Thursday, February 24th, 2011 @ 7PM

Landmark Harvard Exit  (807 E Roy st, Seattle, WA 98102)

* PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to see this preview of I AM, please leave the name/s of those who wish to attend in the comments section below. I will respond with a confirmation. Seating can never be guaranteed absolutely, however, if you arrive early, your name will be on the guest list and your odds are at least as good as Lindsay Lohan returning to court. *

I AM, a prismatic and probing exploration of our world, what’s wrong with it, and what we can do to make it better, represents Tom Shadyac‘s first foray into non-fiction following a career as one of Hollywood’s leading comedy practitioners, with such successful titles as ACE VENTURA, LIAR LIAR and BRUCE ALMIGHTY to his credit. I AM recounts what happened to the filmmaker after a cycling accident left him incapacitated, possibly for good. Though he ultimately recovered, he emerged a changed man. Disillusioned with life on the A-list, he sold his house, moved to a mobile home community, and decided to start life anew.

Armed with nothing but his innate curiosity and a camera crew, Shadyac embarks upon a journey to discover how he as an individual, and we as a race, can improve the way we live. Appearing on-screen as character, commentator, guide, and even, at times, guinea pig, Shadyac meets with a variety of thinkers and doers–remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy, and faith–including such luminaries as David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lynne McTaggart, Ray Anderson, John Francis, Coleman Barks, and Marc Ian Barasch.  An irrepressible Everyman who asks many questions but offers no easy answers, he takes the audience to places it has never been before, and presents even familiar phenomena in completely new and different ways.

Many voters are unaware of the Constitution-blessed process of reapportionment, thankfully, Jeff Reichert has completed GERRYMANDERING, an engaging documentary that colorfully and carefully explains the title’s history, its role in present-day campaigns and efforts nationwide to alter its future impact.

After I published a summary of the movie, critical of some aspects, I exchanged (congenial) messages with Mr. Reichert, who kindly agreed to be interviewed for The Warren Report so that we encourage you to consider the machinations that disempower voters by diluting the significance of their ballots and question the quality of our choices before we even step up to the voting booths.

Once you’re read through our conversation, visit endgerrymandering.com and learn how you can make a change. Draw your own conclusions. You’ve got my vote. And, The Warren Report serves as an open-minded forum for your feedback.

WARREN: Your documentary explains the origins of the term, gerrymandering. In your research, was the process of redistricting essentially, unilaterally, corrupt from the outset? Or, were there exceptions as you suggest Iowa serves as today?

JEFF: I think instead of “corruption,” it may be better in the redistricting context to talk about “fairness.” The idea to elect representatives from geographically defined areas was borne from a certain conception of what “fair representation” would look like.  The problem with an idea like “fair” is that it’s fluid, and no one’s going to agree on what that actually means.  The Founding Fathers took a good stab at setting up a workable system within the context of a nation that allowed only white landowners to vote, but we’re now a few hundred years later electing representatives based on a modified and expanded idea of their “fair.”  So, some of the corruption of redistricting is intrinsic to the way we’ve decided to hold elections, and is really not the fault of any specific party or agent.  The real problems come when the weaknesses of the system are exploited even further, and this is what my film is largely about.

WARREN: There is an implication in the movie that Barack Obama‘s district was redrawn to increase the likelihood of his state-level election and that, in turn, dramatically improved his odds of winning on a national stage. Who do you believe was manipulating the process in Obama’s favor?

JEFF: This was very clearly handled by the Illinois State Democratic party — Ryan Lizza did a terrific job of reporting this incident in his Obama article for the New Yorker, “Making It.”  Obama, who had just gotten trounced in a Congressional race against a longtime incumbent, was given carte blanche by the party to change his district and he did so in dramatic fashion, as we show in the film.  The question then becomes: Did this redistricting put him on the fast track to the presidency?  It’s always hard to determine causality in something as nuanced as a political career, but I do think if he’d won that Congressional race in 2000, his path would have been very different.

