Joe Swanberg was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. He moved around quite a bit growing up, even spending two years on an island in the Pacific Ocean named Kwajalein. He studied film production at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he developed an interest in emerging video technology and the creative possibilities of the Internet. He became an avid web designer in school, and did this to make money while he financed his first film, Kissing on the Mouth (2005). He also worked for the Chicago International Film Festival as “Travel Coordinator,” though he had no formal experience with this prior to accepting the job.
His films include Kissing on the Mouth (2005), LOL (2006), Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), Nights and Weekends (2008) and Alexander the Last (2009). He is also responsible for the Nerve.com online series Young American Bodies and has made numerous shorts, most of which are available online. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as a film major, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in 2003. His work has attracted controversy for its graphic depictions of sex and on-screen nudity.
