Just got some great news! I've been awarded a City Artist grant through the Mayor's Office for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Thank you for supporting artists Seattle!
Individual artists are the heart of a creative community. The CityArtist Projects program provides funding for artists to develop and present their work. ... We encourage a broad range of artistic and cultural expression that reflects Seattle's diversity.
MARCH POINT is now available for download on iTunes! Only ten bucks, a pretty sweet deal! Sign in and rate the film to help raise its profile... Here's how it works:
1. Google iTunes
2. Click on the iTunes official store
3. In the iTunes store search box, type in "March Point" (top right)
4. Click on the title of the film (hint: it's March Point)
5. Scroll down to "Customer Reviews". On the right it says "Write a Review". Click on that.
6. It will ask you to sign into your iTunes account. If you don't have one, it's easy to create. Just follow their directions.
7. Once you have signed in, you can write your review. At the top, click on the circle for how many stars you want to give it (I suggest 5!). Below that you can write a comment and submit.
You could also try this link.
Several videos from Longhouse Media's youth program Native Lens will be featured at the American Indian Film Festival in Bellevue from November 5-7th, 2009 (which is being held in conjunction with the First Expressions: Rehumanizing the People art exhibit). I've worked on several of these videos in one way or another over the years.
The Executive Director of Longhouse Media, Tracy Rector, has also been
invited to be the keynote speaker for the festival.
Look for Longhouse Media screenings:
Friday, November 6th at 6:45 pm
Saturday November 7th at 12:30 pm
Saturday, November 7th at 3:45 pm
Tracy was also recently a guest on the KBCS show Voices of Diversity. Scroll down to the Oct. 21, 2009 show to listen to the archived conversation with Native filmmakers, actors, and storytellers.
Theater Off Jackson is proud to host the first Seattle Ambient Film Festival October 30th beginning at 10:00pm. My short video, CITY SYMPHONY, will be part of the lineup. Other films from local and non-local artists will include works by:
Otto Bulut
Gretchen Burger
Wes Hurley
Jordana Kaplow
Gary Mula
Adam Sekuler
Dan Thornton
MARCH POINT won Best Documentary this weekend at the Port Townsend Film Festival!
With a strong sense of place & community, small scope on big issues, and direct, poignant honesty tempered with humor, MARCH POINT is one tough little film!
James Longley got the famous phone call shortly before embarking on a trip to India. This prestigious award provides a five-year grant of a half million dollars - no strings attached - to individuals who show "exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future".
James Longley is, of course, the director I worked with on SARI'S MOTHER and IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS. Congratulations James!
Click here to view the Seattle Times coverage of the news.
An interesting article in the New York Times about the changing economic landscape of filmmaking and film distribution.
The HotDocs International Documentary Challenge finalists will screen at Northwest Film Forum on July 21, 2009. A HEALING ART and DARK MATERIAL are the two projects I worked on.
Filmmaker Christen Marquez's Hawaiian name is: Hepua koa mana'a o ke kapu ka malie - o - no nali'i e me ka hanohano 'ia. But don't ask her what it means, because she doesn't know yet. She is trying to figure it out by making an hour-long documentary for PBS called HAKU INOA: TO WEAVE A NAME.
My mother is a kumu hula, or master hula teacher. So, she was able to give my brothers and I these incredibly beautiful and meaningful Hawaiian names. Unfortunately, she has a mental illness called schizophrenia. She was unable to care for us, so we had to leave the islands with my father for Seattle when I was eight years old, and I never had the chance to learn about my name from her.
Christen has been working hard on HAKU INOA for the past several years. Most of her footage is shot and she is hosting this fundraiser to raise the money she needs to finish the film. She's a very talented emerging filmmaker and this project presents a really unique point of view that reflects the complex world we live in. I'm very excited that Christen has asked me to edit this project. And I hope you'll consider making a donation!
