Joe Tripician

Joseph Tripician
Occupations	Producer writer screenwriter film director playwright songwriter
Years active	1970–present
Spouse	Cecilia Tripician ​ ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	2, Helena Tripician, Olivia Tripician

Joseph Tripician, also known as Joe Tripician and Joe Trip, is an American producer, writer, screenwriter, film director, songwriter, playwright and performer. He is best known for the documentaries Borders and Metaphoria and his memoir Balkanized at Sunrise, based on Tripician's journey to the Balkans in 1997.

Early life and education

Joseph Tripician was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He has two brothers, Bill and Carl. Tripician studied at the American University and has an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from Columbia University.

1970s – Absolute Mania and Jim Henson

In 1970, while still in high school, Tripician formed a comedy group called Absolute Mania with Bob "Duggan" Hill and Morgan "Skip" Thomas. The group hosted a cable TV humor program in South Jersey entitled Absolute Mania that ended abruptly after a sketch about the renowned American musician Johnny Cash's alleged drug use caused controversy. In 1978, Tripician interviewed John Draper, aka " Captain Crunch," the "phone freak" and pioneer computer hacker. The original video of that interview is now part of the collection at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Between 1978 and 1979, Tripician also was employed by Henson Associates as a production assistant, where he worked closely with Jim Henson, the famous creator of The Muppets.

1980s – Music videos, Borders and other documentaries

In 1980, Tripician worked as editor of the documentary Memories of Duke, directed by Gary Keys and based on the biography of the famous American composer, pianist, and bandleader of a jazz orchestra Duke Ellington. At the same time, he wrote and directed the short film Shrapnel Training Course, a parody infomercial satirizing the CIA. From 1979 to 1981 Tripician produced video recordings of live performances of over 100 different bands at the New York City nightclub Hurrah.”

Later, Tripician produced and co-directed several musical videos included in a compilation called Danspak, which was distributed by Sony Video Software and released, in three parts (1982, 1984 and 1986). Some of the videos included were "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)," by Man Parrish, "Pointy Head Gear," by Shöx Lumania, "Jimmy, Gimme Your Love," by Michael Musto & The Must, and "Alien Girl," by Richard Bone, in 1982; "I've Got A Right," by The Lenny Kaye Connection, and "Sweet Jane," a cover of The Velvet Underground's song performed by The Jim Carroll Band, in 1984 (that video featured a cameo appearance of the late American songwriter Lou Reed); "Grace," by The Ordinaires, "Skintight Tina," by Prince Charles Alexander, and "Buttercup," by Stevie Wonder performed by Carl Anderson, both released in 1985. In 1984, Tripician and his partner Merrill Aldighieri were listed in the Rolling Stone Book of Rock Video as one of the twenty top video directors in the world. In 1988, Tripician produced, edited and co-directed with Merrill Aldighieri, The Kissing Booth, a documentary starring Quentin Crisp, among others. In 1989, he wrote, produced, edited and co-directed, again with Merrill Aldighieri, the mixed genre television movie Borders, starring Steve Buscemi and Robert Anton Wilson, and directed The Gun is Loaded, a short film written and performed by Lydia Lunch.

1990s – Metaphoria, Aliens and Ozark Melody with Jeff Buckley

In 1991, Tripician wrote, produced, edited and co-directed with Merrill Aldighieri the video documentary Metaphoria, which was awarded an Emmy Award for Best Documentary of Cultural Significance (1992). The same year, Metaphoria won awards at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Montreal International Film Festival, the Sinking Creek Film Festival, and the Cyber Arts Festival in Los Angeles.

