Kyle Henry

{{short description|American film director}} {{notability|bio||date=October 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Kyle Henry | occupation = Filmmaker, film editor }}

'''Kyle Henry''' is an American independent filmmaker, editor, and educator. Henry teaches film production at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, while also spending time in Los Angeles and Austin.

He received his undergraduate degree from Rice University in art and art history in 1994 and his MFA from University of Texas-Austin in film production in 1999.<ref name="communication.northwestern">{{Cite web |title=Kyle Henry |trans-title= biography |url=http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/departments/rtf/faculty/index.php?PID=KyleHenry&type=dept |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621050939/http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/departments/rtf/faculty/index.php?PID=KyleHenry&type=dept |archive-date=2012-06-21 |access-date=2013-02-07 |website= |publisher=School of Communication, Northwestern University |publication-place=Evanston, IL |department=Explore the Departments : Department of Radio, Television + Film : Faculty}}</ref>

== Films ==

Henry's feature narrative debut ''Room'' (2005), a mid-life crisis thriller, premiered at Sundance’s Frontier and Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sections in 2005. It was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, including the John Cassavetes Award for best low-budget narrative, receiving a wide release.<ref name="efilmcritic">{{Cite web |last=Weinberg |first=Scott |date=January 12, 2005  |title=Sundance '05 Interview: 'Room' Director Kyle Henry |url=https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~calp/feature.html  |website=eFilmCritic |publisher=HBS Entertainment, Inc.}}</ref><ref name="directors'fortnight">{{Cite web |title=Kyle Henry |url=https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/director/kyle-henry  |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701213205/http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/kyle-henry-r10080.html |archive-date=2013-07-01 |website= |publisher=Quinzaine des Réalisateurs / Quinzaine des cinéastes / Directors' Fortnight}}</ref><ref name="indiewire">{{Cite news |date=June 25, 2006  |title=indieWIRE INTERVIEW: Kyle Henry, Director of "Room" |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/indiewire-interview-kyle-henry-director-of-room-76521/  |work=IndieWire |publisher=Penske Media Corporation}}</ref>

Henry's latest feature ''Rogers Park'' (2018), about two interracial couples going through mid-life crisis, is currently 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and is a NY Times Critics Pick. His ''Fourplay'' (2012), an anthology-of-shorts feature comprising four tales of sexual intimacy and transgression.<ref name="hammertonail">{{Cite web |last=Tully |first=Michael |date=January 21, 2012 |title=FOURPLAY: TAMPA |url=https://www.hammertonail.com/reviews/fourplay-tampa-film-review/ |website=Hammer to Nail}}</ref> ''Fourplay'' has been screened at Outfest in Los Angeles, Sundance, Cannes' Directors' Fortnight<ref name="directors'fortnight1">{{Cite web |title=Fourplay : Tampa |url=https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/film/fourplay-tampa  |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630061522/http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/fourplay-tampa-f14303.html |archive-date=2013-06-30 |website= |publisher=Quinzaine des Réalisateurs / Quinzaine des cinéastes / Directors' Fortnight |department=Quinzaine 2011}}</ref>, and was a High Jury Commendation at Iris Prize. It went on a US theatrical tour in select cities and has since been released on DVD. In his official director's statement, Henry stated about the film, “All of us want to see aspects of our lives represented so that we know we’re here, so that we know that we’re alive and we know we’re not alone.” <ref name="austinstatesmen">{{Cite news |last=Odam |first=Matthew |date=February 7–8, 2013  |title=Filmmaker Kyle Henry looks to connect with 'Fourplay' / Filmmaker wants to talk about sex / Henry / Sex more than just nudity |url=http://www.statesman.com/news/entertainment/movies/filmmaker-kyle-henry-looks-to-connect-with-fourpla/nWGkP/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903044331/http://www.statesman.com/news/entertainment/movies/filmmaker-kyle-henry-looks-to-connect-with-fourpla/nWGkP/ |archive-date=2014-09-03 |work=Austin American-Statesman |pages=D1, D3 |id=Print edition: {{Gale|A319021154}}; {{NewsBank text|144819DEE6AA0E58|subdomain=statesman}}; Newspapers.com [https://www.newspapers.com/image/435027337/ 435027337], [https://www.newspapers.com/image/435027409/ 435027409]. Via wire feed McClatchy - Tribune Business News: {{ProQuest|1284747931|1285185905}}. Online edition: {{NewsBank text|1647CB29C3290473|subdomain=statesman}}, {{NewsBank text|plainlink=yes|1647CB27588F25B2|subdomain=statesman}}.}}</ref><ref name="ahammertonailconversation">{{Cite web |last=Sbrizzi |first=Paul |date=July 18, 2012 |title=A Conversation with Kyle Henry and Paul Soileau (FOURPLAY) |url=https://www.hammertonail.com/interviews/a-conversation-with-kyle-henry-and-paul-soileau-fourplay/ |website=Hammer to Nail}}</ref>

