Documentary Screening Opportunities!

Hey Everybody,

I just wanted to give a heads up about two documentary screening coming up soon this week.

The first is Dirt Road to Psychedelia, which documents Austin's psychedelic music scene of the 1960s. The screening is free and is being shown at the park at 4th and Guadalupe, being that it is  part of AFS's Movies in the Park series. The Film starts at 8pm, Wednesday October 1st (Yeah, I know this is late notice), but there will also be some live psychedelic music beforehand (starting around 7pm). 

The second film is The Unforsee, a documentary about real estate's effects on Austin's own Barton Springs. Admission is only $3 cash (note cash is important), and the screening is on Thursday, October 2nd, 7:30pm, at Barton Springs! Sounds pretty cool to me.

Below are links to more info about both screenings:

Dirt Road to Psychedelia: http://www.dirtroadtopsych.com/

The Unforseen: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/324/

Meishi Street

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the screening of Meishi Street held by the UT Documentary Center. The Director, Ou Ning, was there for Q&A afterwards as well.
At first, I didn't know what to expect from the film. I thought it was going to be about a large group of people and their revolt against their government. Those expectations were more or less met but the film was primarily centered around one character named Zhang Jinli and the struggle himself and his neighbors were going through to keep their property. Here is a picture of Jinli:

Their struggle began because their government wanted to demolish their neighborhoods to build a highway in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Sounds pretty awful, huh?
This film depicted the fall of dozens of families and painted a very depressing portrait of what life under that kind of government can be like. Nonetheless, the film in it's entirety was very beautiful and interesting to it's audience. The camera was hand-held and there was no musical score. This made it feel very real which only added to the depression factor.
At the end of the screening, the director Ou Ning gave his insight on what it means to protest in China using characters and signs rather than starting a mob and he also told us why he started the projects in the first place. I had to leave the Q&A session a bit early, though.
In conclusion, a good film that teaches a lot about contrast in culture and government. check it out. -pruitt

CMAS is hosting this screening. I thought it would be an interesting event to attend. It's on campus at the Union, and the director will be there for a Q&A session. Its a documentary that examines how corporate efforts are profiting from the "Latino Market" and are therefore shaping America's perception of Latinos. Other films by director, Phillip Rodriguez include Los Angeles Now (2004), Mixed Feelings: San Diego/Tijuana (2002), Manuel Ocampo"God is My Copilot (1999) and Pancho Villa and Other Stories (1998).

Paris is Burning

This semester I'm taking Social Work class called Confronting LGBTQ Oppression, which is taught by the education coordinator of the Gender & Sexuality Center at the SSB. The GSC offers a film library for anyone who comes through the doors, so last week I went by to check out their selection and found Paris is Burning, a 1990 documentary directed by Jennie Livingston, which I had seen parts of in RTF 316M (Communication & Ethnic Groups).

Paris is Burning offers a brief but friendly view into the fashion-obsessed world of New York drag balls and voguing competitions. With first-hand accounts by now world-famous drag queens, Mothers of the New York "houses," the film recounts the lives of many young, poor, black and Latino gay men and women as they struggle to live in New York city in the 1980s. Themes of poverty, AIDS, transsexualism, violence, and unfulfilled ambition abound but always behind the glitzy curtain of self-made cult success inside the arms-fashionably-wide-open ball subculture. There are many sad moments, stories of gay bashing and even murder, told by innocent drag queens and transsexuals who live as hustlers to make a few dollars. But in the beautiful honesty of the film, these characters are glorified and presented in only the most loving of lights as they struggle with their meager salaries and stolen couture to dress up and win trophies and prestige at the balls, often before they'll ever buy a meal.

Paris is Burning is, at times, hilarious and enlightening and, at others, heartwarming or heartbreaking. This is a great example of a director with great access; the characters open right up and reveal their darkest secrets and deepest desires. Somehow, the joy and struggle of the film's subjects is not lost on the audience, as their stories are just another example of a failed, but continuous reaching towards that ever-elusive American Dream. This conflicted but familiar ideology is perhaps best summed up in the film's final scene, in which Dorian Corey says...:

"I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think, you've made a mark on the world if you just get through it, and a few people remember your name. Then you've left a mark. You don't have to bend the whole world. I think it's better to just enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot and arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you."

Man on Wire

So, today we got to see a free screening of Man on Wire today at Dobie. The film follows the story of Philippe Petit, a French wirewalker who, in 1974, crossed between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on a tightrope. From a young age, Philippe became fascinated with wirewalking and eventually staged illegal walks between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral, across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and on other major monuments.

After becoming obsessed with the construction of the Twin Towers, Petit and his team began a six-year planning process to sneak into the towers as construction workers and office employees  in order to rig the wire for his walk. 

