Smile Boston Project screens in Boston, Friday, October 3, 2008

Readers in the Boston area are cordially invited to attend a free screening of my short documentary, Smile Boston Project, part of a special Boston screening of selected films from the From Here to Awesome film festival. Artist Bren Bataclan, the subject of my documentary, will be in attendance. Here are the vital details:

• 7:00 P.M., Friday, October 3, 2008
• Tower Auditorium, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
• 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston (Directions | PDF Map)
• Easy T access via Green E line (Longwood Stop) or 39 Bus
• For driving and parking directions, see note at the end of this post
• The screening is free and open to the public

A group of us will be going out to one of the local watering holes for a drink after the screening, so check in with Bren Bataclan or I immediately after the screening to find out where we’ll be headed.

This takes place on the eve of DIY DAYS Boston (the conference is also free, however, registration is required to attend the conference, but not the Friday night screening).

Screening Lineup for the Evening will be:

Smile Boston Project (2007, David Tames, 20 min.) In the summer of 2003 Bren Bataclan began leaving paintings of his colorful characters in public places with a note attached that says, “This painting is yours to keep if you promise to smile at random people more often.” The film examines the artists influences, his goals, and the reactions of people who have found, purchased, and critiqued his paintings.

Ring of Blood (2008, Javier Prato, 4 min.)
A mercenary hired by the Asian mafia to steal a diamond ring worth millions of dollars decides to go against them and keep it for himself. Starring Davis Choh as the unruled mercenary and Viktor Murakami as the villain. It’s only a matter of time to see who finally gets that precious ring.

Book of Caleb (2008, Matthew Von Manahan, 108 min.) Twenty-something Caleb Callahan, a crusader without a cause, ventures back to his homeland of suburbia where he reunites with his childhood companions: a mastermind serial prankster and a trusty sidekick. After one of their prank has consequences, Caleb is forced to be the hero, save his friends, and give his life direction.

Driving/Parking information
The best way to get to MassArt is via the T, however, if you need to drive, free parking will be available for screening attendees in the MassArt Ward Street lot on a first-come basis if you enter the lot between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. on the night of the screening. Here are the details:

• If you’re traveling west on Huntington Avenue: as you pass the main campus on your right, take a left at the light onto Longwood Avenue, crossing over the trolley tracks. Go straight to the stop sign and turn left, then immediately turn right onto Ward Street. MassArt’s parking lot is short distance ahead on the left. This is pretty clear if you take a look at the Google Map.
• If you’re traveling east on Huntington Avenue: take a right at the light onto Longwood Avenue, then a quick left and right and you’re on Ward Street. MassArt’s parking lot is short distance ahead on the left. This is pretty clear if you take a look at the Google Map.

This screening is made possible by the generosity of MassArt Professional and Continuing Education, DIY DAYS, and From Here to Awesome.

Lowell Film Festival: April 4-5, 2008

The Lowell Film Festival will presents a series of documentary and feature films on the subjects of globalization and immigration this year along with panels on filmmaking. Always an “immigrant city”, Lowell stands today in the midst of a population transformation no less profound than the one that shaped the city in the middle of the 19th century. Come and explore what globalization and immigration means through films, locally produced shorts, and discussions with the filmmakers involved in the productions.

The Opening Night Reception is on April 4, 2008 at 6pm and the festival runs all day April 5, 2008 and admission is free. The headliner film on Friday night is Sacco & Vanzetti, a documentary about Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrant anarchists who were accused of a murder in 1920, and executed in Boston in 1927 after a notoriously prejudiced trial. The screening will be followed by Q&A with producer Peter Miller. The headliner film on Saturday night is Abderrahmane Sissako’s Bamako, a fascinating film (which I saw a while back at the MFA) that deals with the World Bank and the IMF by telling the story of a trial court set up in the courtyard of an African home. Amidst pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard.

Short films fare better in new distribution paradigm

Shorts have always gotten short shrift in distribution, with features pushing them aside, however, the web is changing the rules and paid downloads looks like a good way for shorts to have some life in distribution and earn a little cash for their makers. One evidence point for this trend is a recent story in Variety, “Sundance expands online plan” by Michael Jones reports that the 2008 Sundance Film Festival will be pay filmmakers in the shorts program for Internet downloads through iTunes, Xbox LIVE and Netflix. According to the festival, year some short films saw revenues in the “tens of thousands of dollars,” even after iTunes and the Sundance Institute took their fees.

New Media and a Smile in New Hampshire

Join me and fellow panelists Kevin Anderton and Steve Garfield at the New Hampshire Film Festival on October 12th from 1:30 to 3:30pm for a panel titled “Future Now: New Media and the Modern Filmmaker” at the Portsmouth Public Library. The session, to be moderated by John Herman, will explore the creative and cultural intersection of filmmaking and new media. Bring your ideas and questions to share.

Later the same day at 4:15pm my new short, Smile Boston Project, screens at the Music Hall along with Front Wards, Back Wards. Hope to see you there!

Shadow of the House is a rare and beautiful gem

This weekend at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival I has the pleasure of seeing Shadow of the House, an intimate documentary by Allie Humenuk that presents a portrait of photographer Abelardo Morell. The film shows his process and daily life behind the work without interpreting it for you, presenting no experts telling you about the importance of Morell’s work, instead, you see that for yourself, as if you had walked into a beautifully mounted exhibition without placards or a program.

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Smile Boston Project joins slate of documentaries at Newburyport Documentary Festival

This weekend my short documentary, Smile Boston Project, (which won Best Short Documentary at the Woods Hole Film Festival) joins a slate of wonderful documentaries screening at the Newburyport Documentary Festival. Check out the schedule, if you live in the area, consider a day trip on Saturday or Sunday to catch some of the wonderful documentary films screening this year. On Saturday night the festival is screening Beth Murphy’s Beyond Belief, which won Best Film at the Woods Hole Film Festival. On Sunday afternoon at 1:45pm Smile Boston Project screens along with Steven Delano’s No Bigger Than A Minute, which premiered in October 2006 on PBS. There will be a Q&A following the screening. Then at 4pm Bren Bataclan (the subject of my film) and I will be at a reception at A Hog On Ice Gallery. If you plan to come to any of the screenings, I suggest you purchase tickets in advance, many of the films are expected to sell out, and opening night on Friday is already sold out.

An interview with Christen McArdle on preserving the Ann Arbor Film Festival

This week’s Art Film Talk interview is with Christen McArdle, the Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the oldest festival of its kind in North America showcasing avant-garde, documentary and independent films from around the world. We talk about the festival's fundraising campaign and the censorship controversy the festival has been involved with.