Taking a moment to plug the Cluster opening at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Ton of excellent new work, some pieces are enormous stretches for the artists - Connie Cantor will be unveiling a 14-foot behemoth of a painting made with layered veils of tiny marks, for example. Additionally it will be interesting to consider the breadth of media in the show, and whether or not it comes together cohesively.
Also on Friday night, the quiet gathering of Pittsburgh documentary filmmakers and viewers happens again. Documentary Salon will be meeting at Pittsburgh Filmmakers in the mini-Melwood screening room on the second floor at 6:30. The group will be screening a 50-minute segment of Rebecca Einhorn's Mythopoeic Times. If past conversations are any indication of the future, considered discussion will follow, moderated by documentary filmmaker and teacher Will Zavala.
Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Local Film : Blanc De Blanc
Local director Lucas McNelly and his team took a two-week filmmaking challenge and created an intimate poem of a film. I'd love to tell you the story; this would, of course, ruin the viewing experience for you. An unlikely love story between Jude (Rachel Shaw), a young ER nurse working at UPMC Shadyside, and Dave (Jason Kirsch), a stranger without a past who synchronicity brings into her life.
Pittsburgh is the third party in the relationship. The informal visual intimacy we Pittsburghers experience day to day in our neighborhoods are echoed in shots of Shadyside, downtown, the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Cinematographer David Eger captures Pittsburgh's neighborhoody depth of field in precicely-framed, close, yet relaxed shots.
Blanc de Blanc is a rare thing, a nesting-box film that succeeds. Its about love stories and process of relationship itself as much as it is the narrative that unfolds in Jude's life. I'm glad I had the opportunity to watch it privately, to test it as hard as any one tests a suitor.
I found Jude's lack of tests for Dave an exquisitely unbelievable aspect of the plot. My unbelief is, I think, precisely the point - exactly what I needed for the larger functions of the film to become clear.
Within the narrative, the love story unfolds with very real moments of struggle and intimacy. Jude argues with her belief in the possibility of the relationship in a way that is very real, I think, in our own couplings and uncouplings. It is our belief in the very possibility of it that gives any relationship its legs. Lose that belief, and lose the relationship.
Depth of field again ... highly detailed moments contrast with the larger visual & poetic structure making an extraordinary piece of work, regardless of production time. McNelly establishes Dave's character through a short series of images, a brief set of details that open the film. There is exactly enough there for us to struggle with the ambiguity of him - the ambiguity allows a lover's projections of character; the ambiguity provides fuel for the audience to argue with Jude and Dave's choices in the way we would argue with our partners; the ambiguity found in poetry.
Very well-acted - watching the actors dissolve into the story was a pleasure. Their work resonates with ordinary life in just the right way.
My only quibble : sound design. I'd love it if the musical presence took a back seat. Perhaps the constant audio presence is meant to create the sense of closeness that the characters are enduring in their shared environment. Perhaps it points to the persistent unreality of their relationship. The music felt too close to the dialogue. I wanted a little more room, the music pushed a little farther back. Give the visuals a little space. But, that's just my aesthetic talking.
McNelly's been getting a fair amount of attention for the quality of the work here, particularly given the brief production time. I'll forego the pile of links and instead send you to the horse's mouth - http://www.blancdeblancfilm.com/
I certainly hope he's able to line up some of the non-traditional screenings in town to support the film. At an hour and seventeen minutes, its at tightly-edited piece worthy of a few opening short films and a lot of audience.
Keep an eye on where this one goes. Its a gem.
Pittsburgh is the third party in the relationship. The informal visual intimacy we Pittsburghers experience day to day in our neighborhoods are echoed in shots of Shadyside, downtown, the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Cinematographer David Eger captures Pittsburgh's neighborhoody depth of field in precicely-framed, close, yet relaxed shots.
Blanc de Blanc is a rare thing, a nesting-box film that succeeds. Its about love stories and process of relationship itself as much as it is the narrative that unfolds in Jude's life. I'm glad I had the opportunity to watch it privately, to test it as hard as any one tests a suitor.
I found Jude's lack of tests for Dave an exquisitely unbelievable aspect of the plot. My unbelief is, I think, precisely the point - exactly what I needed for the larger functions of the film to become clear.
