Entries tagged with “Independent Film” from Rooftop Films Blog
I've been asked by IndieWire, the Tribeca Film Festival and the SoHo Apple Store to moderate a discussion with actor-turned-short filmmaker Matthew Modine. Along with his successful acting career, Matthew has now moved behind the lens and directed four very different short films. We'll be screening his latest film, I Think I Thought, a 2008 Tribeca selection, as well as clips from his other films, and discussing his work as a director-writer-actor, his experience as a festival juror, the art of the short film, and more. Come join us.Sun., May 4, 5:30 - 6:30pm
Matthew Modine in conversation with
Mark Elijah Rosenberg (RF Artistic Director)
@ Apple Store SoHo
103 Prince St., NYC
FREE
Rooftop Films & Court 13 present
"Glory at Sea!"
As a fundraiser for injured director Benh Zeitlin
Sat., April 26, 10:30pm
Walter Reade Theater
at Lincoln Center, NYC
SOLD OUT!
We raised over $5,000!
"Glory at Sea!" will be screening at Rooftop Films' 2008 Summer Series on June 12. So if you haven't already, join our email list (left) to receive updates about the schedule.
Tremendous thanks to everyone who bought tickets!
If you can't make it to the screening, you can still support the cause by going to www.court13.com and clicking DONATE.
* * *
In 2005, the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund awarded a grant to Benh Zeitlin and Court 13 Pictures for their 25-minute film "Glory at Sea," an inspiring and astonishing epic re-telling of the Orpheus myth, set in post-Katrina New Orleans. You can read about the film here.
Unfortunately, while on the way to the premiere of the film at SXSW, a driver (without car insurance) rear-ended the vehicle Benh was in, putting Benh in bed for the next several months with a dislocated hip, a shattered pelvis and two sprained ankles.
Not having health insurance at the time of the accident, Benh and the future of Court 13 are in dire financial trouble, and we are reaching out to the community for financial support. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go toward the arduous and expensive process of getting Benh walking, and soon charging toward making another epic down in New Orleans, this time a feature film.
On Saturday, April 26, we will host the New York Premiere of this amazing film, and also screen the world premiere of Benh's adorable short film, "I Get Wet." Tickets are pay what you can at a set, sliding scale (there's no difference in seating or other options, you just choose to donate more or less). If you would like to make a larger donation, or if you can't make it, but would like to donate, please visit www.court13.com and click DONATE.
If you want to support the cause but do NOT plan to attend, please do NOT buy a ticket. Make a donation through the link above so we can save that seat for someone who can come.
"GLORY AT SEA" Fundraiser
Saturday, April 26, 10:30pm
at The Walter Reade Theater
at Lincoln Center
North side of West 65th St.,
btwn. Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, one flight up on the upper level.
Buy Tickets -- SOLD OUT!
And don't just take our word for it that the film is amazing. It won the Wholphin Award for best short film at SXSW, and the following people have all written glowingly about it:
+ Michael Tully at Hammer to Nail & IndieWire
+ Spencer Parsons at Austin Chronicle
+ David Lowery at Spout Blog
Come see an amazing film, and help an artist in need!
New York Underground Film FestivalApril 2-8, 2008
@ Anthology Film Archives
www.nyuff.com
Tickets
March 27 @ 9:45pm
Selections from the 2007 NYUFF
@ IFC Center
Tickets
The New York Underground Film Festival, a venerable anti-establishmentarian institution, the godfather of all "Underground" film festivals, will be hosting its 15th and Final installation in April, and then doing what any good punk rocker should do: dying young and . . . re-establishing itself as year-round programming consortium called "Migrating Forms."
The NYUFF has always been a haven for strange and beautiful, shocking and revealing avant garde cinema, and is definitely a big inspiration for Rooftop. I'll certainly be out for many screenings, including films by the following Rooftop alums: Jim Finn, Jacqueline Goss, Patrick Jolley, Jeanne Liotta, Jennifer Matotek, Seth Price, Robert Todd, Keith Wilson, Bryan Boyce, Lyn Elliot, Kent Lambert, Darrin Martin, Eileen Maxson, Kelly Oliver, Keary Rosen, Shelly Silver, Jim Trainor, Cory Arcangel, Skizz Cyzyk, Joe Nanashe, Moira Tierney, and Aaron Valdez (film pictured).
Check back here to the Rooftop Films blog for some write-ups and reviews of films, and I hope to see you there!
Last night I attended the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors, co-chaired by AJ Schnack and Thom Powers, produced by Danielle DiGiacomo, and presented by IndiePix at the IFC Center. I have never been a big fan of awards for art. I'm a big sports fan, and a competitive person, but I don't judge success in anything based on being first, or on winning an award (or an Honor, or whatever you want to call it.) I play on an amateur baseball team, and I want to win. But if winning were the only goal, I would've long since stopped playing, knowing that I'll never win the ultimate prize, a Major League World Series. I root for the Mets because, at least in my idealized conception of the team, the organization doesn't consider every season a failure if they don't win the championship. There are great playoff streaks, memorable games, astonishing plays, and touching personal stories, even in a losing season. (My Mets fandom could be its own blog, so I'll wrap this up by saying,) I appreciate sports in a manner more like the way many people appreciate art: I enjoy the aesthetics, the excitement, the emotion, and the narrative, and the end result is equally powerful whether it makes me happy or sad, so long as I am moved.
So the idea of awards for art seems to me somehow antithetical to the point of art; an award is an artificial high which doesn't stem from the work itself, but instead is bestowed upon the film in relation to other films. I had usually passed on the opportunity to vote in awards, even declining to submit a ballot for audience choice awards at festivals.
That said, when Sundance asked me to be on the jury in 2007, it took about half a second for me to say yes. So I had to ask myself if I was being a hypocrite. And in the end I came to the conclusion that has been arrived at by most thoughtful people who are in favor of awards for art: by giving awards to certain deserving works, you raise the level of attention for the form. As Thom Powers wrote in his introduction to the Cinema Eye Honors, "We don't expect you to agree with all our choices. Rather we hope this will be an occasion for increased debate and discussion." When I agreed to be on the jury at Sundance, I figured I could help out the types of groundbreaking, personal cinema that I think deserves more attention that it gets, even coming out of Sundance. And, of course, I was excited at the possibility of representing Rooftop Films, and raising the profile for the work that all of our programmers past and present (Joshua Breitbart, Moira Griffin, Dan Nuxoll, Sarah Palmer, Genevieve DeLaurier) believe in, fight for, want to see more of, and want to share. Before and at the Cinema Eye Honors, there was some grumbling about the eligibility criteria, which (in short) limit the possible nominees to films that have played at major festivals, won awards at major festivals, or been seen by a certain number of people in theaters. There's a sense that these are the films that have already garnered some acclaim and audiences, even to the point of reaching wide national release and Academy Award recognition. I understand the feeling, because in a room full of avid festival watchers, these are the films we've heard about over and over.
But let's keep in mind the broader picture of audience awareness. By my estimation, via Box Office Mojo, no film nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking (the equivalent of Best Picture), was seen by more than 150,000 people--less than the number of people living within three square miles of the IFC Center. Tony Kaye's abortion documentary "Lake of Fire" was perhaps seen by 3,000 people--about as many people as saw "Juno" on any given screen on any given day in the first week of its 104 day, 2,534 theater release. Correct me if my numbers are wrong (I'll admit I'm not an expert at box office stats), but outside the independent film community, these films have not been widely seen or recognized.
So these awards are certainly needed, and it's impressive what the Cinema Eye team has accomplished in such a short time. If they have the energy to do it again--and I hope they do--I think in order to gain wider relevance to the mainstream public, while also entertaining and informing Cinema Eye's core audience of indie film professionals, there are a couple of ways they might work to expand.
IndiePix and IFC have done a commendable job in supporting these awards, but jointly the Cinema Eye group could actively work to get a wider release for the films. The trick here would be getting distributors to believe that the Cinema Eye Honor would help a theatrical run. That's no mean feat, but I think it's a necessary and worthy goal in order to keep the awards from devolving into hermetic self-congratulation.
As for keeping this hermetic community happy, I think the eligibility should be expanded to include at least one category for the best film that didn't play at multiple fests, didn't win awards, and didn't get a theatrical release--essentially just reverse all the eligibility requirements for what they could call the Underexposed Award. It's more work for the nominators, but by finding the films that not even most industry insiders have seen, the Cinema Eye Honors could launch awareness for a truly marginalized film.
As an awards ceremony itself, the event was slick but homey, weighty when it needed to be but generally lighthearted, informative but not ponderous. I particularly loved the mid-ceremony discussion group, which featured the fierce insights of Esther B. Robinson and the goofy dynamism of Jason Kohn. Still, the structure and format felt like just about every other awards ceremony, which is a disappointment for an event that is celebrating narrative craft. Of course, coming from Rooftop Films--where for 12 years we've been trying to stage new ways of presenting films--I would level such a criticism, but I think if the Cinema Eye Honors want to want to break some boundaries and maintain this level of interest in the event itself, in the coming years they would do well to try to stretch the format of their show, much they way the artists they are honoring are challenging the formats of non-fiction filmmaking. I think when the dance floor clears at the after-party and the dust settles back onto Thom's tux, the Cinema Eye Honors will have succeeded in generating some more attention for some artful and deserving documentaries. I hope that some of the more mainstream press picks up on the awards and brings the spirit of the event, and the films themselves, to a wider audience.
At Rooftop Films, I think we'll proudly stick to a non-competitive model, instead giving away grants for filmmakers' future productions. But I'm glad that the Cinema Eye Awards exist, and send a huge congratulations to AJ, Thom, Danielle, all the nominators and voters, and of course to all the filmmakers who have made these wonderful films, so deserving of attention.
* * * * *
For a rundown of the event, visit IndieWire. Here is their complete list of Cinema Eye winners:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking
"Manda Bala (Send A Bullet)"
Director - Jason Kohn, Producers - Joey Frank, Jared Goldman & Jason Kohn
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Alex Gibney
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks
"Ghosts of Cite Soleil"
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Heloisa Passos
"Manda Bala (Send A Bullet)"
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
"Manda Bala (Send A Bullet)"
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation
Animation by Curious Pictures
"Chicago 10"
Outstanding International Feature
"The Monastery - Mr. Vig & The Nun" (above, middle)
Director - Pernille Rose Gronkjaer, Producer - Sigrid Dyekjaer
Outstanding Achievement in Debut Feature
"Billy the Kid" (above, top)
Director - Jennifer Venditti
Audience Choice Prize
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" (above, bottom)
Director - Seth Gordon
A quick update in the ongoing saga of Benh Zeitlin and "Glory at Sea!" You can read the backstory here, here, and here. Very nice posts were also written by The Austin Chronicle, Slamdance, and Spout.