The film is beautiful, and Philippe's story is mesmerizing. His joie de vivre approach to life and ever-optimistic attitude make the film very relatable and exciting, as the tension before each walk is very real and terrifying. The three-dimensionality of the height of each walk, as they get progressively more and more dangerous, higher and higher off of the ground, and further and further away from France, plays very well on the two-dimensional screen.

I was a huge fan of the film's editing style, and the actual narrative of the piece, which only encompasses a few days (before and after the WTC wirewalk), is amazingly stretched without losing any of its intensity. What is merely a documentary about a circus performer with a lust for life plays out like the best of Hollywood thrillers. Man on Wire is an excellent docudrama, and I can't wait to see it again.

Trinidad

Trinidad is a documentary directed by PJ Raval and Jay Hodges. It follow the lives of three transgendered women (Marci, Sabrina, and Laura) in the small town of Trinidad, Colorado - the "sex change capitol of the world."

I found this documentary to be very insightful and very well done. There was a good element of trust between the subjects and the camera that made the filming appear natural and allowed the audience to see these three women with their guards down (to the extent that can be done with a camera in your face). I thought it was an interesting subject as transgendered issues are not normally attached in our minds to small towns such as Trinidad. The audience was given an opportunity to experience the communities reaction to the influx of transgendered individuals to their town and the ways in which the two have affected each other. 

After the screening, the two directors spoke with the audience about the filming process and answered any questions we might have. They explained the close relationships they formed with their subjects as they spent months with them shooting this film. The screening took place during the LGBT film festival which, I believe, allowed for a deeper level of dialogue given that this was definitely a targeted audience. The directors gave follow up comments on the lives of the three women and the ultimate demise of the rehabilitation home Sabrina and Laura were working on completing throughout the film. 

Words of Wisdom from a Fast Food-Loathing Filmmaker

I had the opportunity to attend Morgan Spurlock's talk last night, and I must say, I enoyed the event much more than I thought I would. Spurlock spoke dynamically for over an hour, and his incredibly humorous persona lit up the crowded room. Most of what he talked about related to his documentary Super Size Me, and it was interesting that much of his discussion related to things we have been discussing in class.

 

In particular, Spurlock talked about how his Sundance-ready film only cost $65,000 dollars to make (half of this budget went toward travel expenses). Most (if not all) of the crew provided their respective services for free, working with a mindset of passion, rather than profit. Spurlock's example goes to show that great documentaries don't have to be made for a fortune. Rather, they merely have to be made with a strong focus and vision. This is undoubteldy a sentiment that Ellen has been expressing in class, and through her 10 under 10 program.

 

Spurlock also talked about test screening Super Size Me. He said he knew he had made something special, when, at one test screening Q & A session, two members of the audience started passionately arguing amongst themselves about the meaning/merits of the film. Spurlock explained that the visceral emotion elicited by the documentary was a sure-fire sign that he had succeeded in what he had set out to do (which was to get people to start talking about their eating habits). I liked what he had to say here. I think many good documentaries (especially social ones like Spurlock's) suceed by opening up a public discourse, one that is often emotionally charged. Super Size Me undoubtedly went a step further, in that it influenced that practices of the fast food industry at large.

 

At the end of his speech, Spurlock thanked the audience, and implored everyone to follow their passions. While i've heard this bit of advice numerous times, its never gets old. I left the talk feeling energized and excited to be studying a field I truly love. Strangely, I also felt hungry for some fast food. I satisfied my craving later that night, with a trip to my neighborhood Taco Cabana.

tone poem - lauren s

Every Monday at TC's Lounge on Webberville is blues night, where a sweaty mass of old and young like to dance theirs away. Hipster 20-somethings have infiltrated the humble little bar and made it their Monday night hang out. The band leader always makes the joke, "Stop telling your friends," and you can tell he's less than half kidding. Amongst the mess of college-aged party people I noticed an older woman who seemed to be having a spiritual experience.

This tone poem is named after the soundtrack "is she ok," a song I recorded a few months ago.

Austin Film Festival - Docs and More Docs

Hey, just to remind people that the Austin Film Festival is October 16-23rd. The line-up looks really awesome and they are playing films at the Alamo Ritz, the Dobie, Hideout, the Arbor, and most excitingly IMAX theater. The price for a pass is $43.50 (w/tax) and they're available at Waterloo Records and Intellectual Properties which is right on the drag. It is a basic pass so it doesn't allow you access to the special panels or after parties. There are going to be several documentaries playing (with hopefully Q&As with directors and such). This is my first film festival so I don't really know how this works but it looks like this could be a good opportunity to get all of your outside events. First night alone, there are several interesting docs like The Atom Smashers, Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, and Les Ninjas du Japon. The website is AustinFilmFestival.com and an entire schedule of films playing can be found there. Did I mention the pass gets you into all 190 films that are playing!!! Hope to see some of you at the doc screenings! - David

Amoda (shameless self plug)

Look at me on this short about AMODA! (I say "like" too much. I sound like a 10 year old. It's pretty cool.)