WARREN: Typically, redistricting coincides with the completion of the census. However, GERRYMANDERING depicts the infamous efforts of Tom DeLay to cut up Texas to enhance the odds of Republicans winning seats. (And what do you know, it worked.) Can any state redistrict at any time? Need their be cause or a public acknowledgement?

JEFF: After the Delay/Texas incident one of the arguments made by those who litigated the case before the Supreme Court was that the plan should be thrown out because districting can only legally happen right after the Census.  The Court disagreed, in essence opening the door to constant gerrymandering.  That so-called “re-redistricting” hasn’t happened all over the country is a testament to how difficult mounting the process is within a legislature, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t.  Congressman John Tanner has recently introduced a bill that would at the very least require states to hold hearings on redistricting, that even this minor measure is unlikely to pass, suggests the degree to which the parties want to keep total control over the process.

WARREN: The great strength of GERRYMANDERING is that it calls attention to such an important factor in our electoral system. Why is so little press generated about this issue? How would you like the mainstream media’s coverage to evolve?

JEFF: I think part of the problem is that redistricting is terribly complicated and you need more time than the average news story gets these days to really tease out why the lines on a map really matter.  Redistricting actually has been getting a great deal of ink in newspapers recently, and I think there is a cadre of political writers out there who beat the drum about this issue every ten years in the hopes people will finally wake up.  But it’s one thing to read about redistricting and another thing to actually see it — to watch a map change, or spend time in the far corners of a district to see just how different it is.  We use in the film a terrific special program hosted by John Chancellor from the sixties in which they actually spent time doing just this, but there’s sadly no room in the current media landscape for this kind of exploration.

WARREN: GERRYMANDERING tracks the progress and eventual passing of Proposition 11 in California. Do you think this approach should be adopted nationwide?

JEFF: Not necessarily.  There are things I like about Prop. 11 and things I don’t like, and even the proponents agree that there are potential pitfalls in their approach.  They went ahead with it because they felt the system needed some kind of shock to help jolt it back into order, and the solution they came up with was very much tailored to the political realities of California.  We do need to change the way we do redistricting nationwide, but I think individual states need to look at their realities and see what kind of change works best for them.  That change may look something like Prop. 11, it may look like something else entirely.

WARREN: Prop 11 had the enthusiastic backing of The Terminator, er, the Governor of the state of California. In the film, one talking head proffers that Arnold only supported the movement because it made for good press. Are you equally cynical?

JEFF: I’m not, even though I did have my questions before we actually began filming.  Having spent time on the campaign trail with the Governor, and spoken with him directly about the issue on a few occasions, I do believe he understands redistricting and is sincere in his desire to reform the process.  Also, given how little press redistricting generally gets, there’s really no sound political upside to tackling it, especially in California, where attempts at reform have failed multiple times.  That he went after it twice, and is now engaged in an attempt to expand Prop. 11 to cover congressional districts suggests to me that he means business.

WARREN: Some skeptics wonder if America’s two-party system actually offers a choice or is it more like choosing between Daniel and Stephen Baldwin?

JEFF: I think now, more than at any point in my lifetime, the differences between the parties are starkly defined.  This ideological separation will fluctuate over time, but there are always differences, and I feel there’s a certain naivete in those who just kind of throw up their hands and say, “they’re all the same.”  To a certain extent that’s true — our electoral model tends to produce certain kinds of candidates, but there is a lot of room in the system for variance.  Can we honestly say that voting for Barney Frank is the same as voting for Michelle Bachmann?

WARREN: Can a third party — even one as histrionic as the Tea Party — ever have a voice in our government given the self-fulfilling prophecy of gerrymandered elections?

JEFF: Winner-take-all elections tend to produce a system dominated by two parties for reasons that are better explained by political scientists than filmmakers  – it’s incredibly complex.  As long as we use this system (where whichever candidate wins at least 50%+1 of the total vote is given the right to represent 100% of the voters) as opposed to, say, a proportional representation model, we will have two parties, and third parties will struggle.