As I wrote earlier, Benh was unable to make it to very much at the festival, because of his car accident. But he did make it to the final screening of his film, and told me "I started weeping about 10 minutes into the film and didn't really stop, barely managed to answer any questions afterwards so the crew came up and filled in for me. It was a real release, a great feeling of closure on all this insanity and trauma."
Benh is now back in New York, and would still love it if any SXSW filmmakers wanted to send DVDs of their films for him to see, because he wasn't able to make the rounds at the festival. Please address them to:
Benh Zeitlin
43 South Calumet
Hastings NY 10706
News about Benh's insurance needs and a possible benefit screening are still to come. Stay tuned here.
Late last night, after jumping from IFC's My Morning Jacket / Yo La Tengo concert to the wide-open SXSW Closing Night party and finally onto Joel Heller's birthday, I wound up at the Magnolia diner, eating scrambled eggs and discussing scrambled documentaries. I was there with Dan Nuxoll from Rooftop, Joel, and Alex Karpovsky and Eric Bruggermann, the director and editor, respectively, of "The Hole Story" and 2008 SXSW selection "Woodpecker." I brought up the fascinating dialogue about the distinctions of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking that I had heard surrounding some of the films here at SXSW, including Alex's film(s), Daniel Stamm's "A Necessary Death," and even films as different as Nanette Burstein's "American Teen," Morgan Spurlock's "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" and Josh Safdie's "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," where categorical definitions would appear pretty straightforward. We'd heard a rumor that when "A Necessary Death" played one European festival, it was in the documentary section, and the crowd was incensed.
Why is it that people get so mad about films that blur these distinctions or even deliberately mislead the audience? Do these distinctions matter? And if so, how should we be defining these films?
[To read this entire article, please click here.]
Like the film itself, this story has (in its own way) a happy ending. As you probably read in my other posts below, Benh Zeitlin--the director of "Glory at Sea," a miraculous short film that Rooftop co-funded--was in a brutal car accident the day of his first screening at SXSW. He's doing much better now, with his metal hip, painkillers, and tremendous set of friends and supporters. Contrary to a popular rumor, the infamous welder-turned-actor who plays Sergeant Major in the film, Jimmy Lee Moore, did NOT perform Benh's operation.
Although Benh wasn't able to attend the first two screenings of his film, he may actually be able to get to the Friday March 14 show at 2:30pm (so go join him if you can for what promises to be a very emotional screening). And so, laid up in a hospital bed, the festival has come to him.
Many filmmakers sent along copies of their films so Benh could watch them in his hospital bed (holding his laptop inches from his face as he awaits new eyeglasses to replace the ones lost in the car). Many more people cheered on the film and sent their well wishes. I know Benh would like to pass on his thanks to all of you.
And last night, "Glory at Sea" took home the SXSW Wolphin Award for Best Short Film.
Brent Hoff and Emily Doe from Wholphin, the excellent DVD magazine that is part of the beneficient McSweeney's empire, presented the award to "Glory" producers Josh Penn, Dan Janvey, and Par Parekh. Fittingly for such a funky, underwater film, and for a DVD zine named for a cross between a whale and a dolphin, the award itself was a pinky-sized vial containing a tiny squid, found some 6,000 feet beneath the sea by an official Wolphin oceanographer. Immediately following the awards ceremony, I went with about 20 people to visit Benh and celebrate. He was moved and delighted and proud, and really loving the symbolism of this tiny dead creature pulled from the depths of the sea.
Facts about the accident, car insurance and medical bills are still sketchy, but plans for celebration / benefit screenings in Austin and New York are in the works.
Is Barry Jenkins' "Medicine for Melancholy" the first African-American "Mumblecore" movie? Hell yeah! And, uh, maybe not.
Jenkins' engaging and entertaining low-budget love story certainly fits many of Mumblecore's thematic ideas, and premiered at SXSW, the cauldron that supposedly brewed the movement. The film takes place over the course of one dreamy day, from the time when a man and a woman wake up next to each other in a strange bed, hungover in the hazy dawn after a party, through the waxing and waning stages of a burgeoning relationship, and into the second night of their one night stand. As with most of the affirmed Mumblecore canon, the characters are most comfortable flirtatiously talking about themselves and their relationships, about indie art and pop culture, but the greater issues of social anxiety and political awareness occasionally intercede in a way that is natural and revealing.
Tracey Heggins plays the guilt-ridden woman, and she perfectly offsets her inscrutable and somewhat stand-offish attitude with just enough charm and savvy to justify Wyatt Cenac's dogged pursuit of her. Cenac, a stand-up comic in his first acting role, is a screen natural with a uncanny ability to captivate with a mix of clever wit, shy deflections and downright adorable gestures. In one delightful scene that stands as a microcosmic representation of the entire film, Cenac insinuates his way into her apartment and beguiles her into letting him stay a bit. I won't bother to describe the details of the scene, because the intangibles which the two characters express far outweigh the basic narrative, but the conversation sparkles along, touching on joblessness, rent, fidelity, desire, guilt, race, perception, showers, and stolen art, finally concluding in a Mr. Rogers song and the creation of doodle masterwork sketched in Sharpie and laden with racial overtones. You're in love with these characters by the end of this scene, and ready to ride through the day with them empathizing with everything they feel.
In addition to highlighting Jenkins' ability to craft believable and meaningful dialogue and shape realistic and engaging characters, the sequence also demonstrates his subtle cinematic skill. When Heggins goes to take a shower, Cenac meanders through her apartment, snooping here and there. Opening one door, the sound of the shower suddenly becomes ever so slightly louder, and there's a breathless and exciting moment of anticipation when we wonder along with him if he should go in with her. I won't even tell you what his decision is, but it's telling.
Unlike many Mumblecore films, Jenkins has shot the film with an obvious "look," with most of the color desaturated. It's a foggy look which is not only a resonant depiction of San Francisco, but also evokes the hazy, hungover, timeless feeling of their Sunday afternoon extended one-night stand. Jenkins mentioned in the Q & A that Karina Longworth of Spout had even conjectured that the film is 93% desaturated to reflect the racial makeup of the city, which is explicitly mentioned in the dialogue. Although Jenkins denied that this was explicitly the case, he liked the idea, and the way visual tropes and simple dialogue evoke the deeper political themes of race, class, and gentrification is another exceptional aspect of "Medicine for Melancholy."
In theme and attitude, the film fits the Mumblecore moniker, though it's clearly not a "Mumblecorps" movie, because it doesn't star any of the Swanberg/Gerwig coterie. But I think it's interesting and important to attempt to decipher if this is a Mumblecore film. One of the criticisms of the movement is that it's dominated by apolitical white males; so, first of all, by calling "Melancholy" Mumblecore, I think you expand the genre for the better, moving it forward and keeping it relevant. The point of defining such genres is to give viewers a context with which to interpret and evaluate films, and by defining the work by content instead of cast, you encourage the audience to weigh the emotional and intellectual evocations against other similar films. Some might say that categories are limiting, but I think they provide context and inspire dialogue.
Barry Jenkins may not have been inspired by or aspiring to Mumblecore, but "Medicine for Melancholy" has successfully embraced the best of the movement, and he's made a wonderful independent film which anyone should love.
GO SEE "GLORY AT SEA!"
A few days ago, I posted below about "Glory at Sea!" a short film directed by Benh Zeitlin of Court 13 Productions. It's a movie that Rooftop Films partially funded, and which is an amazing, uplifting, collaborative project, a mythical narrative about a community (set in post-Katrina New Orleans) coming together to build a raft to join their loved ones after a fatal flood. Please take a moment to read what I wrote when I attended the cast and crew screening in New Orleans last week:
www.rooftopfilms.com/blog/2008/03/bleeding-rust-glory-at-sea-in.html
On the way to his SXSW premiere, Benh's car was rear-ended at a stoplight. Benh has shattered his hip and broken his pelvis. Three other people in the car with him also had minor injuries. Benh was in surgery all day, and it appears that he will recover. I visited him in the hospital and his spirits are remarkably high, but he's facing a long, painful, expensive recovery process. And he could use your help.
There are a few things you could do, if you're a friend, a supporter, a SXSW filmmaker.
+ SEE THE FILM!
+ SIGN THE FILM GUESTBOOK
+ SEND A DVD OF YOUR FILM
+ DONATE TO HELP COVER HIS MEDICAL EXPENSES
SEE THE FILM
I was hyping this film long before Benh's accident, but now more than ever go see his truly inspiring and uplifting film. Michael Tully, who writes for IndieWire and Hammer to Nail, saw the film and said he wanted to stand up and shout hallelujah. You'll feel the same, and the rest of the cast and crew will really appreciate your support. "Glory at Sea!" screens: Shorts Program 3
Tuesday, March 11, 12pm, Alamo Lamar 2
& Friday, March 14, 2:30pm, Alamo Lamar 2
There are so many amazing, inspiring films here at SXSW, and this is such a supportive community, I have no doubt that the outpouring of kindness will be tremendous.
SIGN THE GUESTBOOK
We'll have a guest book at the screening so that Benh can receive some of the feedback he'll be missing by not being there. Please take a moment to tell him your thoughts about the film.
If you already saw the film, or can't make a screening, you can also send an email to Benh at <benh AT court13 DOT com>.
SEND YOUR FILM
One of the unfortunate results of this accident is that Benh, who has made such a beautifully collaborative project, is sadly missing the festival experience here at SXSW. (The SXSW staff has been very supportive, but of course there's nothing to be done to get him out of the hospital right now.) He would love to see films and meet people. On top of that, he's going to be laid up in a hospital bed with no entertainment for some time. We're asking that SXSW filmmakers please donate a DVD of your film to Benh.
We understand of course that some of you may not be comfortable having DVDs of your film floating around at this time, so if you can't lend a DVD, that's okay. But if you don't mind passing on a copy of the film to a trusted filmmaker, it would be a sweet gesture. You can drop off your film:
Convention Center
(near the screening room)
Tuesday, March 11, 4-6pm
I along with some of the crew from the film will be hanging out at at a table, so drop by and donate a DVD to Benh. (We'll try to set up a small sign. Otherwise look for me, a guy with a shaved head. And I'll wear a colorful tie.) Other forms of entertainment, support, get well cards, etc., are also welcome. If you can't come then, drop me a line at mark AT rooftopfilms DOT com and we'll try to arrange something else.
DONATE
Benh does not have health insurance and is facing tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills and lost income while he's laid up. It may be that the car insurance will cover his expenses, but unfortunately, it's not clear if that's the case (issues surrounding the driver of the other vehicle are sketchy). I will keep you posted if and when financial support becomes necessary (and promise not to send a glut of emails). You can check www.rooftopfilms.com/blog and www.court13.com for updates. I know that Rooftop, SXSW and others are also discussing benefit screenings, so stay tuned.