Amoda Digital Showcase Promo from ArtéBone on Vimeo.

Not a documentary, but...

     So, this isn't exactly documentary related, but it was a film "event," so I thought I'd hit up the blog a bit. I got invited to intend a press screening of The Brothers Bloom this Monday at the Galaxy Highland theater as part of the press tour for the film. The movie was amazing: great performances, an awesome score, wonderful cinematography and camera work, and hilarious writing.

     Today, because I attended the screening on Monday, I got to sit down and do an on-camera interview with Rian Johnson, the film's director, who also did Brick with Joseph Gordon Levitt back in 2005. We have a good little discussion, and the interview should air on TSTV later this semester before the film's release in December/January. I talked to him about his work on Brick, his film school education, and what it takes to go from film student status to big-time Hollywood director.

     His advice: just keep working on something that means something to you and pushing, pushing, pushing until someone finally lets you in their office or writes you a check.

And with that said, I'll post the interview here once it gets edited.

American Teen: An Alternate Reality?

Intrigued by Ellen's remarks concerning American Teen, I decided to see the film the very same day. I had both read and heard quite a bit about the documentary, and was interested to experience the controversy that is the film first hand.

The film basically chronicles the senior year of four Indiana high schoolers, who deal with typical issues of social acceptance and college admissions, amongst others things. I could definitely tell which scenes of the documentary people had issues with, in terms of staging. I had been warned about one scene (or rather, montage) in particular, in which the camera cuts between the four teens lying in their respective beds, staring off into space. This segment seemed like it was taken out of some cheesy teen drama, and it definitely felt forced. Nonetheless, the scenes like these didn't bother me all that much, because the film felt true to its subjects overall (the teens overwhelmingly embraced the film, and toured with the director as she took American Teen on its festival tour).

We have to remember (when we are watching a documentary) that what's on screen is a construction. American Teen was edited in a certain way, in order to evoke certain emotions from the audience. Regardless of editing, the camera's presence in any situation inevitably changes the very situation (an phenomenon known as the observer effect). I argue that people shouldn't get caught up in the "realness" of a documentary, because the form itself alters reality. But I digress.

Overall, while I can see how some people had issues with American Teen, I still found Nanette Burstein's film an engaging piece of work that raises many important questions about documentaries, and the techniques we use to shoot them.

Saving Fish From Drowning

Here's a video I edited last semester in my own time...it is a political allegory based on the introduction to Amy Tan's novel, Saving Fish From Drowning, which contains an anonymous quote that reads:

"A pious man explained to his followers: "It is evil to take lives and noble to save them. Each day I pledge to save a hundred lives. I drop my net in the lake and scoop out a hundred fishes. I place the fishes on the bank, where they flop and twirl. "Don't be scared," I tell those fishes. "I am saving you from drowning." Soon enough, the fishes grow calm and lie still. Yet, sad to say, I am always too late. The fishes expire. And because it is evil to waste anything, I take those dead fishes to market and I sell them for a good price. With the money I receive, I buy more nets so I can save more fishes."

I tried to relate this quote to what's going on in the world today...but if I step on any toes, I apologize :)

Trinidad at aGLIFF 2008 - with PJ Raval & Jay Hodges

     So, this is a little late coming, but during the first week of class, I went to the aGLIFF (Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival) screening of Trinidad - a documentary about the Sex Change Capital of the World, with the filmmakers in attendance.

     The filming and documentary style was traditional, but the narrative and the characters were not, and the story of Trinidad, Colorado was totally new to me. The film followed three transsexuals who work with people transitioning and/or are in the process of transitioning themselves. Marci Bowers is a famous GRS surgeon who has worked in Trinidad for years with transsexuals, and Laura and Sabrina are two women who are working with Marci to renovate a post-op recovery house for other trans people.

     The accounts of the three women, their families, and others in the Trinidad were at times touching, humorous, heartbreaking, and, often, frustrating and provocative. The cinematography was beautiful in Trinidad, and I was impressed by PJ's movie. He facilitated an interesting Q&A after the screening and was accompanied by the director of When the Light's Red, a short doc many of us (except for me) have apparently already seen in 318 and other classes...

Anyway, check out Trinidad if you get a chance. It's great!

