Archer's first success was with his 2003 student produced short film, bobbycrush, about a young boy's unrequited love for his best friend.[citation needed] The film premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, received a Student Academy Award nomination that same year and inspired much of Archer's future work.[citation needed]
After being work-shopped at the 2005 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, Archer's first feature film, Wild Tigers I Have Known, premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be distributed theatrically in 2007 by IFC Films. The film follows 13-year-old Logan (Malcolm Stumpf), as he comes to terms with his sexual identity, the hell of middle school, wild mountain lions and life with his single mother (Fairuza Balk). Cinematographer and frequent Archer collaborator, Aaron Platt, received a 2007 Independent Spirit Award nomination for his work on the film. Gus Van Sant and Scott Rudin were executive producers on the project.
Archer's second feature film, Shit Year, premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, as part of their Directors' Fortnight program. The black and white film follows actress Colleen West (Ellen Barkin), as she is forced to reexamine her career, her psychological well being and a recent, failed romantic relationship. The film was released theatrically in the fall of 2011 and on home video in the fall of 2012.
In 2012, Archer was awarded a Creative Capital grant to develop a yet-to-be-released (as of 2016) feature-length documentary, tentatively entitled Practical Life.[citation needed]