His feature documentaries include ''University Inc.'' (1999), about the corporatization of higher education that toured nationwide with funding from filmmakers Richard Linklater and Michael Moore, and ''American Cowboy'' (1998), about a gay rodeo champ, which won a regional Student Academy Award. His short ''N.ew Y.ork C.asino'' (2002), about Times Square as a consumerist slot machine, won Best Experimental film at South by Southwest and played at museums and gallery spaces worldwide.<ref name="theindependent">Online as: {{Cite magazine |date=August 23, 2007 |title=Kyle Henry |url=http://independent-magazine.org/node/311 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810032304/http://independent-magazine.org/node/311 |archive-date=2014-08-10 |magazine=The Independent |publisher=Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF); Foundation for Independent Video and Film; Independent Media Publications |publication-place=New York}} In print as author bio of: {{Cite magazine |last=Henry |first=Kyle |date=September 2005 |title=Making ''Room'': The highs and lows of directing a cheap thriller |url=https://independent-magazine.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2014/09/independentmagaz28foun.pdf#page=316 |department=Production Journal |magazine=The Independent: a magazine for video and filmmakers |publisher=The Association for Independent Video and Filmmakers; Foundation for Independent Video & Film |pages=13–15 (bio on p. 7) |publication-place=New York |volume=28 |issue=7 |issn=1557-5799 |id=Internet Archive [https://archive.org/details/independentmagaz28foun/page/n308?q=Kyle independentmagaz28foun] (contributed by UMass Amherst Libraries). {{ProQuest|2842600310}}.}}</ref><ref name="thenewyorktimes">{{Cite web |title=Kyle Henry : Filmography |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/person/424323/Kyle-Henry/filmography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630012946/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/424323/Kyle-Henry/filmography |archive-date=2013-06-30 |website=NYTimes.com |publisher=The New York Times Company |agency=Baseline; All Movie Guide, All Media Guide, LLC  |department=Movies & TV}}</ref><ref name="austinchronicle1">{{Cite news |last=Black |first=Louis |date=March 12, 2004 |title=Once Upon a Time in Austin: The films, the filmmakers, the crews, the making of a scene |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/once-upon-a-time-in-austin-11718267/  |work=The Austin Chronicle |department=Screens |page=52  |volume=23 |issue=28 }}</ref><ref name="austinchronicle2">{{Cite news |last=Savlov |first=Marc |date=May 8, 1998 |title=Cowboys and Controversy: Kyle Henry and the Texas Documentary Tour / Kyle Henry's American Cowboy |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/cowboys-and-controversy-11733710/  |work=The Austin Chronicle |department=Screens |page=52 |volume=17 |issue=35–36 }}</ref><ref name="chicagoreader">{{Cite news |last=Shen |first=Ted |date=December 13, 2002 |title=American Cowboy |url=https://chicagoreader.com/film-tv/american-cowboy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100424093924/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/american-cowboy/Film?oid=1068922  |archive-date=2010-04-24 |work=Chicago Reader |publisher=}}</ref><ref name="austinchronicle3">{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Kimberley |date=November 20, 2009 |title=Goodbye to All That: Revisiting Kyle Henry’s ‘University Inc.’ and a film community’s cri de coeur |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/goodbye-to-all-that-11746280/  |work=The Austin Chronicle |department=Screens |page=[https://www.austinchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/chronicle-277.pdf-277.pdf#page=51 51] |volume=29 |issue=12 }}</ref>

He has received several grants from the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund in addition to the numerous festivals his films have played at, in addition to being a United States Artists Fellowship nominee and Rockefeller Media Artist Fellowship nominee.<ref name="communication.northwestern_a">{{Cite web |url=http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/files/faculty/cv/Henry.Kyle.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae, School of Communication, Northwestern University |access-date=2013-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621042639/http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/files/faculty/cv/Henry.Kyle.pdf |archive-date=2012-06-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="kylehenrytalkssexonfilm">{{Cite web |title=Kyle Henry talks sex on film: A Q&A; with FOURPLAY director / Director Kyle Henry (MFA '99) talks sex on film: FOURPLAY: now playing Alamo Drafthouse Village |url=http://rtf.utexas.edu/alumni/kyle-henry-talks-sex-film |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115427/http://rtf.utexas.edu/alumni/kyle-henry-talks-sex-film |archive-date=2016-03-04 |publisher=Department of Radio-Television-Film, Moody College of Communication, The University of Texas at Austin}}</ref>

