called the Black Mail Show, they are a messaged based collective comprised of Black males. The name of the collective is a play on words. Alex worked on the feature length documentary about gender identity called We Exist, in which he was lead cinematographer. He was represented in Europe as a director by the Estonian production company, Vita Pictura.
Alex was the father of twin daughters and split his work primarily between New York and California. He was planning on expanding the reach of his creative work on a global scale. On December 2, 2016 Alex, his fiancée Hanna Ruax, and 34 others died in a tragic fire at a warehouse space called the 'Ghost Ship' in Oakland, California after attending a party at the location. Alex is remembered and hailed by many as a brilliant talent and mentor in the arts.
Alex had spent several years producing and directing projects for various institutions, record labels, along with various independent artists and corporations in the New York City market. He had also worked in California as a contributing documentary producer for PBS affiliate KQED in San Francisco.
As a producer in New York he gained notoriety for curating two successful seasons of a web series on FuseTV. The series profiled up and coming indie talent in music called "Behind the Unsigned".
As a director Alex has earned a reputation for producing and directing the highest caliber of work on budgets of varying scales. Working with artists like Spike Lee, Talib Kweli, Skyzoo, !LLmind, Iamsu/HBK and Bodega Bamz. On the label side of things he has worked with indie labels Duck Down Records, Sony Records, K7 Records, Gold Dust Records, BBE Records, Brooklyn HipHop Festival, to name a few.
The Oakland Museum commissioned Alex to direct three short films to support the upcoming art installation by Oakland based artist Chris Treggiari. The films were released in the summer of 2016 when the installation opened to the public.
Alex exhibited in a group Art show in San Francisco called the Black Mail Show, they are a messaged based collective comprised of Black males. The name of the collective is a play on words. Alex worked on the feature length documentary about gender identity called We Exist, in which he was lead cinematographer. He was represented in Europe as a director by the Estonian production company, Vita Pictura.
Alex was the father of twin daughters and split his work primarily between New York and California. He was planning on expanding the reach of his creative work on a global scale. On December 2, 2016 Alex, his fiancée Hanna Ruax, and 34 others died in a tragic fire at a warehouse space called the 'Ghost Ship' in Oakland, California after attending a party at the location. Alex is remembered and hailed by many as a brilliant talent and mentor in the arts.