Join us for an evening of films,
hula, Hawaiian music and culture presented in partnership with The Wing Luke
Museum, The MAVIN Foundation, and Reel Grrls. Your support during this
fundraising event will go to the completion of HAKU INOA. Tickets are $10.
It would also be great if you can encourage people who are
unable to attend the event to donate to the project through the yellow
donate button on this page.
WHAT: HAKU INOA: TO WEAVE A NAME - Fundraiser Screening
WHEN: Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
WHERE: Central Cinema, 1411 21st Avenue E., Seattle WA 98122
Can independent filmmakers monetize their work by giving it away for free?
Journalist Chris Anderson might say so. His new book Free: The Future of a Radical Price explains how "free" can become a marketing technique, helping businesses gain credibility in an economy that increasingly values reputation.
Listen to his story on a recent edition of NPR's Fresh Air.
Of all the films you saw last year, it's statistically likely that fewer than 10 percent were directed by women.
A short but interesting story featured on NPR's All Things Considered.
Out this month, DOCUMENTARY
magazine features a still from March Point on the cover and talks about the film in the main article for the Summer 2009 issue. This is THE documentary magazine in the country and a huge honor.
Sweet!
Also, Longhouse Media has been honored with a National Association for Media Literacy award. This national award recognizes outstanding contributions made in media literacy and education. Again an enormous honor! The last recipient was Jon Stewart. Before that, Bill Moyers!
The latest announcement from Doc Challenge headquarters:
The audience has spoken! The 2009 International Documentary Challenge Audience Award (determined by online voting) goes to A HEALING ART by Team Fly On The Wall from Seattle, Washington, USA. Directed by Ellen Frick, A HEALING ART delves into the world of artificial eye makers as they rekindle hope for victims of tragedy. Congratulations to Team Fly On The Wall!
★ ★ ★
Also, the Best of the Doc Challenge DVD is now on Netlfix! It features 17 award-winning films from the first three years of the Doc Challenge. It also includes special features, with interviews and tips from the winning filmmakers. Queue it up!
AND, Dokufest in Kosovo is presenting a showcase of the winners of the International Documentary Challenge.
SUPERFLY once again descends upon Seattle. This is an annual 36-hour fly filmmaking challenge presented by Longhouse Media in partnership with the Seattle International Film Festival and various tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Fifty youth from all over the country come to Seattle and work together to create five short films over the course of one very long day and one very long night. I'm excited to be helping out once again this year!
The completed films premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Seattle on Saturday, June 6th at 4pm as part of the FutureWave program. Tickets to this show usually sell out, so buy yours in advance!
Delaney Ruston's long-awaited feature documentary UNLISTED (a story about schizophrenia) will screen in Seattle theatres this month. I've worked on this project a little bit over the years both as a shooter and editor, and I'm looking forward to seeing it on the big screen! Also, UNLISTED was recently honored with an award for Most Compelling Documentary by the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. Congrats Delaney!
Tickets are available here:
Friday June 5th 1:30pm @ Jewel Box Theater
2322 2nd Ave, Seattle 98121
Monday June 8th 7pm @ Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave, Seattle 98122
Wed June 10th 7pm @ Central Cinema
1411 21st Ave, Seattle 98122
Why do we see so many severely mentally ill people on the street, often off treatment and nearly always alone? Physician and filmmaker, Delaney Ruston, has seen her paranoid schizophrenic father in this state. UNLISTED depicts Ruston's journey, now as a doctor, to stop hiding from her father and to understand his illness and its impact on their relationship. Prompted by memories of struggling to get help for her father, Ruston sets out to understand why it is so hard to get mental health care in America. When her father suddenly stops his medicine, what starts as an emotional tale of reconciliation turns into a frantic journey for survival.
DARK MATERIAL, one of the HotDocs International Documentary Challenge finalists, will screen at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 31, 2009 at 11am as part of the Sensory Overload program. I did a little sound mixing and color correction on this project.