WARREN: What constitutes meaningful representation? Should an elected official represent the needs of all voters in her or his district or should s/he vote purely in accordance with her or his conscience? If we all “are created equal,” why should redistricting even matter?

JEFF: That is a huge question, and one that we chose to raise in GERRYMANDERING briefly instead of really delving into.  Someone recently suggested to me that there might be another entire movie in this question alone.  Personally, I lean towards representatives who attempt to channel the various needs and desires of their constituents into legislation, as opposed to placing all my faith in the conscience of an individual and hoping for the best.  I believe we elect officials because we want them to do things for us, to act on our policy preferences.

We may all have been “created equal” but the world certainly doesn’t do us any favors post-creation, and that’s why we need politics and government – to help us get closer to this ideal.  We may decide at some point that we don’t want to continue using a system where we have to draw lines on a map to determine representation, and that’s fine, but until then we need to work within the limits set for us, while always remaining cognizant of other possibilities.  It was really important that we at least glance in this direction in the body of the film and I’ve actually been gratified how much our quick mention of this fundamental piece of the representation debate gets people talking and thinking.

WARREN: The Warren Report’s motto is: Smarter audiences make better movies. I also believe that smarter audiences make better voters. If you could offer readers one (or more) tip(s) as how to channel their outrage after seeing GERRYMANDERING, what would it/they be?

JEFF: I know we disagree on this a bit, but I strongly believe that the first thing voters should do after seeing the movie is learn the contours of their districts.  I think most will be very surprised about the kinds of communities they’ve been lumped in with and will recognize obvious inequities going on where they live and have questions about why these inequities exist.  The local is ground zero for real political reform and if viewers can take what the film imparts to them about how redistricting works and apply it to their individual situations, it will give them the tools they need to engage when redistricting happens again in a few months.  We are committed to making screenings of the film a place where the groups writing the reform measures can connect with newly educated voters, and have already swelled the ranks of several reform movements here in New York state.  We’re even working on a great online application to make this truly national at www.endgerrymandering.com.

No offense intended, but I think this is actually a far more concrete path to meaningful political reform than some of your suggestions from the initial article you wrote about my film, which, no matter how much I agree with their spirit aren’t particularly actionable.  I believe GERRYMANDERING is poised to move the needle on the redistricting debate.  The film will come out in October and we’re going to be engaging in a slew of activities to push this issue to the fore before people go to the polls in November.

For tix and more info: http://www.tasveer.org/

Recipient of the Indian “Silver Lotus Award” for the best film on Environmental Issues.

Along the border of South-West region of Orissa, a hill named Niyamgiri is home to a tribe called the Dongria Kandha. The current plight of the Dongria Kandha tribe is weaved through a love story of a simple villager Bangaru and his love interest Singari. How the modern man’s mind intrudes into their innocence to exploit the value of the tribe and the natural resources of the hills.

Niyamgiri hills, with its natural beauty of flora and fauna, is also rich of minerals which can be processed and produced as aluminum. The film starts with the controversial government’s announcement for the take-over of the mountain, handing it to a multinational company.

The film is directed by the Legendary Oriya director, Prashanta Nanda.

Here are some links to know more about the people of Niyamgiri.

Orissa tribe to Avatar director: now you watch our film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4tuTFZ3wXQ

Vedanta Aluminium (mining company) recognized as Green Leader in mining and metal industry

http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowBussinessNews.asp?id=18984

During the morning Saiz will provide case studies, video samples, and valuable handouts to walk you through the basic steps towards making your project more competitive with this organization. In the afternoon, there will be an informal pitch session where attendees will get an opportunity to watch as twelve people present their proposals and Saiz provides feedback.

As the single biggest funder of independent documentaries on television, the Independent Television Service (ITVS) has become indispensable for filmmakers seeking major funding for their projects. This all day event is a rare opportunity for independent producers to meet Richard and grasp the essential concepts and principles of how to make your documentary more competitive when applying for ITVS funds.

