Hey DC Tumblrs…come see my film!
After your workout on Sunday morning, come to a screening of my feature documentary, Up Heartbreak Hill. It will be shown as part of the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival at 1pm. After the screening, I’ll be doing a Q&A with the director and the three kids featured in the film. Stop by and say “Hello!”
For more info or to buy tickets, click here
Here’s what the film is about:
Up Heartbreak Hill chronicles the lives of three Native American teenagers in Navajo, NM — Thomas, an elite runner, Tamara, an academic superstar, and Gabby, an aspiring photographer — as they navigate their senior year at a reservation high school.
As graduation nears, they must decide whether or not to stay in their community — a place inextricably woven into the fiber of their being. They hesitate to separate from their families, traditions, and the community that helps define them, and they wrestle with the idea of becoming the next generation to lead the Navajo Nation. Their battles to shape their identities as both Native American and modern American lie at the heart of the film.
The United States of America is known for being one of the wealthiest nations on the planet with the most opportunities for its citizens. In 2004 alone, Americans spent $12.4 billion (yes, billion!) on cosmetic surgery. With such an abundance of wealth, why are Americans so discontent? Filmmaker Darryl Roberts goes on a two year journey to examine America’s new obsession: physical perfection. In America the Beautiful, we learn secrets, confessions, and strikingly harsh realities as Roberts unearths the origins and deadly risks of our nation’s quest for physical perfection.
I was so excited to see this in a few weeks. Now I have to work an event in Chicago and will miss it. :(
Thought some of you readers might find this film interesting…the next screening in NYC will be May 25th (I just missed the Feb 4th screening, GAH!)
As I’ve mentioned on a number of occasions, I’m currently editing a feature documentary. It’s about three Navajo teenagers and their struggles to make it off the reservation if they can graduate from high school. It has consumed the last 7 months of my life and is routinely the cause of me missing workouts/runs, high levels of stress, and at times pure moments of joy.
I’d like to invite all of my NYC tumblrs to come see what the fuss is all about!*
Tomorrow (Wed 1.27.10), my film, “Up Heartbreak Hill,” will screen a Rough Cut at DocuClub at 7pm. I realize that this is VERY short notice, but for some reason it didn’t occur to me until I was going to bed last night to post about it (probably because I’ve been so scatter-brained lately).
Anyways, if you’re free tomorrow night, have $8.00, and like documentary films, please come by and check it out. Your thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Details about the screening here:
http://www.mediarights.org/docuclub/screenings/docuclub_screenings_sun_come_up
And if you want to purchase tickets online, you can do so here:
http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?productid=T%2DMM5FJ16
Thanks so much and hope to see you there!
*I’m not prejudiced against those of you that don’t live in NYC, but I figured you wouldn’t be able to make the trip to the big apple on a Wednesday night with such short notice. ;-)
Interesting line up for the U.S. Documentary competition this year. Only 16 films out of 862 submissions were selected to premier in Park City, UT. Looking forward to learning more about these!
- Bhutto (Directors: Jessica Hernandez and Johnny O’Hara; Screenwriter: Johnny O’Hara)—A riveting journey through the life and work of recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister and a polarizing figure in the Muslim world. World Premiere
- CASINO JACK & The United States of Money (Director: Alex Gibney)—A probing investigation into the lies, greed and corruption surrounding D.C. super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his cronies. World Premiere
- Family Affair (Director: Chico Colvard)—An uncompromising documentary that examines resilience, survival and the capacity to accommodate a parent’s past crimes in order to satisfy the longing for family. World Premiere
- Freedom Riders (Director: Stanley Nelson)—The story behind a courageous band of civil rights activists called the Freedom Riders who in 1961 creatively challenged segregation in the American South. World Premiere
- Gas Land (Director: Josh Fox)—A cross-country odyssey uncovers toxic streams, dying livestock, flammable sinks and weakening health among rural citizens on the front lines of the natural gas drilling craze. World Premiere
- I’m Pat _______ Tillman (Director: Amir Bar-Lev)—The story of professional football star and decorated U.S. soldier Pat Tillman, whose family takes on the U.S. government when their beloved son dies in a “friendly fire” incident in Afghanistan in 2004. World Premiere
- Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (Director: Tamra Davis)—The story of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose work defined, electrified and challenged an era, and whose untimely death at age 27 has made him a cultural icon. World Premiere
- Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (Directors: Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg)—A rare, brutally honest glimpse into the comedic process and private dramas of legendary comedian and pop icon Joan Rivers as she fights tooth and nail to keep her American dream alive. World Premiere
- Lucky (Director: Jeffrey Blitz)—The story of what happens when ordinary people hit the lottery jackpot. World Premiere
- My Perestroika (Director: Robin Hessman)—My Perestroika follows five ordinary Russians living in extraordinary times — from their sheltered Soviet childhood, to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teenage years, to the constantly shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. Together, these childhood classmates paint a complex picture of the dreams and disillusionments of those raised behind the Iron Curtain. World Premiere
- The Oath (Director: Laura Poitras)— Filmed in Yemen, The Oath tells the story of two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a course of events that led them to Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo, and the U.S. Supreme Court. World Premiere
- Restrepo (Directors: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington)—Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s year dug in with the Second Platoon in one of Afghanistan’s most strategically crucial valleys reveals extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of back breaking labor, deadly firefights, and camaraderie as the soldiers painfully push back the Taliban. World Premiere
- A Small Act (Director: Jennifer Arnold)—A young Kenyan’s life changes dramatically when his education is sponsored by a Swedish stranger. Years later, he founds his own scholarship program to replicate the kindness he once received. World Premiere
- Smash His Camera (Director: Leon Gast)—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sued him, and Marlon Brando broke his jaw. The story of notorious, reviled paparazzo Ron Galella opens a Pandora’s Box of issues from right to privacy, freedom of the press and the ever-growing vortex of celebrity worship.World Premiere
- 12th & Delaware (Directors: Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing)—The abortion battle continues to rage in unexpected ways on an unassuming corner in America. World Premiere
- Waiting for Superman (Director: Davis Guggenheim)—Waiting for Superman examines the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories—from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a dysfunctional system. World Premiere
- (via makingofmovies brrritscoldouthere)
As I posted on my other tumblr, my film was one of those 862 films in the feature documentary category that didn’t make the cut. This is only part of the reason I was having such a shitty day yesterday…