In 1992, Tripician also edited several segments of the television news show The Wall Street Journal Report. In 1993, Tripician produced, edited and co-directed with Aldighieri the short film Motel Blue 19, adapted from the play by Edgar Oliver, and worked as co-director of graphics and animation of the Oscar-nominated documentary The War Room, directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker. In 1994, Tripician was nominated for the Intercultural Film/Video Fellowship in Media Arts by the Rockefeller Foundation. The following year, Tripician was the on-line editor of the awarded video documentary The Conspiracy of Silence, directed by Neal Marshad and Donna Olson. In 1997, Tripician's paperback book The Official Alien Abductee's Handbook was published by Andrews and McMeel. That book was the inspiration for Melodies for Abductees, a pop-music album which included the novelty song "Ozark Melody," composed by Tripician, Frederick Reed and American songwriter Jeff Buckley, who also sang and performed guitar and mandolin on it. Tripician also co-directed with Jakov Sedlar the feature documentary Tudjman, narrated by the American actor Martin Sheen and based on the biography of the Croatian president, Franjo Tudjman. Later that year, Tripician traveled to the Balkans, after being hired by the Croatian government to write Tudjman's official biography. The working title of that book was In Tito's Shadow. After granting Tripician editorial control of the book and receiving the complete manuscript, the content caused a controversy within the Tudjman government, and the book was summarily banned. In May 2002, Joe performed his one-man play Balkanized at Sunrise at Dixon Place Theater in New York City. The play was based on his 1997 trip to the Balkans. Joe subsequently published his story in a memoir of the same name.

In 1998, Joe co-founded the company iStreamTV in New York City, which provided streaming video services to a number of corporate clients. Tripician worked in that company to 2001.

Tripician's films and videos were exhibited in various galleries and museums, such as The Guggenheim Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and The New Museum of Contemporary Art, in New York; The Laforet Museum, in Tokyo, Japan; and The Museum of Modern Art, in Paris, France.

2000s – From Balkanized at Sunrise to Honeymoon in Oak Ridge

In 2002, Tripician wrote and performed a one-man show called Balkanized at Sunrise at the Dixon Place Theater in New York City, directed by Gigi van Deckter. Balkanized at Sunrise is also the title of his memoir published on Amazon in 2010, with a second edition published in 2016. Also in 2002, New Riders Press published a book about Macromedia entitled Flash MX Magic and written by Matthew David, Glenn Thomas, Joe Tripician, et al.

From 2007 to late 2008, Tripician worked as the Director of Broadband Services at Medialink Worldwide, the public communications firm whose clients included companies such as Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, General Motors, and Nokia.

In 2007, Tripician wrote, edited and directed the short video The Student, which premiered at the Big Apple Film Festival. In 2009, he wrote, edited and directed Kitchen Sink Stories, a three-part web series. In 2012, Tripician’s e-books My Night with Sarah Palin and Other Disturbing Stories (a collection of short stories) and Immortality Wars (a science fiction detective novel dealing with nanotechnology and the concept of singularity proposed by Ray Kurzweil) were published. In 2013, the e-book Joe Tripician – Obras Seleccionadas: Volumen 1 (Joe Tripician – Selected Works: Volume 1), was published. It included Spanish translations of short stories and song lyrics written by Tripician, who collaborated on the book. Argentine teacher, researcher, writer and musician Pablo Martin Aguero made the translations. That year, Tripician wrote, produced, edited and directed A Pizza Chegou (also known as Pizza Run), a short film filmed in São Paulo, Brazil. He also began development on Moto Anjos, an action crime feature film, to be filmed in São Paulo.

In 2016 Tripician began developing a feature film project titled Team Joy with Tony Award nominated actor Jesse Williams.

In 2021, Tripician won the monthly London International Screenwriting Competition in September for his script “President Zappa”. That year, his screenplay was also included in the “Hot 100 Winners” at the Capital Fund Screenplay Competition.  “President Zappa” is a comedic and dramatic biopic that imagines what would happen if the rockstar Frank Zappa ran for the U.S. Presidency and won. According to Tripician, “In the script, Frank discovers that he must bend his principles in order to win the Presidency so he can enact policies that benefit many people who are in need. However, he pays a price for his compromises and regrets doing them.”