When: July 10, 9am – 5pm (followed by a reception in West Seattle)
Where: Youngstown Cultural Art Center, Thelma Dewitty Theater
4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106

Lunch will be provided. After the workshop we will have a happy hour reception (plenty of food and drink) for everyone at the nearby home of Ellen and Doug Frick. We’ll give location information and arrange carpools if needed at the workshop.

Tickets: Thanks to generous donations by ITVS and the former NDA, tickets are only $20, $15 for students.
Buy at Brown Paper Tickets:http://www.facebook.com/l/582ba;www.brownpapertickets.com/event/114687

Driving Directions:http://www.facebook.com/l/582ba;www.youngstownarts.org/contact_us/driving_directions

About Richard Saiz:
Saiz, Senior Programming Manager for ITVS oversees Open Call, the organization’s largest funding initiative. Each year, he reviews more than 500 proposals from independent producers throughout the country. He has more than 35 years experience as a broadcast journalist, producer, director and writer. His documentaries have won numerous awards, including the DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton and Best TV Documentary from the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Proposals:
We are now accepting proposals to present during the afternoon pitch session.

Each pitch will be allocated 15 minutes total: 5 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for Richard’s feedback. You may allocate your 5 minutes however you choose. Please note that pitching at the workshop is not a substitute for the open call application to ITVS. Be sure and visit the ITVS site to learn about the process. We expect that you’ll be familiar with the mechanics of the process before your pitch, as this saves time and allows everyone to focus on content rather than process.

Proposals should consist of a synopsis and treatment (no more than 2 pages total) and a proposed budget. If you have it, include a DVD of video no longer than ten minutes in length. This can be anything you want to show: e.g. an edited preview trailer, a string of selects or part of a rough cut.

Proposals are due by June 25 and should include your email and phone number. Mail your proposal to:
Documentary Northwest
1010 SW Elmgrove St.
Seattle, WA 98106

Those accepted to pitch will be notified by e-mail by July 3rd.

1) The SIFF programmer introducing the movie and questioning director Jeff Reichert was as intelligible as Bronson Pinchot‘s Balki and as intelligent as Dan Quayle‘s Dan Quayle. (Is it too much to ask, SIFF, that your programming team show filmmakers a little respect?)

2) GERRYMANDERING may be the first political documentary I have ever seen to offer absolutely no solutions to the problem it details. I don’t expect filmmakers to cure all our ills, but the meager end credit prompts to “Know Your District” and to visit a website (www.endgerrymandering.com) seem under-instructive. (I don’t know how many slacktivists it takes to change a light bulb, but I do know that giving audiences achievable action items beats having no INCONVENIENT alternatives.)

3) Gerrymandering — i.e. the redistricting of voting communities in service of political hackery — is clearly a problem and, possibly, a great threat to our democracy. (Sorry, Texas Board of Education, I will continue to call America a “democracy” even if you propose textbooks redefine our nation as a “Constitutional Republic.”) But, is gerrymandering the sickness or is it rather, simply, a symptom of a more insidious disease?

Frankly, I don’t know what to do about the first issue I’ve raised and I can only wish GERRYMANDERING had been clearer what to do about the second. However, I’ll take a crack at the last. There is no doubt that if legislators can reapportion voters to increase the likelihood of incumbents’ re-election, there exists a conflict of interest that will, invariably, favor the powers-that-shall-always-be rather than their constituents. Yet, it is these very demographic calisthenics that suggest the problem runs far deeper, to the very heart of the politicians and the soullessness of the parties they represent. They indicate that self-perpetuation, influence-peddling and partisanship have overtaken true public service as the primary raison d’etre of our elected officials. This may not be news to many, but let us not become so jaded as to disregard this egocentrism as the cancer that must be removed in order to have any hope of recovery. It just could be that commissioners appointed by elected Republicans and  Democrats might be more efficient overseeing redistricting than California’s pending citizens committee (as voted in with the state’s Prop 11 in 2008), if the former were guided solely by the notion of good government instead of the self-serving maintenance of the status quo.

