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Bradley Beesley

Bradley Beesley

Director, cinematographer and producer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bradley Beesley is an American independent film and video director, producer and cinematographer. He has long been associated with the alternative music band, The Flaming Lips. Beesley first worked with The Flaming Lips filming some promotional videos for the band's album Hit to Death in the Future Head.  Most of Beesley's video work with the band is included on the VOID video retrospective. Aside from his work with The Flaming Lips, Beesley has directed a number of award-winning documentaries. His first was 1999's "Hill Stomp Hollar", a one-hour film about the Fat Possum record label and many of the blues artists, particularly R. L. Burnside. Beesley's next film Okie Noodling (2001) focused on the unusual practice of catching catfish using only the bare hand as bait. It featured an original soundtrack by The Flaming Lips and won the Audience Choice Award and was runner-up for Best Documentary at the 2001 South by Southwest film festival. In 2005, Beesley released the documentary The Fearless Freaks: The Wondrously Improbable Story of The Flaming Lips. Critics said the film offered an unusually personal and intimate view into the band. The Flaming Lips also provided the soundtrack for the documentary that Beesley produced and co-directed, Summercamp!, which opened July 18, 2007. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bradley Beesley, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Director, cinematographer and producer
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 24% in 30 days

What are Bradley Beesley's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
42%
Self
23%
Ideas
12%
Bonds
9%
Morality
7%
Survival
7%
Community3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 5 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 0 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
4
Contemplative
4
Hopeful
2
Joyful
2
Thrilling
2
Other
6

How their films linger

Feel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet4
  • Ambiguous3
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bradley Beesley's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).

Subscription and free streaming for Bradley Beesley's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

21 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Claw(2021)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Fathers of Football(2018)

    Director · Executive Producer

  • Quaker Oaths (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Producer

  • The Verdigris: In Search of Will Rogers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Cinematographer

  • Calls to Okies: The Park Grubbs Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Road Kill Zoo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Loredana, Esq.(2014)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Jungle Fish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Producer

  • Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

  • Winnebago Man(2009)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Christmas on Mars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • The Creek Runs Red (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • The Flaming Lips: U.F.O's At The Zoo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Paranormal State(2007)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all shows

  • Storm Chasers(2007)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows

  • Summercamp!(2006)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Rollergirls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Show 14 episodes · Director

  • The Fearless Freaks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · as Narrator

  • Hermanas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Additional Director of Photography

  • Stan Ridgway's Holiday In Dirt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Okie Noodling(2001)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles from 2001 to 2018.

Biggest box office

Winnebago Man (2009)

$181K worldwide

Highest rated

Winnebago Man (2009)

Midcredits 84th

Most popular right now

Paranormal State (2007)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 17: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting12 of 17: 6 only directing, 6 with another roleWriting1 of 17: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing5 of 17: 2 only producing, 3 with another roleCinematography7 of 17: 3 only cinematography, 4 with another role

17 titles, 6 with more than one role — directing and cinematography overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

2000s9 · 1 acting · 9 crew2010s8 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Bradley Beesley's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of the 4 of 5 with a score; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 76th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

76thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

16thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · director

Paranormal State (2007)

92nd percentile spread · 36% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Winnebago Man (2009)

Midcredits 84th · 75% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bradley Beesley work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bradley Beesley's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; James D. Payne shares the most, 3.

Editors

Producers

Mixed roles