Christopher Renz
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Christopher Renz is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Since 2012, he has collaborated with husband Gerard Bush via the directing/screenwriting duo Bush Renz, whose work includes the 2020 Lionsgate film Antebellum – featured in Variety’s top 10 films of 2020[1] – the upcoming HBO Max TV Series Inkwell, and the documentary All Deliberate Speed.[2]
Bush Renz were named "Hollywood’s new power directing duo" by The Hollywood Reporter,[3] and also appeared on the Out100 2020 list of the most influential LGBTQ+ people in America.[4]
Bush Renz collaborated with Harry Belafonte in 2016 to produce a PSA about police brutality entitled "Against the Wall".[5] The work starred Michael B. Jordan, Michael K. Williams, and Danny Glover. In 2017, they wrote and directed a short film for the song "Kill Jay Z", from Jay Z’s album 4:44,[6] followed by a music short for Maxwell ("The Glass House") and music videos for Khalid and Normani.
In 2020, Bush Renz released their first feature-length work, the high-concept horror thriller film Antebellum. Starring Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, and Gabourey Sidibe, Antebellum follows a 21st Century African-American woman who mysteriously finds herself in a Southern slave plantation. In an NPR interview, Renz said of the film, "we feel that horror is a great way in for general audiences who may not . . . normally receive a message like this. So we kind of want to hide the medicine inside this - what seems to be a horror film so that you walk away a different person."[7]
Antebellum received a polarized response upon release. David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote, "An artful and provocative movie about the enduring horror of America's original sin, Antebellum can't follow through on its own concept."[8] Conversely, Out called Antebellum one of the year's most innovative films,[9] while Peter Debruge of Variety called the film a "wickedly effective horror-movie metaphor for white supremacy’s enduring grip on American society," and included it on his list of the ten best films of 2020.[10]
Projects in development include an HBO Max TV drama series entitled Inkwell,[11] and a second feature film called Rapture.[12]