Thank you all in advance for your support. I know that Court 13 and Rooftop Films and SXSW have a really strong community here and that we'll be able to support a filmmaker and a friend in need.
The pleasure of "The Pleasure of Being Robbed" is the joy of discovering a bag full of kittens (and watching them playfully flip through the air); the bliss of an unexpected overnight road trip with a friend; the warmth of a frolic with a polar bear. Josh Safdie's film is filled with a carefree awkwardness, a lightness of touch with melancholy and humor, and a whole host of unexpected stolen delights. I am a big fan of Josh's short film "The Back of Her Head," which we screened at Rooftop in August of 2007, and his debut feature carries the emotions, ideas and spirit of his short films to a brilliant pinnacle. The film follows a young lady as she drifts through life with the naïve charm of curious puppy, who takes whatever she wants, and with the detachment of an adorable kitten, who cares not a fig what you think of her. But Eleonore is neither greedy nor simple. She is constantly stealing, but does so exuding a joy in sharing objects, stories, lives. She steals with a hug, with a shared joke, with a helping hand. The real world does intrude on her beatific kleptomania, and one doesn't get the sense that people do always understand and appreciate what she does, but as the description of the film says, the people from whom she steals "owe her their thanks."
Certainly we all owe a tremendous thanks to Safdie, actress Eleonore Hendricks, and the entire crew of the utterly dazzling Red Bucket Films team for creating this magical piece of cinema.Amazingly, the film itself was somewhat stolen. The filmmakers had been commissioned to make a commercial, but instead used the money to make this gorgeous film, reminiscent of the best of the free-wheeling late-60s / early-70s American cinema.
When asked at the World Premiere Q & A why Josh was so interested in the idea of stealing, Safdie compared the feeling he got when he would steal as a kid to that of being in love, and being compelled to do irrational, illicit things for your lover. Might the creation of this character be seen as celebrating mental illness, one viewer asked. "Well, if mental illness is doing whatever you want all the time, then yes, I'll celebrate that."
In a certain way, this entire review is a spoiler, so if you don't want to know too much, skip my writings and go see the film. Herein, I don't really tell you the plot--an exciting and gripping drama--but I do get at the essence of the film. I highly recommend it.
In Daniel Stamm's "A Necessary Death," we see a young film student known for taking wild risks as a filmmaker wants to make a documentary about someone who plans to commit suicide. His friends think it's a crazy idea, and while some of them agree to help, his roommate decides to document the making of the documentary. They post an ad online, interview some suicidal candidates, and finally settle on a young man with a terminal brain tumor who wants to kill himself before he has to suffer. The nature of the filmmaking process, and a series of manipulations, romances, and discoveries, lead the film in a taut and tragic trajectory.
At the SXSW premiere, after the screening, the audience gasped at the sight of the supposedly dead actors. The director of the film asked for a show of hands as to how many people thought it was a documentary through to the end, and fully half the crowd raised their hands. But it's not a documentary. It's a brilliantly executed work of fiction.
At the Q & A, one woman walked out 2/3rds of the way through, but came back at the end to discuss the film. She had believed it was a documentary, and was too disturbed to watch, but raised the question about filmmaking and audience complicity in this "death." Even if it turns out to be a narrative, what does it say about our society if we want to watch something like this?
My first reaction to that is, how is it different from watching a film about a war, or about someone dying of a disease? Presumably, death in those circumstances is completely inevitable and out of the filmmakers' control. In the rare circumstances when a filmmaker has a chance to save a life, they probably usually do put down the camera. But it's never just that simple. For example, what if a filmmaker in a war knows that someone is injured, but continues to film something else rather than helping, because to help would mean to stop filming?
I believe that most of the filmmakers whose films play at Rooftop and SXSW and similar festivals truly do want to help their subjects and the causes they stand for. They want to tell the story so that audience members can engage with the issue. If they stop filming, the one person may be sacrificed, but the larger issue of the film will carry on, eventually (so the hope goes) saving many people.
That was my initial reaction--an idealistic and utilitarian one. But frankly it didn't sit right with me. It felt morally thin. Talking to my extremely kind-hearted girlfriend Stephanie Skaff and to filmmaker/Docs That Inspire-writer Joel Heller about the topic, they expressed what I think is the key to the issue: a filmmaker who genuinely cares about his subjects wouldn't allow themselves to simply watch, and not interfere in order to save a life or help an individual. Of course, in every situation, the filmmaker has to make careful distinctions and choices, but I think one can probably draw a close link between the lasting humanity of a given film and the ability of that filmmaker to make the "right" choice as to when to interfere and when to keep rolling.
That still leaves the complicated issue of suicide, and this non-documentary "A Necessary Death." Personally, I think if I was working on a documentary about a potential suicide, the goal of the film would be to work through the issue of suicide and to engage audience members in a dialogue which could eventually help people. So I would try to help the person work through their issues, see if there was a solution before death, assist them in making the best choice for themselves. And if suicide were still the choice, I'd be willing to roll the camera.
"A Necessary Death" I think succeeds in raising and addressing the issues of the role of the documentarian, the viewer, and all witnesses and friends. In the film, the tragedy is not the suicide, but the fact that clearly the friends and documentarian have not done enough to engage and help, letting a man kill himself when he was not in fact at peace with that choice.
At least that's my take on this very thought-provoking film. If you get a chance, check it out so we can talk more.
In Daniel Stamm's "A Necessary Death," we see a young film student known for taking wild risks as a filmmaker wants to make a documentary about someone who plans to commit suicide. His friends think it's a crazy idea, and while some of them agree to help, his roommate decides to document the making of the documentary. They post an ad online, interview some suicidal candidates, and finally settle on a young man with a terminal brain tumor who wants to kill himself before he has to suffer. The nature of the filmmaking process, and a series of manipulations, romances, and discoveries, lead the film in a taut and tragic trajectory.
At the SXSW premiere, after the screening, the audience gasped at the sight of the supposedly dead actors. The director of the film asked for a show of hands as to how many people thought it was a documentary through to the end, and fully half the crowd raised their hands. But it's not a documentary. It's a brilliantly executed work of fiction.
At the Q & A, one woman walked out 2/3rds of the way through, but came back at the end to discuss the film. She had believed it was a documentary, and was too disturbed to watch, but raised the question about filmmaking and audience complicity in this "death." Even if it turns out to be a narrative, what does it say about our society if we want to watch something like this? My first reaction to that is, how is it different from watching a film about a war, or about someone dying of a disease? Presumably, death in those circumstances is completely inevitable and out of the filmmakers' control. In the rare circumstances when a filmmaker has a chance to save a life, they probably usually do put down the camera. But it's never just that simple. For example, what if a filmmaker in a war knows that someone is injured, but continues to film something else rather than helping, because to help would mean to stop filming?
I believe that most of the filmmakers whose films play at Rooftop and SXSW and similar festivals truly do want to help their subjects and the causes they stand for. They want to tell the story so that audience members can engage with the issue. If they stop filming, the one person may be sacrificed, but the larger issue of the film will carry on, eventually (so the hope goes) saving many people.
That was my initial reaction--an idealistic and utilitarian one. But frankly it didn't sit right with me. It felt morally thin. Talking to my extremely kind-hearted girlfriend Stephanie Skaff and to filmmaker/Docs That Inspire-writer Joel Heller about the topic, they expressed what I think is the key to the issue: a filmmaker who genuinely cares about his subjects wouldn't allow themselves to simply watch, and not interfere in order to save a life or help an individual. Of course, in every situation, the filmmaker has to make careful distinctions and choices, but I think one can probably draw a close link between the lasting humanity of a given film and the ability of that filmmaker to make the "right" choice as to when to interfere and when to keep rolling.
That still leaves the complicated issue of suicide, and this non-documentary "A Necessary Death." Personally, I think if I was working on a documentary about a potential suicide, the goal of the film would be to work through the issue of suicide and to engage audience members in a dialogue which could eventually help people. So I would try to help the person work through their issues, see if there was a solution before death, assist them in making the best choice for themselves. And if suicide were still the choice, I'd be willing to roll the camera.
"A Necessary Death" I think succeeds in raising and addressing the issues of the role of the documentarian, the viewer, and all witnesses and friends. In the film, the tragedy is not the suicide, but the fact that clearly the friends and documentarian have not done enough to engage and help, letting a man kill himself when he was not in fact at peace with that choice.
At least that's my take on this very thought-provoking film. If you get a chance, check it out so we can talk more.
Carroll Pickett was a minister in Huntsville, TX--a place best known for its many prisons and high number of executions--when two of his parishioners were taken hostage in an infamous prison riot in 1974. He was called in to try to broker peace, but his friends were eventually killed, and Pickett vowed to never return to that prison. But years later, the prison asked him to become the chaplain, and he thought he could do some valuable work for the people there. Indeed he did, until suddenly his job description changed, and he was asked to be the minister presiding over executions. He would spend all day with the condemned, getting to know them, listening to their fears, concerns and confessions, and aiding any of their last wishes. Pickett agreed in principal with the death penalty, but he certainly had trepidation about the burden of task.
Over 15 years, he was at 95 executions, each a fascinating story. And over those years, Pickett's opinion of the death penalty changed completely.
"At the Death House Door," directed by Steve James and Peter Glibert, is a gripping, fascinating, powerful film about Pickett, about a wrongly-executed man named Carlos De Luna and his family, and about the tragic moral mistake that is the death penalty. Pickett's character unfolds with a stately grace. Being a old-fashioned Texan, he's reluctant to reveal his emotions, a trait which only makes them burn with more ferocity as you see them shine through. In the Q & A, he was asked why it took him so long to come to the conclusions he did, he said that he's "just hard-headed." But in the film, you see an amazing evolution of a man's feelings and ideology, a rare and stunning transformation to see in a documentary, or really in life in general (aren't we all pretty stubborn in our beliefs?)
After every execution, Pickett recorded an audio diary of what happened and what he was thinking and feeling. Until the documentary, not even his family knew these tapes existed, and watching Picket re-listening to them in the film is one of the most harrowing looks into man's soul that I've ever seen.
Finally, the execution of Hector De Luna, a man who Pickett suspected was innocent, is enough to set the ball in motion for Pickett to leave the prison and become an anti-death penalty activist. Emotionally, Pickett was verging on destruction. But he harnesses these core moral disturbances and uses them (and an array of factual evidence) to fight against the death penalty. He actively campaigns now, arguing that not only is the death penalty cruel and painful, not only are there irremediable mistakes made, not is the penalty ineffective as a criminal deterrent (there are hundreds more people on death row now than there were when it was reinstated 30 years ago), but it's a fundamentally immoral act, that's "not Christian, it's not American, and it's not Texan," a moral blight on our society which makes us weaker as a people. In the Q & A, someone wondered if they film might be more effective if it also focused on some of the victims, and the filmmakers' rightly pointed out that in many ways this is a film about victims. It's one side of the death penalty story, surely, but one that crucially implicates all Americans in continuing to allow this injustice.