Jay Hodges & PJ Raval

Meishi Street Screening September 25th

Guangzhou/Beijing-based graphic designer, documentarian, and curator Ou Ning (欧宁) will be screening his film Meishi Street at CMB Studio 4D on September 25, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. A special Q&A with Ou Ning will follow the screening.

Filmed by a Beijing resident and edited by the artist team of Ou Ning and Cao Fei (曹斐), Meishi Street documents the demolition of Dazhalan, one of Beijing’s oldest and most famous historic neighborhoods, and offers a dramatic firsthand account of the local residents’ struggle to keep their homes. The film traces conflicts caused by the imbalances between development and preservation, modernization and tradition, and governmental decrees and individual rights that resulted from Beijing’s unprecedented urbanization process during the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.

Mr. Ou Ning is the co-founder and director of The DaZhaLan Project, as well as the director and co-editor of Meishi Street. Mr. Ou, a world-renowned graphic designer and artist, is also a co-founder and the curator of Get It Louder, a traveling biennale of art, architecture, design, and works in new media focused primarily on up-and-coming artists with Chinese backgrounds. Also in the role of curator, he organized the sound installations at Battersea Power Station, London in 2006 for Serpentine Gallery.

When: 8pm September 25, 2008

Where: CMB Studio 4D, UT Austin Campus

Free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come first-seated basis.

The Work of Sadie Benning

Sadie Benning uses autobiography to express personal and sexual experiences through documentary film. Her films portray the story of a lesbian teenager coming to terms with her own sexual identity. Benning subverts the consumer cultures' image of heterosexuality in number of ways. For instance, in her film Jollies, she plays with two nude female barbie dolls. Diagetic rock music blasts in the background while Benning moves the dolls into various sexual positions. She narrates, "Like most people, I have a crush." Here she asserts lesbian identity onto Barbie dolls, iconic symbols of dominant culture and heterosexuality. The rock music also contrasts with the giddy pop music associated with Barbie's image. Her use of diary provides for a personal narrative that aligns her contemplations  with the many other teens that choose to record their thoughts through its form. Her films are, in a sense, an extension of her own diares. Shots of her diary excerpts drive the narrative, perhaps accounting for the inner thoughts she might not have been able to describe through another form. (ie. she uses the diary form to speak of her first sexual experience)

You can check out some of her films on youtube. She made them with a Fisherprice Pixel Vision camera that her filmmaker Dad gave her. I would definitely check her out if interested in autobiographical or portrait docs. 

"You're Gonna Miss Me" - a documentary about Roky Erickson

soooo this past week i saw a documentary about Roky Erickson entitled "You're Gonna Miss Me" directed by Kevin McAlester. Roky was the singer for the 13th Floor Elevators before he did too much mescaline and acid and went plain crazy. Supposedly, this band coined the phrased "psychadelic rock". I wouldn't doubt it. The filmmaker was not present at the screening but he did film the entire movie in Austin so he really didn't have an excuse for not being there. maybe he just wasn't invited. 

the film depicts the rise and fall of a very talented individual whose whole world revolves around music. He did so many psychadelics, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and it caused his band and family to fall apart. 

Anyways, the film is awesome and very moving and i recommend it to everyone.

harlem "witch greens" by daniel hill

this is a music video i made for a band called harlem. they moved to austin in the beginning of this summer. i hope it is okay that i post it....... thanks for watching

SUPER SIZE ME DIRECTOR, MORGAN SPURLOCK, TO SPEAK AT UT

The Texas Union Student Events Center's Distinguished Speakers Committee will host a speech by Morgan Spurlock, the Award-Winning Director of Super Size Me and Host of 30 Days, in the Texas Union Ballroom at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 25th, 2008.

UT students, faculty and staff may obtain passes from the Texas Union Student Events Center Ticket Office (Room 4.300) by presenting a UT ID. Pass distribution will begin on Thursday morning, September 23, 2008 at 8:00 AM (pass distribution: weekdays
8AM-5PM). This event is open to UT students, faculty, and staff.

For more information please call 475-6630 or visit
http://www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/students/sec/dsc/.

portrait of pruitt by yvonne

Short project edited in camera.

A TV Minidoc

So, Jason and I volunteer with TSTV for a show called Sneak Peek - "Entertainment the Way You Want it!"

Last semester, Jason and I combined our love of food (free, hopefully) and film and started a restaurant review segment for Sneak Peek called "Put This in Your Mouth." This was one of our packages at a place called Fricano's Deli.

We've done five or six other reviews, and we're trying to start a cooking segment on this season of Sneak Peek. Maybe a potential 366K project?

This is wakeskating and a little skateboarding

kitchen