My Architect - A Personal Documentary

        Well, we watched parts of this film in class, but I don't think the clips we watched really do Louis Kahn's life or architecture justice. You've got to check this film out for yourself. Louis' son, Nathaniel, who directs the film, adopts an amazingly personal style of directing as he hunts down his father's oldest friends and colleagues in an attempt to better understand the man who gave him life but had so little to do with him once he was born.

        Apart from fantastic interviews and a strong connection between the director/narrator, his subject, and the architectural sites he visits, the film offers some amazing cinematography, and Nathaniel manages to use light and space in a way to truly capture his father's structures, their weight, magnitude, beauty, and timelessness. Still, the personality and humanity of Louis Kahn's troubled life and immense talent are only visible through the eyes and lens of his son, whose journey is what truly makes this film remarkable. I would have to agree with Robert Kolker of New York Magazine who is quoted on the DVD box of My Architect as calling the film "a Citizen Kane-like meditation." This is true to the extent that the film delves so deep into the life of one, single character who, to the outside world, may have only been a talented artist, but who, to many who were closest to him, meant so much more than that. The juxtaposition between Kahn's beautiful structures and the heartbreak and bitter journey Nathaniel seeks to overcome is very powerful on film, and the film's climax is only satisfying once you've seen his entire quest. Check it out - My Architect.

My Third Project - Chance

Here's my third project it was turned in a bit late bc of camera issues. The soundtrack was composed by me with Sony Acid.

Southern Comfort

this weekend i watched a documentary entitled Southern Comfort directed by Kate Davis. This documentary went deep into the lives of a select few transexuals that are looking forward to a yearly transexual convention called Southern Comfort. Two of them are named Robert a Lola. One was born a man and the other was born a woman and they fell in love in the last years of Robert's life. Robert was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and most doctors refuse to treat Robert because he is a transexual. This documentary is a very personal portrait of what Robert is going through in the last days of his life. He is falling more in love with Lola everyday but has to say goodbye to her, his friends, and his family soon.
This film choked me up like nothing else. It is a love story that also teaches audiences what is it to be true to yourself regardless of the gender you were born with. The characters in the film had very strong hearts regardless of how their transgender lifestyle may disappoint their families. Southern Comfort is the convention that brings them all together - it's a way for them to find love, refuge from scrutiny, and comfort.

The Unforeseen

I had the opportunity to watch the Unforeseen at Barton Springs pool this week. The Documentary focuses on the development around Barton Springs. 

I really liked how the film payed homage to Barton Springs. The film itself was shot beautifully. Many of the shots of nature focused on the smaller elements that make up Barton Springs. For instance they used a lot of images of insects, and water. 

Everything was in so much detail that it created this really great contrast that exists between nature and development.  I found the film to be slanted in its political view, very liberal. The director mentioned later that she was more focused on doing a service for the community and that she received a lot of criticism from the people who were interviewed.  It was very clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. 

One of the characters, I believe he was a lobbyist in favor of development, was portrayed as this mysterious villain. His face was never shown during the interview, instead he was shot from the neck down, and the camera pretty much focused on him building military model jets. 

The most powerful character for me was a humble farmer out in Hutto. The film progresses over a couple of years as the development continues. We first see him in his natural serene environment. We watch him farm and tend to his livestock. Little by little he is bombarded with industrial machinery and throughout the film his world is demolished. The landscape changes from his farm land into a master planned community. The most powerful image is one where he is standing with his back facing the camera, with a tool in his hand, and in the background there is a monstrous machine digging and demolishing the farmland in the background. I think that image for me pretty much captured the entire tone of the film. 

Although the view was slanted, for me it served its purpose. 

I think viewing it at Barton Springs was a great experience because I was able to watch it with a lot of other Austinites who obviously were interested in preserving the springs. I enjoyed the booing, the cheering and the laughing. We all seemed to share the same platform on the springs and it made the screening much more meaningful for me. 

Self-Distribution: follow up to Peter Broderick article

Hi Folks,

Here is some concrete info for how to do your own web-based self-distribution. If you did not read the Peter Broderick article, click here.

There is an easy way of selling DVDS online without having to invest tons of money upfront. Might be useful in the future.

Create Space is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, can be used an on-demand online distribution platform for filmmakers:

www.createspace.com/

Create Space is also without box's preferred independent distribution Partner:

www.withoutabox.com/index.php?cmd=register.dvd

Quotes from De Antonio and Ivens - please comment

"I was surprised that many people automatically assumed that any documentary film would inevitably be objective. Perhaps the term is unsatisfactory, but for the distinction between the words document and documentary are quite clear. Do we demand objectivity in the evidence presented in a trial? No, the demand is that each piece of evidence be as full a subjective, truthful, honest presentation of the witness' attitude as an oath on the bible can produce from him."

check out the author of this quote here:

Joris Ivens


"The documentary is not a step to fiction film but a step to freedom. Commercial fiction film is only real estate. When real auteurs, the Harvard Business School graduates, their concern is neither art nor ideas, but money. Maximize rents for a space called a seat. In documentaries, I confront our history on my own terms. Brecht said that only BOOTS can be made to measure. He was right."

check out the author of this quote here:

Emile De Antonio

Monday is Voter Registration DEADline

Dear Students,


This monday is the deadline for registering to vote.

If you do not vote in this election, you are sacrificing your most precious right as an American.

Please watch this if you do not plan on voting, or if you do plan on voting:


www.youtube.com


Hallelujah and Happy Weekend.

Professor Spiro