"I'm angry," says Rose De Luna, the sister of the wrongly-executed Hector De Luna. "Stay that way," Pickett says.
We all need to get angry.
If you don't get a chance to see it at SXSW, the film will be on IFC in May, and perhaps at Rooftop some time soon. I would love the honor to show this to people, and sure wish that a few of them might be on the Supreme Court.
A lot has been written about the South by Southwest Film Festival and their support of the Austin film community and the "Mumblecore" movement. Personally, I love the idea of indie filmmakers bonding, working together, supporting each other. You can say that the importance of the those scenes is blown out of proportion, and that might be true--the community is a bigger and more diverse than Austin and Mumblecore. A look below at the Rooftop alums who are screening films at SXSW this year shows filmmakers from all around the country, and filmmakers working in a variety of genres and styles. (Racial diversity is another matter, something both Rooftop and SXSW work to address in our programming. Our overlapping lists, unfortunately, don't reflect this diversity). We're proud to see so many filmmakers we like screening at this excellent fest, and we're excited to get a chance to hang out again.
From March 7-12, Rooftop's staff will be down at SXSW, scouting for new films, supporting our alumnae filmmakers, and enjoying the cheap tacos and warm weather with our friends. In town will be Artistic Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Program Director Dan Nuxoll and Managing Director Genevieve DeLaurier. If you're in Austin, drop us a line so we can meet up.
sxsw AT rooftopfilms DOT com -- That email will reach all three of us.
At the top of our list here is Benh Zeitlin's "Glory at Sea" (pictured left). Rooftop gave a grant to support this film, so we're particularly proud of it. "Glory at Sea" is a retelling of the classic myth of Orpheus, who descended into Hades to rescue his lover. Originally, the film was going to be made in Greece, but when the Rooftop funding came through, Benh changed his plans. "Part of what drew me toward New Orleans was the populist attitude of my backers. Imagining being on a roof and having a film that spoke to Americans about America, was something that got my insides moving, that got me realizing that the resurrection I wanted to tell was a story I had to tell in the states, in New Orleans."The film is stunning, and everyone should go check it out. I'm heading to New Orleans for a cast and crew screening on March 6, and then rumbling over to Texas after what is sure to be a grand night in NOLA. I'll certainly write about those adventures soon.
In the meantime, go see the latest films from these Rooftop alums:
SHORTS
Glory at Sea Director: Benjamin Zeitlin
34 x 25 x 36 Director: Jesse Epstein
Upwards March Director/Writer: Kaveh Nabatian
Fish, But No Cigar Directors: Tara White and Lyn Elliot
Shut Eye Hotel Director/Writer: Bill Plympton
The Rambler Director: Calvin Reeder
LOVEolution Director: John Bryant
Let's Get Down to Brass Tacks Director/Writer: Aaron Katz
FEATURES
Woodpecker Director: Alex Karpovsky.
The Pleasure of Being Robbed Director: Josh Safdie.
Living with the Tudors Directors: Karen Guthrie & Nina Pope.
Intimidad Directors: David Redmon & Ashley Sabin.
Goliath Director: David Zellner.
The Marconi Bros. Director/writers: Marco Ricci, Michael Canzoniero.
The New Year Parade Director/writer: Tom Quinn.
Rainbow Around the Sun Directors: Kevin Ely and Beau Leland.
My Effortless Brilliance Director: Lynn Shelton. Starring: (Rooftop Alum) Calvin Reeder
As I wrote the other day, Rooftop Films and IFP are proud to be working together to support all aspects of independent film--from exhibition all the way back through production. IFP does an admirable job at helping films get made, and have an outstanding track record of bringing fantastic films through their Labs. And when one film is having trouble getting finished, IFP is there to help.
Thursday night IFP (in conjunction with SAGIndie and Time Warner) organized a rough cut screening of "El Coyote," a Mexican Spaghetti Wester/Horror feature now in the final stage of production and preparing for the festival circuit. I thought that Brooklyn-based first time filmmakers Sergio Palacios and Damian Rodriquez have the makings of a really dynamic film. "El Coyote" is classic revenge story, with a lone former drug runner, thickly bearded and dressed in black, riding back into a tiny Mexican town to kill the honchos who once betrayed him and left him for dead. The film is shot with an eerie distance and a distinctly gritty look, placing the characters as imposing archetypes. An astonishing soundtrack--equal parts Sergio Leonie and heavy metal--fills out the mood and propels the story. The action is, at this point, concise and edgy, and the filmmakers are looking in particular for funds to help create more (low-budget) splatter effects. With references to boarder-crossing drug-running this film has political overtones, but the real thrill of it is the low-budget energy of a badass old-fashioned western.
WATCH A TRAILER.
I think the film has the possibility to do well at indie fests and as a niche release, and could certainly be very successful as a cult classic, particularly if they can tap into the Latino market.
They're looking for investors on a very small scale, so if you're interested, please get in touch with directors Sergio Palacios and Damian Rodriguez at -info@elcoyotethemovie.com-You can also support the film by buying some of Sergio's wicked art at www.vomitstyle.com. This one to the right is called "They Shot the President."
One of the most beautiful shows Rooftop Films ever hosted was our 2007 edition of Dark 'Toons. The astonishing animator Brent Green showed his films and played live music with Brooklyn locals The Quavers. They are a band whose sound and focus is very much in line with Rooftop--quiet and surprisingly intricate songs about drifting through specific landscapes. I'm a huge fan, and hope to have them back on the roof again.
Vincent Moon on Blogotheque's "Take Away Shows" created a wonderful video with the Quavers playing two songs while floating down the Gowanus Canal (just one block away from Rooftop headquarters). I think it's a fantastic and perfectly executed idea (having Brooklyn indie film legend Jem Cohen piloting the boat adds to the mystique). Watch the video (below) and read the exciting story here.
>
THE QUAVERS - Sea Won't Take Long
by lablogotheque
Props to Rooftop's Managing Director Genevieve DeLaurier for digging up this video.
Vincent Moon on Blogotheque's "Take Away Shows" created a wonderful video with the Quavers playing two songs while floating down the Gowanus Canal (just one block away from Rooftop headquarters). I think it's a fantastic and perfectly executed idea (having Brooklyn indie film legend Jem Cohen piloting the boat adds to the mystique). Watch the video (below) and read the exciting story here.
>
THE QUAVERS - Sea Won't Take Long
by lablogotheque
Props to Rooftop's Managing Director Genevieve DeLaurier for digging up this video.
[This is the complete article originally published on March 13, 2008.]
Late last night, after jumping from IFC's My Morning Jacket / Yo La Tengo concert to the wide-open SXSW Closing Night party and finally onto Joel Heller's birthday, I wound up at the Magnolia diner, eating scrambled eggs and discussing scrambled documentaries. I was there with Dan Nuxoll from Rooftop, Joel, and Alex Karpovsky and Eric Bruggermann, the director and editor, respectively, of "The Hole Story" and 2008 SXSW selection "Woodpecker" (pictured left). I brought up the fascinating dialogue about the distinctions of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking that I had heard surrounding some of the films here at SXSW, including Alex's film(s), Daniel Stamm's "A Necessary Death," and even films as different as Nanette Burstein's "American Teen," Morgan Spurlock's "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" and Josh Safdie's "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," where categorical definitions would appear pretty straightforward. We'd heard a rumor that when "A Necessary Death" played one European festival, it was in the documentary section, and the crowd was incensed.
Why is it that people get so mad about films that blur these distinctions or even deliberately mislead the audience? Do these distinctions matter? And if so, how should we be defining these films?
One of the first things we realized is that general audience members, far more than film critics, filmmakers, and film programmers, do question what's "real." You hear in Q & A sessions how important it is to them. And a great number of film professionals also debate (and confuse) these terms and distinctions. So the distinctions do matter. And I think the first reason why they matter, why people want to know if a film is a work of fiction or non-fiction, is because people don't like "being suckered" (as entertainment lawyer and SXSW panelist Alan Levy put it when I was discussing the issue with him). Being suckered is different from being tricked: a murder mystery tricks you, but that's what you want it to do; a fiction film that poses as a non-fiction film (the thinking goes) suckers you. People think that the film is somehow lying to you, which you don't want it to do.
I think this discrepancy comes initially from expectation: when you go to see an action movie, you don't want to find yourself instead watching a quiet drama. When you see certain documentary aesthetics, you expect that what you are seeing is non-fiction. So the second and more important reason why audience members want to know the nature of the film is because of the inherent differences in the way we interact with fiction and non-fiction films. People are more likely to immediately connect emotionally with non-fiction characters because one of the greatest challenges of fiction cinema--effective suspension of disbelief--is alleviated. When a character in a fiction film does something outlandish, an audience member is likely to think, "No one would ever do that." Not so in documentary; you have to assume they really did it. So when you think a film is non-fiction, and it turns out to be scripted, you mistrust your own emotional reading of the film. The same is true in reverse for non-fiction films. Every camera move and edit in a documentary is of course a manipulation of reality, yet people still get hung up on the details of some non-attainable objective truth.
With either fiction or non-fiction, that mental approach to film watching is limiting. We should be able to watch a movie, and analyze our feelings and our thoughts based on the emotions expressed and the ideas addressed, not solely on whether it was "real." I think keeping the lines between fiction and non-fiction blurry is a wise move. Whether the filmmaker writes a story and casts actors to play the characters, or if the filmmaker follows the story of people leading their existing lives, the goals are the same for any film: to entertain the audience, to enlighten them, to take them to emotional highs and lows.
This is where films like Safdie's "The Pleasure of Being Robbed" and Burstein's "American Teen" come in. I thought "American Teen" was entertaining and engaging, but I didn't love the film because of some of the manipulations--jumps in time to enhance the weight of an emotion, moments that are clearly created in the editing room but didn't happen live. My problem isn't the manipulations per se, and I don't doubt the veracity of the basic facts. My problem is that because of those manipulations, I didn't really connect with the characters. I thought the jumps in time simplified complex emotions, and the forged scenes fell flat. When watching either a non-fiction or a fiction film, you understand that this isn't an objective reality, but if the cuts and camera angles fail to create a subjective emotional and intellectual truth, the film has failed. In contrast, some scenes in Josh Safdie's film are, as he put it, "stolen"--he caught people on the street unawares and wrote them into his narrative. I was impressed by the way he was able to fluidly bring these elements into his rather fantastical story, and from a narrative standpoint, I was touched by the interactions.
