Paxton Winters

director of photography

Paxton is an award-winning filmaker whose feature debut CRUDE won “Best Feature Narrative” at the Los Angeles Film Festival.  He has also made a number of other films, mostly focusing on the near east in the post-colonial era.

CRUDE, shot on location from Istanbul to Eastern Turkey, the Aegean Coast and New York City, is a timely look at West meets (and exploits) East. CRUDE won “Best Feature Narrative” and a cash prize of $50,000 at the Los Angeles Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the Seattle Film Festival. His first documentary, THE LAST CARAVAN ON THE SILK ROAD; was shot while traveling with 3 Turkish photographers as the core of an intrepid team that traced the Silk Road by camel caravan through 6 countries (China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey). Passing almost entirely on foot for 15 months, they were the first to travel the entire 11,000 km/ 7,000 mile route following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. DAMMING THE EUPHRATES, explores the effects of a multi-million dollar dam project on the ancient mosaics and lives of people living by, or forced from, the flooded banks of the Euphrates River. His next project took him overland to Baghdad, Iraq where he shot and directed a project with Iraqi teenagers about their experiences of living and growing up during and after the war. Following this, he spent 5 weeks on three refugee camps shooting a documentary with Burundian refugees. In the meantime, he shot a season of the hit Turkish television drama “Alacakaranlik (Twilight)”. His second script, IRAQI FREEDOM was chosen to participate in the prestigious Sundance Screenwriter’s Laboratory and has been optioned by New York based, Article 19 Films. IRAQI FREEDOM and his latest script COLD WAR were both work shopped for a month each with a group of 12 actors under the tutelage of a renowned New York based acting coach. Most recently he joined a rambunctious Turkish crew aboard one of the oldest tankers in the world on her final month-long journey from Romania to Germany exploring the end of an era and what we know of as the sailor lifestyle. Speaking fluent Turkish, Paxton often collaborates with the Istanbul based film collective Vav Film Group. Paxton is represented in the United States by United Talent Agency.