Born and raised in Miami, Florida. After completing an undergraduate degree majoring in both English Literature and Architecture at Columbia University, he entered the Graduate Film School and studied directing under Martin Scorsese (from whom he received honors) and Brian De Palma (from whom he received an "F"). Has worked as a musician, a film editor, a studio recording engineer, a film instructor at Columbia, UCLA, and USC, a groom at Calder Racetrack, and a plasterer. (He funded his thesis student film plastering renovated brownstones in Brooklyn.) He studied editing with Ralph Rosenblum, and acting with Brad Dourif. He was named Best Independent Director of the Year at the Hamptons International Film Festival for his critically acclaimed film The Desperate Trail (1994), which he wrote and directed. Received a Special Grand Jury Award for his short film The Afterlife of Grandpa (1989) at the Houston International Film Festival, and Young Filmmaker of the Year from the Edinburgh Film Festival. He is the recipient of Grey Advertising's Student Filmmaker Award and a Presidential Fellowship from Columbia University's School of the Arts.