Karpovsky's "Woodpecker" is a brilliant example of the way a filmmaker can blend fact and fiction to make an amusing, moving and meaningful film that transcends either documentary or fiction modes. The film is about the true story of the supposed sighting of an Ivory Billed Woodpecker in the bayou of Arkansas. Hundreds of bird watchers descended on the swamps, hoping to confirm the sighting. Alex sets the stage for his film with mostly documentary footage, and provides a sincere and intriguing look into a region transformed and polarized by this funny little bird. We meet ordinary people who were transfixed by the beauty of the bird, and hunters who are displeased that the search for the bird is keeping them from their hunting grounds. There are locals opening tourist shops selling bird trinkets, and taxidermists who claim to be able to manufacture an Ivory Billed in minutes. Into this world, Alex injects Jon e. Hyrnes (pictured below left), an actor who Alex discovered, ironically, when Johnny appeared as the subject of another documentary, "Johnny Berlin." Alex makes the wise point, "Much like the bird itself, "Woodpecker" explores the intersection of fact and fiction, manipulating our notions of documentary and narrative techniques within a tragic comedy about hope, perception, and some very very strange birds."
One of the ingenious cinematic devices in "Woodpecker" is the way Karpovsky has the character he scripted continue to develop a theme first brought up by one of the documentary characters. One of the birdwatchers who (I'm pretty sure) is real, says that the bird's cry is simply the announcement, "I am here." This phrase becomes a core leitmotif for Johnny, the lead in the film, who himself is looking for the bird in order mark to his place in birdwatching history. This lonely guy, who drolly remarks that when his wife left him "she was essentially saying 'I am not here,'" thinks that if he spots the bird he will somehow justify and signify his own existence. He wants to be famous, yes, but only in this obscure realm. His core desire, as he explains in one of his ludicrous but subtly insightful rants, is to be an integral part of the birdwatching community. He wants people to know he is there, to care that he's there, and to enable people to see this bird. So as we watch Johnny mingle with the locals and drift through the swamps, we relate to the community with his specific perspective, this strange but pure and life-affirming connection with the world. The film raises a lot of issues about environmentalism and hunting, about dying small towns and the pitfalls of media attention, about individual isolation and community, and the way in which the issues are presented through the perspective of an entertaining and astute on-screen character effectively makes them more genuine and resonant than if we were seeing them in a purportedly neutral documentary. "Woodpecker" is a far more potent use of motion pictures than a purely factual news report of the (possible) discovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.
So if blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction can be useful, how do we define such films? Even though I think audiences shouldn't determine their appreciation of a film by any categories or expectations, I think we need definitions in order to avoid confusion and reach a more universal understanding of these conventions, so that audience members aren't burdened by misconceptions.
There are three essential categories, and a handful of styles within them. All films are fiction, non-fiction or a hybrid. I think one of the core confusions stems from the misleading term "narrative film." Most films, whether based on imagination or fact, are narrative--they are telling a story. Non-fiction films, however, can be told in a variety of styles, which include documentary, verité, and recreation. Conventional "documentary" style would include films in which the camera records events as they unfold in real time, without the director intentionally influencing the action. Documentaries often include elements such as music, titles, and effects that did not appear directly in front of the camera, and interviews, in which the action is perhaps staged with lights, sets, and questions, but what the subject says is not shaped by the filmmaker. In contrast, verité filmmaking does not use any such non-diegetic elements or staged events.
A film like Robinson Devor's "Zoo" (pictured left) is still non-fiction, because the audio and video are all based on facts not imagination, but it is a work of non-fiction not made in a documentary style, because the voices of the subjects were re-recorded by actors, and the images were recreated with actors, lighting, set-decoration, etc. (Throughout this article, I used the terms "documentary" and "narrative" to refer to the style of filmmaking, but not the category of films.) It's interesting to note that Morgan Spurlock's "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" is considered a work of non-fiction (by most people), in a documentary style, even though, like "Woodpecker," it contains scripted elements and a "character" who is interacting with real people. The differences between Spurlock's and Karpovsky's films is the way in which the character is presented (Spurlock as himself; Jon e. Hymes as the fictional Johnny Neander), and the essence of the narrative (Spurlock investigating a question; Karpovsky crafting a portrait). Within hybrid films, the distinctions of style are equally varied, including mockumentaries, faux documentaries, meta-documentaries, and fake home movies. Over lunch at Stubb's BBQ joint, I was discussing the issue with filmmakers Andrew Bujalski and Garrett Savage, and filmmaker plus "Woodpecker" co-producer Dia Sokol, and for Karpovsky's film we settled on the term "faux documentary." Although "Woodpecker" is black comedy, it shouldn't be called a "mockumentary." A "faux documentary" is a film that incorporates fiction and non-fiction, and uses the style and conventions of a doc to tell semi-fictional story. A "mockumentary," in contrast, is completely imaginary, and tends to be making fun of the characters. Further, I think most "mockumentaries" poke fun at documentary form itself, with overly-contrived sit-down interviews and obvious nods to the camera, such as the ubiquitous "don't film this" moments.
In "Woodpecker," by contrast, although one is often laughing at Johnny's naiveté and quirky obsession, he's more like a Don Quixote, the madman on a mission who is lovable and laughable but also honest, noble, and inspiring. The film treats Johnny and all the characters with warmth and respect, so it lacks the spoofing of a mockumentary.
Non-fiction and fiction "meta-documentaries" would include films that explicitly address the essence of documentary form. "Woodpecker" does not, but Karpovsky's "The Hole Story" and "A Necessary Death" both in some ways deal with the nature media and the way the act of filming events inherently affects the action. "Fake home movies," such as the infamous "Blair Witch Project," purport to verité filmmaking conventions in which the on-screen characters are filming their own lives, only the characters and actions are scripted and staged.
So, I hope all my rambling has proved helpful or at least interesting to some. It seemed interesting enough in late-night film festival conversations over eggs migas and pulled pork sandwiches. The next question, I guess, is whether I've accurately documented all that we discussed.
Rooftop Films is more than a film festival--we are a community, and we aim to provide more than just a screening for our filmmakers. Obviously, we want to have their films seen by new, large audiences at our shows, but we also want to help the films be seen elsewhere--at other festivals, on our TV show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, online at IFC.com, in theaters, even at The Academy Awards. We want to help them distribute their films and earn a living, we want to help them make new films (see news about the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund awardees below).
Along those lines, we are proud to be partnering with the Independent Feature Project (IFP), one of the country's leading support organizations for independent filmmakers. In September, during IFP's Market, we will be once again screening films from IFP's Labs (and maybe more).
Given the pivotal role that festivals play in launching emerging filmmakers, IFP's Rough Cut Labs are designed to assist in tackling the creative and technical challenges of completing projects before they are submitted to festivals. Led by seasoned independent producers, the Labs help independent filmmakers achieve the full potential of their material prior to industry exposure by providing four days of feedback and advice on the specific technical, creative and post-production issues such as editing, music selection and scoring, festival and press strategy, sales, marketing and distribution.
The program is open to all first-time, narrative & documentary feature filmmakers who have completed the majority of principal photography. As a commitment to diversity, IFP seeks to ensure that at least 50% of participating projects have an inclusive range of races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities and physical abilities in key creative positions.
Many Rooftop alums have come out of these Labs, including Todd Rohal ("The Guatemalan Handshake"), Kat Candler ("Roberta Wells"), Alex Karpovsky ("The Hole Story"), Eun-hee Cho ("Spin"), and Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund awardee PJ Raval ("Best Kept Secret"). The advice and support filmmakers receive in these labs is invaluable, and we highly recommend them.
The Documentary Rough Cut Lab (May 6 - 9, 2008) and Narrative Rough Cut Lab (June 10-13, 2008) are held in New York City.
Full criteria and on-line application available at www.ifp.org/labs
If you're applying, tell Milton Tabbot (documentary) and/or Amy Dotson (narrative) that you heard about it from Rooftop Films!
Along those lines, we are proud to be partnering with the Independent Feature Project (IFP), one of the country's leading support organizations for independent filmmakers. In September, during IFP's Market, we will be once again screening films from IFP's Labs (and maybe more). Given the pivotal role that festivals play in launching emerging filmmakers, IFP's Rough Cut Labs are designed to assist in tackling the creative and technical challenges of completing projects before they are submitted to festivals. Led by seasoned independent producers, the Labs help independent filmmakers achieve the full potential of their material prior to industry exposure by providing four days of feedback and advice on the specific technical, creative and post-production issues such as editing, music selection and scoring, festival and press strategy, sales, marketing and distribution.
The program is open to all first-time, narrative & documentary feature filmmakers who have completed the majority of principal photography. As a commitment to diversity, IFP seeks to ensure that at least 50% of participating projects have an inclusive range of races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities and physical abilities in key creative positions.
Many Rooftop alums have come out of these Labs, including Todd Rohal ("The Guatemalan Handshake"), Kat Candler ("Roberta Wells"), Alex Karpovsky ("The Hole Story"), Eun-hee Cho ("Spin"), and Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund awardee PJ Raval ("Best Kept Secret"). The advice and support filmmakers receive in these labs is invaluable, and we highly recommend them.
The Documentary Rough Cut Lab (May 6 - 9, 2008) and Narrative Rough Cut Lab (June 10-13, 2008) are held in New York City.
Full criteria and on-line application available at www.ifp.org/labs
If you're applying, tell Milton Tabbot (documentary) and/or Amy Dotson (narrative) that you heard about it from Rooftop Films!
Rooftop Films has announced the recipients of the 2007-08 Filmmakers' Fund Short Film Grant. See below!
Rooftop Films is more than a film festival--we are a collaborative community of filmmakers, audience, venues and neighborhoods. One of our most innovative programs is The Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, a slate of grants given to selected filmmakers whose work has screened at the festival. We have a number of grants available:
+ The Rooftop Films & Eastern Effects Equipment Grant.
Rooftop is working with the excellent Brooklyn rental house Eastern Effects to award one feature film a full lighting & grip package. The recipient will be announced in March 2008.
+ The Short Film Grant.
Rooftop earmarks $1 from every ticket sold and from every film submission fee received to give to select new projects which our filmmakers are working on. You can read about past grants here. In 2007-08, Rooftop Films will give out almost $12,000 in cash grants--the most recent recipients are announced below.
+ Rooftop Films will be announcing new grant partnerships and awards in the near future, so stay posted!
2007-08 ROOFTOP FILMMAKERS' FUND RECIPIENTS
(listed alphabetically - read full details here)
+ Heidi Brandenburg & Matt Orzel, "untitled Peruvian Rainforest doc."
+ Bill Brown, "Cumberland."
+ Don Hertzfeldt, "Everything Will Be OK (part 2)."
+ Melanie Shatzky & Brian M. Cassidy, "The Blessing of the Animals."
+ Spencer Parsons, "Chainsaw Found Jesus."
+ Heidi Brandenburg & Matt Orzel, "untitled Peruvian Rainforest documentary."