His next production in development is a biopic about Emily Dickinson.<ref name="keepthelightsonfilm">{{Cite web |last=Klorfein |first=Jason |date=October 3, 2012 |title=FOURPLAY: Interview with Director Kyle Henry |url=http://keepthelightsonfilm.com/archives/news-and-updates/fourplay-interview-with-director-kyle-henry |publisher=Keep the Lights On: a film by Ira Sachs |department=News & Updates}}</ref> It was accepted into the 2015 Film Independent Fast Track program for development.<ref name="FIND">{{Cite press release |title=FILM INDEPENDENT SELECTS 10 PROJECTS AND 21 FIL(M)MAKERS FOR 2015 FAST TRACK PROGRAM (AND AWARDS $70K IN ALFRED P. SLOAN GRANTS) |date=June 16, 2015 |publisher=Film Independent |page=[https://s3.amazonaws.com/PressReleasesLAFF/2015_LAFF_FastTrack_FINAL.pdf <nowiki>[3]</nowiki>] |location=Los Angeles, CA |url=https://www.filmindependent.org/press-releases/film-independent-selects-10-projects-and-21-filmmakers-for-2015-fast-track-program/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419084121/http://www.filmindependent.org/press/press-releases/film-independent-selects-10-projects-and-21-filmmakers-for-2015-fast-track-program/ |archive-date=2016-04-19 |others=Contact: Alia Quart Khan, Film Independent; Gina Pence, Ginsberg/Libby}}</ref>

== Editing ==

Henry was the editor of the Best Narrative Feature winner at Tribeca and at South by Southwest and Sundance Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast, ''Manito'' (2001), and nine feature documentaries including the 2012 Emmy Award-winning ''Where Soldiers Come From'' (2010), for which he also received, with director Heather Courtney, the Best Documentary Editing Award at SXSW in 2011.<ref name="sundancesintitute1">{{Cite web |title=Manito |url=https://history.sundance.org/films/2567/manito |publisher=Sundance Institute |department=(Online) Archives}}</ref> <ref name="newyorktimes2">{{Cite web |title=Manito (2002) : Cast, Credits & Awards : Awards  |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/259845/Manito/awards  |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630012332/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/259845/Manito/awards |archive-date=2013-06-30 |website=NYTimes.com |publisher=The New York Times Company |agency=Baseline; All Movie Guide, All Media Guide, LLC }}</ref><ref name="sundancesintitute">{{Cite web |title=Kyle Henry |url=https://history.sundance.org/people/3305 |publisher=Sundance Institute |department=(Online) Archives}}</ref> <ref name="newyorktimes">{{Cite news |last=Catsoulis |first=Jeannette |date=September 8–14, 2011  |orig-date=online on the 8th, in print on the 9th, picture credit corrected on the 14th |title=From Michigan to Afghanistan, and Back |trans-title=Movie Review: 'Where Soldiers Come From' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/movies/where-soldiers-come-from-review.html?_r=0  |work=The New York Times |page=C8 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{Factiva|NYTF000020110914e7990001r}}. {{Gale|A266524312}}. Nexis Uni [https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn%3acontentItem%3a5MXD-WSS1-DXY4-X0YX-00000-00 {{small|5MXD-WSS1-DXY4-X0YX-00000-00}}], [https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn%3acontentItem%3a53RW-09H1-JBG3-64J1-00000-00 {{small|53RW-09H1-JBG3-64J1-00000-00}}]. {{ProQuest|1869803500|888079927}}. |eissn=15538095}}</ref><ref name="austinchronicle">{{Cite news |last= |date=March 18, 2011 |title=SXSW 2011 Film Awards: Jury and audience award winners announced |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/sxsw-2011-film-awards-11750830/ |work=The Austin Chronicle |department=Screens |page=[https://www.austinchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/chronicle-296.pdf-296.pdf#page=53 53] |volume=30 |issue=29 }}</ref>

== Filmography ==

=== Director ===

* Rogers Park (2018) * Half-Life of War (2015) * Fourplay (2013) * Room * N.ew Y.ork C.asino (short - 2002) * University Inc. (1999) * Orson Welles Not Taco Bells (Splitscreen segment - 1998) * American Cowboy (1998) * Monday Morning (1996) * Pop Love (1995)

=== Editor ===

* Before You Know It (2013)<ref>{{cite web | title=Before You Know It - Schedule | website=SXSW Schedule 2013 | url=https://schedule.sxsw.com/2013/events/event_FS13836 | access-date=2025-10-09}}</ref> * Where Soldiers Come From (2011) * Trinidad (2008) * Dream in Doubt (2007) * Audience of One (2006) * The Cassidy Kids (2005) * Letters from the Other Side (2005) * Troop 1500 (2005) * Learning to Swallow (2005) * Are the Kids Alright? (2004) * Soviet Meditation (2003) * Manito (2001) * The Slow Business of Going (2000) * Togetherless (short - 1999)

== References ==

== External links == * {{IMDb name|0377896}} * [http://www.fourplayfilm.com/index.html Fourplay Official Site] * [https://communication.northwestern.edu/faculty/kyle-henry.html Faculty profile, School of Communication, Northwestern University]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Kyle}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Film directors from Illinois Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:American film editors Category:Rice University alumni Category:Living people