About Complex Corporation

Henry S. Rosenthal's COMPLEX CORPORATION, founded in 1988, is the most prolific production company for independent filmmakers in Northern California. Producing critically acclaimed and internationally renowned films for the past sixteen years, Complex Corporation is at the forefront of independent film production. Through the Filmmakers Services and Special Event Services divisions, Complex has collaborated on thousands of projects adding to the vitality of independent media.  

In the past 6 years alone, Rosenthal has offered his production/consultation services to over 4,000 features, shorts, documentaries, industrials, music videos, commercials, and educational films and videos. He has also taught classes and lectured in producing independent films at San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley Extension, the California College of Arts and Crafts, De Anza College, City College, Academy of Art College, Film Arts Foundation, and the San Francisco Art Institute. Rosenthal advocates independent filmmakers through his role as Chairman of the Board at the San Francisco Film Arts Foundation and through his consulting practice.

Please visit the Complex Corporation "Showcase" link to view a complete list of in-house productions.

Complex Corporation produced four of Jostâs most recognized films, beginning with the production of Jon Jost's Sure Fire in 1988, and including All the Vermeers in New York (1990), The Bed You Sleep In (1993), and Frameup (1993). Chosen for festivals throughout the world, Jost's work has been the focus of numerous retrospectives including one organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Rosenthal executive-produced The Living End, Gregg Arakiâs breakthrough feature in 1992. In 1994 Complex Corporation produced Jon Moritsugu's second feature film, Mod Fuck Explosion; Caveh Zahedi's I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore; and, branching out into other genres, the short film "The Beast" (1994), by Rhoderyc Charles Montgomery, that was the only film from the United States invited into the Main Competition for Shorts at the Cannes Film Festival that year. Complex Corporation also represents films, including Caveh Zahedi's first feature, A Little Stiff; and Begotten, the 1991 film from E. Elias Merhige which Time magazine's Richard Corliss listed as one of the ten best movies of the year (May 1991).

Complex Corporation co-produced the first Russian feature film to be shot entirely in America, called American Daughter from award-winning director Karen Shakhnazarov.

Complex Corporation produced with German filmmaker Monika Treut a short film "Casting" in the omnibus Danish Girls Show Everything. This film is part of a large collaborative series of films by world renowned filmmakers, funded by the Danish government, dealing with the often misunderstood image of Danish women in world media. Also last year, Complex Corporation produced its first music videos (Anti-Christ Superstar and Crypt Orchid), directed by E. Elias Merhige (Shadow of the Vampire, Suspect Zero) for shock rocker Marilyn Manson.

Complex Corporation collaborated on the first feature length film of San Francisco multimedia artist Lynn Hershman Leeson entitled Conceiving Ada, which stars Tilda Swinton, Karen Black, and the late Timothy Leary.

Films produced by Complex Corporation have participated in film festivals and been screened in theaters throughout the world, including: Cannes Film Festival; Sundance Film Festival; Sundance Producer's Conference; Berlin International Film Festival; Montreal World Film Festival; Telluride Film Festival; Toronto Festival of Festivals; New York Film Festival; Mill Valley Film Festival; Cinequest Film Festival, San Jose; Film Arts Foundation Festival, San Francisco; London International Film Festival; Festival d'Automne, Paris; Rotterdam Film Festival; Museum of Modern Art, New York; AFI Theater at the J.F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington; DC; UCLA Film and Television Archive; Los Angeles Independent Images Conference; Austin; Hong Kong International Film Festival; Baltimore Film Forum; Pesaro Film Festival, Italy; Jerusalem Film Festival; Sydney Film Festival; Melbourne Film Festival; Cineteca Portuguesa, Lisbon; Istanbul International Film Festival; AMC Kabuki Theater, San Francisco; Athens International Film Festival; IFF Karlovy Vary; Brisbane International Film Festival; San Francisco International Film Festival; Copenhagen Film Festival; Haifa International Film Festival; Titanic International Filmpresence Festival; Vancouver Film Festival; Reykjavik Arts Festival; Viennale; Thessaloniki Film Festival; Torino International Film Festival; Stockholm Film Festival; Ankara International Film Festival; Hong Kong International Film Festival; Singapore International Film Festival; Three Rivers Film Festival, Pittsburg; Bergamo Film Festival; Bogota Film Festival; Braunschweig Film Festival; Cairo Film Festival; Cleveland Film Festival; Denver Film Festival; Dunkerque Film Festival; Espoo Film Festival, Finland; Zenix Film Festival, Switzerland; Milano Film Festival; Equinox Film Festival, Phoenix; Pia Film Festival, Japan; Riga, Latvia; Raindance, London; Rio Film Festival; Taipei Film Festival; American Cinematheque and many others.

In video, Complex Corporation has underwritten the release of The Emperor's Nightingale, the Czech stop-action animation interpretation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale by master Jir’ Trnka and narrated by Boris Karloff.

Complex Corporation distributes its films through sales agents, gaining theatrical, television, cable, and satellite markets in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, Portugal, Israel, Poland, Austria, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iran, Israel, Turkey, and many other territories.

In addition to leading Complex Corporation in the field of independent film, Rosenthal continues working hands-on in film, video, and music, including producing Bruce Conner's feature-length music documentary, The Soul Stirrers: By and By. He co-founded Other Music, an experimental music ensemble performing in Just Intonation, forecasted to tour this Spring, and is continually involved in a wide variety of projects that awaken the senses and surprise the intellect.