Heidi and Matt are spending time with the indigenous peoples and watching as their lives are changed by the increasing pace of oil and gas mining, with links to global warming and the world's dependency on oil.
www.yachaywasifilms.co.uk
+ Bill Brown, "Cumberland."
Utilizing his unique and fascinating first-person experimental documentary style, Bill will be reconstructing the lives of the 7 members of the 372 Military Police Company who were convicted of abusing detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
+ Don Hertzfeldt, "Everything Will Be OK (part 2)."
The 2nd part of Don's Sundance-Award winning film which follows a stick-figure named Bill as he grapples with depression and madness. The new chapter will find Bill struggling with the death of a loved one, the ever-present question of his health, and the apparent unraveling of time.
www.bitterfilms.com
+ Melanie Shatzky & Brian M. Cassidy, "The Blessing of the Animals."
Melanie and Brian's new film will be a "portrait of love, death and devotion, as witnessed on the day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals."
www.pigeonprojects.com.
+ Spencer Parsons, "Chainsaw Found Jesus."
Spencer's film is "a melancholy comedy about two fathers, two sons, and the cocaine sale that brings them all together for an everyday adventure."
Read more about the projects at www.rooftopfilms.com/produce.html.
Rooftop Films received a record number of applicants this year, and we are thrilled to see so many of our alumnae filmmakers working on exciting new projects. Good luck to all the filmmakers.
Look for their films at the 2008 Summer Series!
Rooftop Films is more than a film festival--we are a collaborative community of filmmakers, audience, venues and neighborhoods. One of our most innovative programs is The Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, a slate of grants given to selected filmmakers whose work has screened at the festival. We have a number of grants available:
+ The Rooftop Films & Eastern Effects Equipment Grant.
Rooftop is working with the excellent Brooklyn rental house Eastern Effects to award one feature film a full lighting & grip package. The recipient will be announced in March 2008.
+ The Short Film Grant.
Rooftop earmarks $1 from every ticket sold and from every film submission fee received to give to select new projects which our filmmakers are working on. You can read about past grants here. In 2007-08, Rooftop Films will give out almost $12,000 in cash grants--the most recent recipients are announced below.
+ Rooftop Films will be announcing new grant partnerships and awards in the near future, so stay posted!
2007-08 ROOFTOP FILMMAKERS' FUND RECIPIENTS
(listed alphabetically - read full details here)
+ Heidi Brandenburg & Matt Orzel, "untitled Peruvian Rainforest doc."
+ Bill Brown, "Cumberland."
+ Don Hertzfeldt, "Everything Will Be OK (part 2)."
+ Melanie Shatzky & Brian M. Cassidy, "The Blessing of the Animals."
+ Spencer Parsons, "Chainsaw Found Jesus."
+ Heidi Brandenburg & Matt Orzel, "untitled Peruvian Rainforest documentary."Heidi and Matt are spending time with the indigenous peoples and watching as their lives are changed by the increasing pace of oil and gas mining, with links to global warming and the world's dependency on oil.
www.yachaywasifilms.co.uk
+ Bill Brown, "Cumberland."Utilizing his unique and fascinating first-person experimental documentary style, Bill will be reconstructing the lives of the 7 members of the 372 Military Police Company who were convicted of abusing detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
+ Don Hertzfeldt, "Everything Will Be OK (part 2)."
The 2nd part of Don's Sundance-Award winning film which follows a stick-figure named Bill as he grapples with depression and madness. The new chapter will find Bill struggling with the death of a loved one, the ever-present question of his health, and the apparent unraveling of time.
www.bitterfilms.com
+ Melanie Shatzky & Brian M. Cassidy, "The Blessing of the Animals."
Melanie and Brian's new film will be a "portrait of love, death and devotion, as witnessed on the day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals."
www.pigeonprojects.com.
+ Spencer Parsons, "Chainsaw Found Jesus."
Spencer's film is "a melancholy comedy about two fathers, two sons, and the cocaine sale that brings them all together for an everyday adventure."
Read more about the projects at www.rooftopfilms.com/produce.html.
Rooftop Films received a record number of applicants this year, and we are thrilled to see so many of our alumnae filmmakers working on exciting new projects. Good luck to all the filmmakers.
Look for their films at the 2008 Summer Series!
WE URGE YOU TO COME OUT AND SUPPORT MNN,
PUBLIC ACCESS TV & COMMUNITY MEDIA
THURS. FEB. 7th from 3-7pm!
PUBLIC ACCESS TV & COMMUNITY MEDIA
THURS. FEB. 7th from 3-7pm!
INFO
Rooftop Films has a TV show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and the fate of our show, and of community media in New York City, is at stake. As you may know, MNN, the Public Access Television Center in Manhattan, like other Public Access TV centers operate through the local franchise renewal process. MNN is financially supported by Time Warner Cable and RCN Cable, under a franchise agreement with the City of New York. There are nine cable franchises in the City covering all five boroughs. These franchises agreements all expire in 2008. This year in 2008, the City of New York will be renewing the hugely lucrative cable television franchises across all five boroughs of the city.
These renewals occur only once every ten years and impact video, Internet and telephone services to all eight million residents of New York City. As the largest and most important media market in the country, and arguably the world, these broadband deals will have far-reaching consequences for the very structure and character of the mass media nationwide and, indeed, for American democracy itself.
These renewals occur only once every ten years and impact video, Internet and telephone services to all eight million residents of New York City. As the largest and most important media market in the country, and arguably the world, these broadband deals will have far-reaching consequences for the very structure and character of the mass media nationwide and, indeed, for American democracy itself.
WE NEED YOU to come out to Thursday, FEB. 7th's
CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL HEARING!
CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL HEARING!
As part of the Franchise renewal process between the City of New York and Time Warner Cable, a public hearing will be held to allow NYC residents an opportunity to voice their views and concerns regarding the cable franchise we will all be living with for the next 10 to 15 years.
We are asking organizations and community producers to come out and testify to the importance of MNN and Public Access's media resources to your local community, constituents and organization.
We want public officials to know that a diverse array of local organizations use Public Access's channels and resources to bring information, education and entertainment to other New Yorkers. It is extremely important that our public officials hear loud and clear that Public Access provisions are critically important to our community and that continued and expanded support for the needs and interests of Manhattan residents must be included in any franchise agreement that is reached. Your voice is critical!
WHAT: CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL HEARING TO DETERMINE THE NEXT 10-15 YEARS OF MNN & PUBLIC ACCESS TV IN NYC
WHEN: Thursday, February 7th, 2008 from 3pm-7pm
WHERE: Borough of Manhattan Community College
at the Richard Harris Terrace
199 Chambers Street (between Greenwich and West Streets), NYC.
TRAINS: Take the A, B or 1 Train to Chambers Street
Even if you don't intend on testifying please come down anyway to show your support!
For more info on the MNN franchise renewal campaign, go to:
www.mnnfranchisecampaign.org/
We are asking organizations and community producers to come out and testify to the importance of MNN and Public Access's media resources to your local community, constituents and organization.
We want public officials to know that a diverse array of local organizations use Public Access's channels and resources to bring information, education and entertainment to other New Yorkers. It is extremely important that our public officials hear loud and clear that Public Access provisions are critically important to our community and that continued and expanded support for the needs and interests of Manhattan residents must be included in any franchise agreement that is reached. Your voice is critical!
WHAT: CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL HEARING TO DETERMINE THE NEXT 10-15 YEARS OF MNN & PUBLIC ACCESS TV IN NYC
WHEN: Thursday, February 7th, 2008 from 3pm-7pm
WHERE: Borough of Manhattan Community College
at the Richard Harris Terrace
199 Chambers Street (between Greenwich and West Streets), NYC.
TRAINS: Take the A, B or 1 Train to Chambers Street
Even if you don't intend on testifying please come down anyway to show your support!
For more info on the MNN franchise renewal campaign, go to:
www.mnnfranchisecampaign.org/
Third Ward, TX
a documentary about art, life and real estate
Directed by Andrew Garrison
Produced by Nancy Bless & Noland Walker
Friday, Feb 1, 6:30pm
@ Center for Architecture
536 LaGuardia Place, NYC
RSVP: www.aiany.com/calendar
FREE
Project Row Houses is the unlikely home of cutting-edge art and visionary thinking about inner-city renewal. Third Ward, TX introduces artists and neighbors who are breathing new life into their historically black community in Houston. But art, life and real estate collide when deep-pocketed developers arrive. Project Row Houses' unexpected response offers new, creative solutions.
In 2007, Rooftop Films was proud to screen Third Ward, TX as part of our INDUSTRIANCE series -- films about the changing landscape in industry, architecture, agriculture, and about the way individual lives are affected by these shifts. This film is everything we're looking to say in that series: it's a great story, told with charm and dexterity, and really has universal appeal, addressing are issues facing every city in America, including Brooklyn. Our country needs more innovative ideas like Project Row Houses. A first step is for people to see Third Ward, TX, so if you missed it on the roof, go check it out this week.
a documentary about art, life and real estate
Directed by Andrew Garrison
Produced by Nancy Bless & Noland Walker
Friday, Feb 1, 6:30pm
@ Center for Architecture
536 LaGuardia Place, NYC
RSVP: www.aiany.com/calendar
FREE
Project Row Houses is the unlikely home of cutting-edge art and visionary thinking about inner-city renewal. Third Ward, TX introduces artists and neighbors who are breathing new life into their historically black community in Houston. But art, life and real estate collide when deep-pocketed developers arrive. Project Row Houses' unexpected response offers new, creative solutions.
In 2007, Rooftop Films was proud to screen Third Ward, TX as part of our INDUSTRIANCE series -- films about the changing landscape in industry, architecture, agriculture, and about the way individual lives are affected by these shifts. This film is everything we're looking to say in that series: it's a great story, told with charm and dexterity, and really has universal appeal, addressing are issues facing every city in America, including Brooklyn. Our country needs more innovative ideas like Project Row Houses. A first step is for people to see Third Ward, TX, so if you missed it on the roof, go check it out this week.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 8PMRooftop Films & Stranger Than Fiction co-present
"Film as a Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16"
a feature-length documentary by Paul Cronin
at The IFC Center | Tickets
We at Rooftop Films are proud to be co-presenting this film because we certainly consider ourselves descendents of Amos Vogel's Cinema 16. I think one of the great legacies of Vogel's work was the way he and his compatriots placed a great social and moral significance on independent and experimental cinema. They recognized the power of motion pictures, and used film to challenge people's aesthetics, their values, their ways of thinking. This is something that we've always tried to do at Rooftop as well. And much the way that Cinema 16 was famous for showing varied programs short films, at Rooftop we also like to mix genres, styles and voices, programming around a central theme to encourage people to see new and unexpected films.
I know that Vogel wrote about the importance of the total immersion in the theater-going experience, so I hope he would approve of Rooftop's outdoor model. I think the key to Rooftop's success is that we get people to engage with cinema beyond the theater. They are watching films relevant to the very communities they are sitting in, which we hope gets them to engage with the issues and ideas presented in the film. I'm eager to ask Amos if he has any thoughts about Rooftop.