Within the narrative, the love story unfolds with very real moments of struggle and intimacy. Jude argues with her belief in the possibility of the relationship in a way that is very real, I think, in our own couplings and uncouplings. It is our belief in the very possibility of it that gives any relationship its legs. Lose that belief, and lose the relationship.
Depth of field again ... highly detailed moments contrast with the larger visual & poetic structure making an extraordinary piece of work, regardless of production time. McNelly establishes Dave's character through a short series of images, a brief set of details that open the film. There is exactly enough there for us to struggle with the ambiguity of him - the ambiguity allows a lover's projections of character; the ambiguity provides fuel for the audience to argue with Jude and Dave's choices in the way we would argue with our partners; the ambiguity found in poetry.
Very well-acted - watching the actors dissolve into the story was a pleasure. Their work resonates with ordinary life in just the right way.
My only quibble : sound design. I'd love it if the musical presence took a back seat. Perhaps the constant audio presence is meant to create the sense of closeness that the characters are enduring in their shared environment. Perhaps it points to the persistent unreality of their relationship. The music felt too close to the dialogue. I wanted a little more room, the music pushed a little farther back. Give the visuals a little space. But, that's just my aesthetic talking.
McNelly's been getting a fair amount of attention for the quality of the work here, particularly given the brief production time. I'll forego the pile of links and instead send you to the horse's mouth - http://www.blancdeblancfilm.com/
I certainly hope he's able to line up some of the non-traditional screenings in town to support the film. At an hour and seventeen minutes, its at tightly-edited piece worthy of a few opening short films and a lot of audience.
Keep an eye on where this one goes. Its a gem.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
thank god february is a short month ...
The cranky "I'm stuck indoors with a giant gas bill" overwhelms my Superbowl afterglow. Its still too fricking dark outside. Still there's good stuff to be had ...
Documentary Salon met last night in the mini-Melwood theater at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Loosely organized by documentary filmmaker Will Zavala, a little social time with food precedes locally produced documentary film presented for post-show discussion.
Justin Crimone and Mark Staley showed a rough cut of a piece shot in Guatemala. Mark shot the footage while teaching in an educational program for underserved kids in this wild-west country. Since the program, and the film, is funded by Whole Foods, there was a lively discussion of everything from managing the content to concerns about 'slant'.
tENTATIVELY a Convenience was there; he told me a bit about his experimental orchestra, a "communal thought experiment", he recently performed? conducted? at the New Hazlett. He'll be screening the documentation of this event at the next meeting, which is March 3.
While in Filmmakers I got all the movie poster reminders I needed for films I'm looking forward to. Azure & Asmar, an amazing picture-book of an animated fairy tale (kid-friendly non-Disney/Pixar!), an old favorite, Easy Rider, and two servings of Oscar-nominated short films.
Oh, yeah, and Film Kitchen is next Tuesday at Melwood Screening Room in Oakland. Features a locally-made doc about squatters, among other things.
the blog for Documentary Salon
Filmmaker's february screening schedule
Film Kitchen's page
Jessica Fenlon
Documentary Salon met last night in the mini-Melwood theater at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Loosely organized by documentary filmmaker Will Zavala, a little social time with food precedes locally produced documentary film presented for post-show discussion.
Justin Crimone and Mark Staley showed a rough cut of a piece shot in Guatemala. Mark shot the footage while teaching in an educational program for underserved kids in this wild-west country. Since the program, and the film, is funded by Whole Foods, there was a lively discussion of everything from managing the content to concerns about 'slant'.
tENTATIVELY a Convenience was there; he told me a bit about his experimental orchestra, a "communal thought experiment", he recently performed? conducted? at the New Hazlett. He'll be screening the documentation of this event at the next meeting, which is March 3.
While in Filmmakers I got all the movie poster reminders I needed for films I'm looking forward to. Azure & Asmar, an amazing picture-book of an animated fairy tale (kid-friendly non-Disney/Pixar!), an old favorite, Easy Rider, and two servings of Oscar-nominated short films.