In December 2023, Joe completed his documentary, "Honeymoon in Oak Ridge." The film follows Joe on a personal journey as he travels with his parents to Oak Ridge, Tennessee where they worked, unknowingly, to create the first atomic bombs. Interwoven with their journey are candid reflections from Tripician's wife and daughters, examining how the legacy of the Manhattan Project resonates across generations.  In 2024, the film won the Jury Award for Best Short Documentary at the Uranium International Film Festival. The film screened at various cities around the world including Asheville (TN), Chicago (IL), Las Vegas (NV), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Seville (Spain) and Berlin (Germany). “Honeymoon in Oak Ridge” is being distributed by Alexander Street and Docsville (Lightning International/Asia Satellite Telecommunications).

In 2024, Tripician was awarded one of the Top Ten Finalists at the 2024 Cinequest Film Festival for his dramatic Teleplay “Jenny Appleseed”.  The script is a contemporary story about a headstrong teen who has her life turned upside down when she tries to help someone who needs abortion pills in a state where they are illegal.

Personal life

In March 1999, Tripician married Cecilia Tripician. They live in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, with their daughters Helena and Olivia.

Influences

According to Tripician, he is influenced by writers such as Terry Southern, Elmore Leonard, Edgar Allan Poe, J.G. Ballard, Robert Anton Wilson and Philip K. Dick; and films such as Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb, Luis Buñuel's Belle de Jour and Carol Reed’s' The Third Man.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	For	Result
1984	Top 20 Music Video Directors Worldwide	Rolling Stone Book of Rock Video	Won
1991	Chicago International Film Festival	Metaphoria	Won
1991	The Montreal International Film Festival	Metaphoria	Won
1991	The Sinking Creek Film Festival	Metaphoria	Won
1991	Cyber Arts Festival Los Angeles	Metaphoria	Won
1992	Chicago/Midwest Emmy	Metaphoria	Won
2007	Big Apple Film Festival	The Student
2007	Nevada City Film Festival	The Student
2007	Dallas VideoFest	The Student
2014	Williamsburg International Film Festival	A Pizza Chegou (Pizza Run)
2014	El Ojo Cojo Film Festival	A Pizza Chegou (Pizza Run)
2014	Dallas VideoFest	A Pizza Chegou (Pizza Run)
2018	Dallas VideoFest	Meeting Carol
2021	London International Screenwriting Competition	President Zappa	Won
2021	Capital Fund Screenplay Competition	President Zappa	Won
2023	Shore Scripts Film Fund Spring	The Gringo in the Hammock	Won
2024	Cinequest Film Festival	Jenny Appleseed	Won
2024	Uranium Film Festival	Honeymoon in Oak Ridge	Won

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Memories of Duke	Editor
1980	Shrapnel Training Course	Writer/director
1988	The Kissing Booth	Producer/editor/co-director
1989	Borders	Writer/producer/editor/co-director
1980	The Gun is Loaded	Director
1991	Metaphoria	Writer/producer/editor/co-director
1991	The Wall Street Journal Report	Editor
1993	Motel Blue 19	Producer/editor/co-director
1993	The War Room	Director of graphics and animation
1995	The Conspiracy of Silence	On-line editor
1997	Tudjman	Co-director
1999	Marty: The Martin Scorsese Story	Actor
2007	The Student	Writer/producer/editor/director
2009	Kitchen Sink Stories	Writer/editor/director
2013	A Pizza Chegou (Pizza Run)	Writer/producer/editor/director
2018	Meeting Carol	Writer/producer/editor/director
2024	Honeymoon in Oak Ridge	Writer/producer/editor/director

Discography

Song

Year	Title	Notes
1997	Melodies for Abductees

Books

• 2016: Chats from Beyond: Stories to Amuse, Frighten and Disturb. Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC.
• 2016: Balkanized at Sunrise: A Memoir of A Reluctant Propagandist.
• 2013: Obras Seleccionadas: Volumen 1 (Joe Tripician – Selected Works: Volume 1).
• 2012: My Night with Sarah Palin and Other Disturbing Stories.
• 2012: Immortality Wars. Publisher: Smashwords Editions.
• 1997: The Official Alien Abductee's Handbook.