The bottom line is that Cinema 16, Rooftop Films and Stranger Than Fiction are all vital to the cultural dialogue in New York because we get people to come out to see challenging films they otherwise wouldn't see. So it's a thrill for us to all be working together on this presentation, and we hope you all come out and enjoy Paul Cronin's documentary "Film as a Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16."
In 1974, Philippe Petit committed one of the world's greatest "art crimes": walking across a tightrope strung between the then unfinished World Trade Center towers. It's a gorgeously ephemeral stunt. Walking some 1,200 feet above the street, Petit was barely visible, and might not have been noticed if not for his own assistants looking up (and shouting with joy). And the very nature of the stunt is marvelous for it's delicacy and subtlety--walking gently on a rope--magnified by the extreme height and the impending iconic status of the buildings. When he came down, arrested by police officers who recognized the wondrous singularity of what they had just seen, he was asked repeatedly: Why? "It's such an American question," Petit says. "I have done something extraordinarily beautiful. There is no why." [All quotations are paraphrases to the best of my memory and notes.]
James Marsh's inspiring documentary "Man On Wire" tells Petit's story from his early days as an aspiring performer of circus arts, through his wire walks between the towers of Notre Dame and across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and up through the lengthy planning and execution of his famous WTC walk. There is marvelous footage and photos from the early walks, but only still photos exist of the walk in NYC (I've heard contradicting reports about the cameraman's hands being too tired from hauling the wire, and about the cameraman having to flee arrest before being able to film.) Yet in spite of this lack of footage, the still photos are truly gorgeous, and lend a mythical quality to the event. The film plays out with marvelous tension and drama, not unlike a bank robbery. In part the drama comes from the complexity of the operation: the practice, the trial runs, the planning, the costumes, the sneaking around guards with hundreds of pounds of equipment. With a tight team working stealthily, overnight, on a deadline, recounting the fascinating details of the story is mesmerizing.
But moreover the drama comes from the glorious sense of destiny Petit was aiming to fulfill. He tells us, in the film, that from the time he was a teenager, when he first saw an architect's rendering of the towers, he knew he had to walk between them, to do something impossible and beautiful, something that was against the law, but not wicked or mean. Petit was so taken with that initial photo of the towers that he ducked out of a dentist's appointment, "And so I still had a tooth ache, but what is a little pain compared to finally having my dream? Only the towers weren't built, so the object of my dream did not even exist."
He had to wait years for the opportunity to fulfill his dream, and Petit's passion and energy are so palpable that, as I said, the tension is enthralling as we hear him and his team recount the tale. He knew the walk was tremendously dangerous, but was thrilled and calmed by the idea that he might "die in the exercise of one's passion."Petit was just as charming and inspiring in real life, at the Q & A following the film's premiere. When asked how he financed his stunt, he said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what money is. And anyway, this was illegal; it doesn't cost anything to rob a bank." Also in the Q & A, he told us that he knew that his mission would be a success when he came to America and was stopped twice at customs. The first time, he had a suitcase full wire-walking equipment, but also items for magic tricks. The customs agent pulled Petit aside to search his bag, and Philippe was worried that he would get in trouble. But, in front of a long line of impatient people waiting for their flight, the customs agent pulled out the deck of cards, and asked Philippe to choose one. That the agent was trying his hand at magic instead of enforcing security made Philippe fall in love with America. Then, on his second trip, when he had all his equipment for the wirewalk, the customs agent asked him what he was going to do with all this stuff. Not knowing what to say, Petit tried honesty: "'I'm going to walk between the towers of the World Trade Center,' I told him. And he laughed so hard and said, 'Yeah, right, good luck," and let me through."
Petit turned more serious when asked about how the events of September 11th affected him. "The towers were more than my friends, they were inside of me. I fell in love with them when they were born, when they came of age I married them. So when they fell, it felt like a part of me had died. Of course, it doesn't sound right to say that when in fact so many people died that day. But I feel proud to have made that walk, and to have this film, so that the towers and all the people can be remembered with sadness, but also with joy and beauty and laughter."
"Man on Wire" has indeed created exactly that, a poetic memorial and a stirring legend, and I hope that we can bring this film, fittingly, to the Rooftop.
I think that Dan's going to write a post as well, but "Sugar" is such a rich film there's plenty to write about, and I'm eager to share my delight with this film. What I love about Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's films is that they find ways to externalize internal struggles. Unlike most films, in which resilient characters battle outside forces, in their wonderful new film "Sugar" the drama is all about the lead character's internal fear, or even cowardice. It's rare in films to see characters succumb to uncertainty: the feeling is subtle, but in this film the writing and acting render it as potent and powerful as any grand emotion you'll ever see in narrative filmmaking. The film tracks about a year in the life of a professional baseball prospect (nicknamed "Sugar," and played by Algenis Perez Soto, a non-professional actor plucked from the ballfields of his native Dominican Republic), and as a baseball fan and player myself, I was really eager to check this film out. But "Sugar" is much more than a baseball movie: it is an immigrant tale, a coming-of-age story, and an examination of to what extent we all have the courage to truly follow our dreams.
As a young prospect, Sugar faces incredibly long odds of actually making the major leagues. But the game is not the hard part--leave that to Hollywood sports melodramas. Acclimating to life away from home is the real challenge, sent off as he is to the strange foreign land of Bridgetown "Eye-A," as Sugar pronounces 'IA' (Iowa) in the first indication of the daunting (and often humorous) language barrier facing Sugar.
Again, the struggles are always fascinatingly internal as Sugar has to discern friends from enemies with only scraps of language available to him. There's the compassionate waitress who helps him order new food, and the thugs in the club who attack him for unknown reasons. There's the concerned foster family, who only confuse things further with their sweet but futile attempts at Spanish ('soap' comes across as 'sopa,' the Spanish word for 'soup.') But most importantly there's the kind-hearted manager, who tries to relate to downtrodden Sugar, but can't get through the linguistic differences. When the ballplayer finally hears some words he understands, "work hard," he lashes back that he does work hard, and you can just see the reputation of another "hard-to-coach Latino ballplayer" growing. In the end, Sugar can't take the pressure. He leaves the team and heads to the Bronx, looking for low-pressure work as a dishwasher and a carpenter. Will he give professional baseball another try eventually? Will he regret not playing out the string? Perhaps. The stakes in this film are not artificially high--it's not the World Series he's missing; when he flees to New York, he's not facing life or death drama. The brilliance of the film is the simple and thereby universal struggle that is rendered in intimate detail. Sugar's debatable cowardice is an act that hit me at the core of my own self-confidence: do I have the courage to give myself completely to my dream? Would it be okay if I didn't? "Sugar" is an emotionally complex and astonishingly touching portrait of a young man playing out these same questions.
Here at Rooftop, we're hoping we'll get a chance to take this wonderful film to the ball fields of New York and provide a powerful and unique viewing experience where so many baseball dreams have been born, and where so many have faded into the dirt. 
Watch the trailer! Then buy the DVD! At Rooftop, our events are more than just screenings: they're interactions between the film, the filmmakers, the audience, the venue, and the local community. In 2006, when we screened Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer's documentary "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea," a film about the man-made ecological disaster turned weirdo-haven, the screening was held on the roof of the Old American Can Factory, a former industrial complex turned artists-haven, located just a few blocks from the direly polluted Gowanus Canal.
The wildly entertaining and sneakily informative film was the starting point for a lively conversation between the filmmakers and audience, in which we wondered if environmental disasters weren't sometimes good for a community. Certainly, as the film shows, for the eccentric people who live near the Salton Sea, the fact that this once glorious resort town is now essentially in ruins allows them to live cheaply and happily while waving to tourists in the nude, building a colorful concrete prayer mountain, and doing all sorts of bizarre and wonderful things they couldn't do elsewhere, say, in the wealthy nearby city of Palm Springs. (Visit plaguesandpleasures.com and click on people to read more about the above-mentioned kooky characters.) Similarly, the 200 artists who call the OA Can Factory home (including Rooftop Films) couldn't carry on our work if the canal was cleaned and the industrial buildings replaced with luxury condos.
Of course, we wouldn't advocate for the toxic pollution of all waterways, but "Plagues and Pleasures," Rooftop Films, and our INDUSTRIANCETM screening series (co-presented with XO Projects Inc.) all point to the importance of considering the local inhabitants when advocating environmental cleanup. We all want healthy people and a sustainable planet, but when you "improve" a neighborhood, what happens to the people who were there when it was "deteriorated"?
It's great to see that long since completing "Plagues and Pleasures," and while hard at work on a documentary about Fishbone, Chris and Jeff are still involved with the Salton Sea community. Their latest newsletter mentions that Congress just overrode a presidential veto of an environmental study, which should be good news. On the sad side, a number of people in the film have since passed away.
If you haven't already seen "Plagues and Pleasures," the filmmakers are still touring it around the world so look on their site for a screening in your area. The film is also for sale in a new tricked-out DVD edition (along with a variety of other curious Salton Sea tchotchkees).
When Jennifer Venditti was casting Carter Smith's Sundance award-winning Bugcrush, a gay-themed horror short about small town teens, she scouted a high school in rural Maine for weeks, sitting in the cafeteria and observing students, startled by the enduring strength of the social cliques. One time she sat with a group of bullies, and they told her about how they once invited a kid over to their lunch table simply in order to make fun of him and torture him. She asked which kid it was, and they pointed to a short, skinny kid with a small ponytail, sitting all by himself at the fringes of the lunchroom. That kid was Billy Price. When Jennifer started to spend time with Billy, all the other kids pestered her: Why are you talking to him?
"When I cast Billy in Bugcrush," Jennifer said at one of her SXSW screenings, "it was partly because of what an amazing kid he was, and partly as a Fuck You to all those other kids."
Billy the Kid, a feature-length documentary about this astonishing 15-year-old, is the quietest, sweetest, most heartbreaking Fuck You I've ever seen.
The film begins by spending time with Billy alone. He self-consciously tries to explain himself, the contradictions he knows he has: his love of heavy metal and his affection for his pet cat, his violent streaks and his sensitivity. While playing a shooting game at an arcade, Billy remarks, "I don't shoot the girls, because I think it's wrong to hurt women, real or fake." The opening section is filled with wonderful revelations, and throughout the film watching Billy's relationship with his mother provides a touching example of the way a parent should deal with a brilliant but troubled child - she's patient, she listens, she learns, she supports letting him make his own mistakes. But for me the film really takes off when Billy spies a girl his age who works at the local diner. Heather has an eye condition that makes her eyes flicker from side to side, and she is nearly blind. Her younger brothers tell Billy that she gets teased a lot, and where many kids who are bullied might see someone weaker than them that they could turn their aggression on, Billy's heart goes out to her immediately.