Oh, yeah, and Film Kitchen is next Tuesday at Melwood Screening Room in Oakland. Features a locally-made doc about squatters, among other things.
the blog for Documentary Salon
Filmmaker's february screening schedule
Film Kitchen's page
Jessica Fenlon
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tony Buba / Film Kitchen last Tuesday
Kudos to Matt Day for assembling a fantastic Film Kitchen last Tuesday night at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Getting the blatantly obvious out of the way, he wangled the best food ever out of Chipotle grill - whole burritos. Bill O'Driscoll passed the Film Kitchen torch last year, after five years of curating and hosting the event he founded. I'm glad to see its still burning.
I snuck a photo of the 1968 film Jazz from a Very Special Hotel, produced by Laurence Taylor's 11th-grade lit class at Braddock High. Perhaps this offering is what brought out all the 'oldsters' Tony Buba gently teased throughout the night. In Hotel, Taylor's dry narrative voice-over tells the story of a new teen love forged in typing class and walks down quiet railroad tracks. Its a black & white, poetic glimpse into bustling Braddock of 1968.
Buba's Shut Down (1973) was itself shut down by a break in the film stock itself. I didn't care, I got a minute or two of his editing style and actually got to meet the man himself!
With a q&a at the end of the night featuring all the filmmakers, and a treat of an opening short film (Chia-Pi Choa's Where Do Fish Go In Winter, a treat of a slipstream fairy tale) Film Kitchen remains an intimate, regular, local film event well worth a visit.
The monthly film event is hosted by Pittsburgh Filmmakers and sponsored by City Paper. Film Kitchen online.
The author confesses to having screened work at this event in the past.
I snuck a photo of the 1968 film Jazz from a Very Special Hotel, produced by Laurence Taylor's 11th-grade lit class at Braddock High. Perhaps this offering is what brought out all the 'oldsters' Tony Buba gently teased throughout the night. In Hotel, Taylor's dry narrative voice-over tells the story of a new teen love forged in typing class and walks down quiet railroad tracks. Its a black & white, poetic glimpse into bustling Braddock of 1968.
Buba's Shut Down (1973) was itself shut down by a break in the film stock itself. I didn't care, I got a minute or two of his editing style and actually got to meet the man himself!
With a q&a at the end of the night featuring all the filmmakers, and a treat of an opening short film (Chia-Pi Choa's Where Do Fish Go In Winter, a treat of a slipstream fairy tale) Film Kitchen remains an intimate, regular, local film event well worth a visit.
The monthly film event is hosted by Pittsburgh Filmmakers and sponsored by City Paper. Film Kitchen online.
The author confesses to having screened work at this event in the past.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Jacob Young @ Film Kitchen on Tuesday, June 12th.
I know that, during the run of this blog, I've made only scant mention of West Virginian filmmaker Jacob Young. That's a bit of an egregious oversight. Young is one of the most compelling documentarians working in the United States. He's focused his efforts on presenting people and stories from his home state. Of course when you're born in the Mountaineer State (the most beautiful and enigmatic place in the Eastern United States), there is plenty of ground to cover.
Some of Young's early subjects have included Appalachian junkyard owners, the rich industrialist who plagues the land with those goddamned three crosses, the warden from the Moundsville Penitentiary, white supremacist author Dr. William Pierce (author of The Turner Diaries - a book found on Timothy McVeigh after the Oklahoma City bombing), and the swami-turned-felon of the North American headquarters of the Hare Krishnas. Young has received some well-deserved praise for his West Virginia Public TV-produced Different Drummer series, which (of course) documented the antics of a string of eccentric WV characters. One episode is about a senior citizen hussy, who dolls herself up and sings show tunes in the dives of the hollers, performing as "Amazing Dolores".
But Young has received his greatest notoriety with The Dancing Outlaw. This was a documentary about the "Last Mountain Dancer", Jesse White. This Boone County native has appropriated at least two alter egos- Elvis (The King) and Satan himself (nicknamed "Jesco"). Young presented White, his family, and his girlfriend in all their backwoods splendor. Jesco assumes center stage as he relates stories about his lamentably departed father and siblings, and his own gas-huffing, thieving, and alcohol-sodden childhood. But when he's not raising hell White plies his trade in a mix of clog and tap dancing, accompanied by bluegrass music. This was his own father's stock-in-trade, and Jesse has aspired to keep the dying art alive.