Their courtship and romance play out like the finest fiction, extended scenes that are perfectly paced and shot with a delicacy and tenderness that is a joy to watch. Describing it would be largely pointless, as so much is loaded into every blurted aside, every expectant look, every pause. Suffice it to say that Billy the Kid is very deserving of the Documentary Feature award at SXSW, and much more. This portrait of a young outcast and his struggle to shed "a lifetime of loneliness" had my palms sweating, my heart racing and my eyes tearing up, as though I was the one with the live-or-die teenage crush all over again.
As a native New Yorker, I loved what director Aaron Katz and his tight crew accomplished presenting Brooklyn in their new film Quiet City - they found solace. The film follows a simple story - a young woman visits New York but can't find her friend, and ends up spending the weekend with a slacker guy she meets in the subway - but Katz says he penned a 120-page script which provided the platform for improvised character development that is endearing and insightful.
One might say that it appears that this crew brought their pastoral North Carolina atmosphere to NYC (David Gordon Green served as an assistant grip of some sort), but I prefer to think that they lovingly captured a side of New York that not many people, and certainly not many non-natives, are ever able to appreciate: the wistful solitude you can find, particularly when you're falling in love, when you're able to shut the world out and serenely drift through the streets of the world's most bustling town.
The two actors, Erin Fisher and Cris Lankenau, had never really met before the 6-day shoot began, so the learning and exploring process we see on screen is very real. Apparently the camera rolled and rolled on the pair, sometimes going for takes as long as 35 minutes (hot swapping out digital memory cards to keep recording). The results are delicate camera work, austere sound, and rich, engaging performances.
At the Q & A following the premiere, an audience member asked the two actors what they thought happened next for their characters, after the film's final moments. [Warning: A charming little semi-spoiler follows.] Erin said that she assumed that they did fool around when they got back to the guy's place, but that the shot of the airplane that ends the film indicated that her character went home, and there was no long-term, long-distance relationship. Taking over the mic, Cris responded, "So I was used and abused, huh?" He explained that he thought the airplane shot was just mood-setting scenery, and that she stayed and their relationship flourished. "Is that what you wanted," Erin asked him. "Yeah, that's what I wanted." If you saw this film, you'll understand how that little meta-extension of the story is fittingly sweet and poignant.
I'm not going to tell you too much about Michael Jacobs' doc An Audience of One, because I'd rather focus on the stunning Q & A that followed the screening at SXSW today. But quickly: this charming, wild, astonishing film follows Richard Gazowsky, a Pentecostal minister from San Francisco, who has raised $600,000 from his congregation to make a sci-fi future distopian feature-length film version of the Biblical story of Joseph. Suffice it to say, that in making this film all hell breaks loose. (God forgive me for that pun.) After the film played, one audience member asked the minister, with all those people in the audience laughing at you, and with so many people in the film, including your mother and your daughter, questioning your judgment, what was it like watching the film? Gazowsky replied, "It felt like watching myself go to the bathroom." [Paraphrasing]: "I was sitting back there, turning red, getting embarrassed. It was hard. But I believe in what I'm doing, and if I succeed, then I know it will be worth it."
Another audience member said that making films is a skill that takes years of training. You wouldn't watch a surgeon, and then go try brain surgery. Why did you do this, or at least, why not start with something more simple? Again, the preacher was unflappable, and said that he loves film, but that he saw that the surgeon, Hollywood, was killing the patient. And that he felt like he needed to learn surgery and save cinema. They used to make a TV show, a low budget preacher show "that people like you would never watch, because it was mediocre. And I was tired of mediocrity." So he wanted to do something big. And he knew that he couldn't climb the ladder in Hollywood. Independent cinema is much like Christian cinema - outsiders who can't get in and need to make films any way they can.
Those are noble and insightful comments, and the respectful way that Jacobs (the doc filmmaker) treats his subject makes for a fascinating and enjoyable film. Still, I couldn't help think that Gazowsky was a great con man, a disillusioned liar, and a crook. I loved the film, and I'd be interested to hear what others think of him.
Check out this trailer.
Hanna Takes the Stairs is something of a miracle. Director Joe Swanberg took a bunch of non-actors, camped them out on a living room floor in Chicago for a month, and improvised a delightful, insightful and nuanced film.
The title, Joe told a packed and enthusiastic house, comes from a sketch of the plotline Joe made, which looked like a woman climbing stairs: she tries to move up (or down?), hits a plateau, and then tries to shake things up again. Most of the actors are also directors and/or writers themselves (Greta Gerwig, Andrew Bujalski, Kent Osborne, Mark Duplass, Ry Russo-Young and Todd Rohal), and I think that expertise allowed Joe and the cast to always find the dramatic shifts and tension in every scene.
Hannah herself is a fascinating character: at times manipulative, at times a victim; there are times she's working hard to figure herself out and times she throws up her hands; but through all of it, one gets the sense that Hannah (as a character) is a very genuine person, even if she doesn't know what she's doing or she's stabbing you in the back. I was strangely reminded of Jack Nicholson's character in Five Easy Pieces. And yet this film is also fetching hilarious. There are fantastic set ups and visual jokes, pop culture gags and pure oddness, but what makes the film funny in a meaningful way is that most of the the humor is predicated on insights into the characters psyches, piercing their vivid emotional states.
My only regret is that for something that was left on the cutting room floor. Todd Rohal told me he ended every scene he was in with the same line: "Ok, I'm going to go take a poop and call my mom." I can't wait for the deleted scenes on the DVD. Watch for camera-shake in Todd's scenes when Joe told me he was laughing so hard he couldn't keep the framing.
At the premiere of Big Rig, director Doug Pray said that he set out thinking he would make a doc about the myth of the wild trucker life-style: high speed and danger, dodging cops and taking drugs, lot lizards and madmen. But once he got to know American truckers - over the course of five years of riding and shooting - he made a U-turn and ended up with a film that celebrates the hard-working, honorable and insightful men and women who are the lifeblood of America's commerce. "If you bought it, a truck brought it" is the trucker creed, with so many goods transported by truck that a national stoppage would shut down the American economy in three days.
This dynamic film features gorgeous shots from across the country and interviews with about 20 drivers of all types, talking on a wide range of issues - from customizing your rig to the economic struggles of the independent trucker, from the destruction of truck stop culture to the destruction of American freedom. One driver showed how he was getting $800 for a long haul, and over $300 of that would go into diesel fuel - which is cheaper to produce than regular gasoline, but costs on average $0.50 more per gallon. The situation, drivers say, is not tenable.
Many of the truckers in the film were at the premiere, and I asked if it was possible for drivers to switch to other fuels, or if they thought America might change the nature of shipping entirely. But they said their profit margins are so tight, and fuels like bio-diesel and ethanol are still not readily available, so they can't afford to try to switch. As one driver put it, the oil companies, the shipping companies, and the Department of Transportation "have us by the cojones."
Macky Alston and Andrea Meller's powerful documentary Hard Road Home exposes one of the most difficult and tragic issues facing the United States vast and growing prison population: what to do when you get out. You have become used to a static and structured life, where meals, clothes and shelter are provided for you. You are legally barred from many professions, and far more employers simply won't hire you. And many of your friends and family members are just waiting for you to get busted again.
This film is about a non-profit non-governmental organization, run by former convicts, which helps people when they get out of jail. Based in East Harlem, the Exodus Transitional Community is simply amazing, going far beyond traditional social services. For example, they not only help you find a job listing, they'll train you how to talk in an interview, give you a suit to wear, and give you a wake-up call to make sure you get there. Most of all, they provide an astonishingly caring community. In the film, when one of the instructors in the program has a drug relapse, the underpaid staff immediately takes up a collection for his family, and takes to the streets to find him. When he finally comes in after several days, he fully expected to be chastised and fired. Instead, his co-workers greet him with hugs, hot food, and words of encouragement.
The film itself is hard-hitting and delicately told, heartbreaking, uplifting and insightful, with in depth coverage and a fantastically effective structure which highlights the difficult struggle ex-convicts face and the astonishing power of the Exodus house. Julio Medina, the inspiring head of the program, was at the screening, and he said that Exodus is in grave danger as one of their major grants is drying up. That a program as effective and necessary as Exodus is in dire need of funding is, quite frankly, criminal, and I hope this film can be a catalyst to help this program and many others like it.
I walked over to the screening of Third Ward, TX, taking in some warm Texas atmosphere before checking out this lovely documentary. The Third Ward is a neighborhood in Houston that was historically populated by African-Americans. In the 1960s, the city ran a highway through the area, removing 30,000 people, isolating and dividing the area, and wrecking the tight, vibrant community. In the late 1990s, a group of black artists began The Project Row Houses, a program in which they converted abandoned houses into artist residencies and low-income housing, primarily for black artists and particularly for single mothers. The artists in the project were careful to communicate and listen to the local residents, and the results have been spectacular, rebuilding the community, staving off gentrification and providing historical and cultural dialogue. I missed or the film leaves vague the facts of how this program operates, but the focus of the film is on the clearly powerful, rejuvenating effects Project Row Houses has on the neighborhood. It's a great story, told with charm and dexterity, and really has universal appeal -- these are issues facing every city in America, and our country needs more innovative ideas like Project Row Houses. A first step is for people to see Third Ward, TX.
There are a few films I've already seen, and I highly recommend:
King Corn (Aaron Woolf, Ian Cheney, Curt Ellis)
Murder Party (Jeremy Saulnier) The Prisoner (Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein)
Fish Kill Flea (Brian Cassidy, Aaron Hillis, Jennifer Loeber)
When Adnan Comes Home (Andrew Berends)
Kamp Katrina (David Redmon & Ashely Sabin)
I plan on writing up a few sentences about each soon, but if you're around, trust me, they're all great and worth seeing.
7am and I'm on my way to Austin, where it's 82 degrees and there are about 82 films I want to see. I've only got so much time, though, so I've had to narrow it down a bit. The short list includes:
Third Ward, TX (Andrew Garrison); Hard Road Home (Macky Alston / Andrea Meller); Lost in Woonsocket (John Chester); Election Day (Katy Chevigny); Big Rig (Doug Pray); Crazy Sexy Cancer (Kris Carr); Hell on Wheels (Bob Ray); Hannah Takes the Stairs (Joe Swanberg); What Would Jesus Buy? (Rob Vanalkemade); Audience of One (Michael Jacobs); Quiet City (Aaron Katz); Great World of Sound (Craig Zobel); Billy the Kid (Jennifer Venditti).
If anyone has other recommendations, drop me a line. What I'm going to try to do with this blog is give quick reviews of the movies, but also incorporate facts and anecdotes about the films which I learned from Q & A's and my personal discussions with the directors, cast and crew. It will be totally like you're here at the festival yourself!
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