Having received his fifteen minutes of fame, Jesco later resumed his place in the spotlight when Roseanne Barr became a fan of The Dancing Outlaw. He was actually invited to Hollywood to appear on her show, and Young was along for the ride to document his adventure. All did not go as expected. Barr had Jesco removed from the set when she noticed a tattoo of a swastika on his arm. White later had the offending symbol covered up when he realized its significance. He explains that it was merely a youthful indiscretion.
It would be a more just world if Jacob Young had received as much acclaim and name recognition as Jesco. But his misfortune pays off for us tomorrow. We can actually meet him in person at Pitsburgh Filmmakers in Oakland (Melwood Street). He'll be at Film Kitchen, presenting his newest documentary- Urim and Thummim*. It's about a man named Todd Walker who bought an object at a Nashville Goodwill for 69 cents. Apparently he was pleased to discover that the thing proved to be a visual gateway to both Heaven and Hell. But evidently others were skeptical about his claims. Young followed Walker on a "witness tour" aimed at convincing the locals that the relic was a genuine and miraculous holy object.
If you are so inclined, you can chat with Jacob Young at the reception (7PM) that precedes the screening. I've spoken with him on two previous occasions, and I've found him to be both accessible and generous with his thoughts. But if you are the shy sort, stick around for the Q & A session after the film. It's sure to be illuminating.
* - Find out more about this obscure-sounding title here.
Some of Young's early subjects have included Appalachian junkyard owners, the rich industrialist who plagues the land with those goddamned three crosses, the warden from the Moundsville Penitentiary, white supremacist author Dr. William Pierce (author of The Turner Diaries - a book found on Timothy McVeigh after the Oklahoma City bombing), and the swami-turned-felon of the North American headquarters of the Hare Krishnas. Young has received some well-deserved praise for his West Virginia Public TV-produced Different Drummer series, which (of course) documented the antics of a string of eccentric WV characters. One episode is about a senior citizen hussy, who dolls herself up and sings show tunes in the dives of the hollers, performing as "Amazing Dolores".
But Young has received his greatest notoriety with The Dancing Outlaw. This was a documentary about the "Last Mountain Dancer", Jesse White. This Boone County native has appropriated at least two alter egos- Elvis (The King) and Satan himself (nicknamed "Jesco"). Young presented White, his family, and his girlfriend in all their backwoods splendor. Jesco assumes center stage as he relates stories about his lamentably departed father and siblings, and his own gas-huffing, thieving, and alcohol-sodden childhood. But when he's not raising hell White plies his trade in a mix of clog and tap dancing, accompanied by bluegrass music. This was his own father's stock-in-trade, and Jesse has aspired to keep the dying art alive.
Having received his fifteen minutes of fame, Jesco later resumed his place in the spotlight when Roseanne Barr became a fan of The Dancing Outlaw. He was actually invited to Hollywood to appear on her show, and Young was along for the ride to document his adventure. All did not go as expected. Barr had Jesco removed from the set when she noticed a tattoo of a swastika on his arm. White later had the offending symbol covered up when he realized its significance. He explains that it was merely a youthful indiscretion.
It would be a more just world if Jacob Young had received as much acclaim and name recognition as Jesco. But his misfortune pays off for us tomorrow. We can actually meet him in person at Pitsburgh Filmmakers in Oakland (Melwood Street). He'll be at Film Kitchen, presenting his newest documentary- Urim and Thummim*. It's about a man named Todd Walker who bought an object at a Nashville Goodwill for 69 cents. Apparently he was pleased to discover that the thing proved to be a visual gateway to both Heaven and Hell. But evidently others were skeptical about his claims. Young followed Walker on a "witness tour" aimed at convincing the locals that the relic was a genuine and miraculous holy object.
If you are so inclined, you can chat with Jacob Young at the reception (7PM) that precedes the screening. I've spoken with him on two previous occasions, and I've found him to be both accessible and generous with his thoughts. But if you are the shy sort, stick around for the Q & A session after the film. It's sure to be illuminating.
* - Find out more about this obscure-sounding title here.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Jefferson Presents this Friday
Jefferson Presents...7th Anniversary(#76)Friday 02/23/07, 8:00PM;
$5, $4 Students;
Garfield Artworks,
4931 Penn Ave.
Tons of great stuff-- so much that I couldn't cut and paste it in right.
Get your info here:
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