Of course, we may also need to redefine our notions of governance. Redistricting, even when managed impartially, suggests that certain populations — divisible by race or socio-economic backgrounds — require different representation due to different agendas. Yet if we are to embrace the Declaration of Independence and grant that we all are “created equal,” shouldn’t we assume that any honest politician (yes, oxymoronic, I know) would consider the greater good, thus benefit us all? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, right? Or does that only work for Mr. Spock and fall flat in this era of political correctness? Perhaps it’s hard to believe, majority rule can respect minority interests once we accept that Americans are not independent but interdependent.

Near the end of GERRYMANDERING, an incredibly significant question is tossed aside like pedestrians in the path of Lizzie Grubman‘s SUV; the age-old debate: should politicians serve the people who reside within their districts or act in service of their own consciences? What do you think, dear readers? I’d like to see Mr. Smith — or Ms. Nguyen or gender-undefined Jones — go to Washington and represent an ideal or two. I’d like to witness governance by informed instinct of the individual, or, Leadership as it was once known. Screw consensus and second terms.

As we cannot legislate Integrity, I propose that our two-party system be overhauled, not by adding a third but rather by eliminating both. I’ve had enough of Democrats and Republicans… and Tea-Partiers, Green-Partiers, Libertarians and Lyndon LaRouchebags. Get rid of them all. Let’s ban political advertising and force candidates to meet their constituents and explain their positions face-to-face in complete sentences, not tailored sound-bites. If candidates were forced to listen to the voters instead of talking down to them, discourse would thrive and accountability would be revived. Finally, governance could achieve Abraham Lincoln‘s stated goal of being by the people, for the people… even if we didn’t always agree with the decisions made on our behalf.

Have I got your vote?

(For more about the need for election reform, check out my interview/s with David Earnhardt, director of UNCOUNTED.)

International Drama/Documentary selection

Admission: $10, plus service fee       Purchase Tickets to The End of the Line on:

Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act. THE END OF THE LINE is the first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans. Filmed over two years and across the globe, THE END OF THE LINE follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the oceans. This powerful film features top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials across the globe, from the Straits of Gibraltar to Alaska to the coasts of Senegal to the Tokyo fish market.

Running time: 90 minutes.

Attending the post-film Q&A : Dr. Ray Hilborn (UW Professor, Aquatic & Fisheries Sciences), John Foss (Coastal Rovers), Dr. Jennifer Jacquet (Ph.D. and post-doctoral researcher with the Sea Around Us Project at the UBC Fisheries Centre. Author of the blog Guilty Planet )

Moderated by: Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report

Local Filmmaker Showcase selection

Admission: $10, plus service fee      Purchase Tickets to Ingredients on:

A feature-length documentary, INGREDIENTS illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize the connection between good food and our health. Narrated by Bebe Neuwirth, the film takes us across the U.S. from the diversified farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys to the urban food deserts of Harlem and to the kitchens of celebrated chefs Alice Waters, Peter Hoffman, Greg Higgins and Cory Schreiber. INGREDIENTS is a journey that reveals the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities. Written and directed by Robert Bates, produced by Brian Kimmel.

Running time: 67 minutes.

Attending the post-film Q&A : Brian Kimmel (Producer and Cinematographer), Greg Higgins (Chef/Owner of Higgins Restaurant & Bar), Debra Sohm Lawson (Researcher/Producer), Cory Schreiber (Chef/Oregon Dept. of Agriculture)

Moderated by: Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report

So, what’s the verdict, critics and geeks? Is George Lucas a god amongst mortal movie-makers or a hack who happened tapped into the zit-geist?

Question what you see. Consider what you don’t. Draw your own conclusions.

Many thanks to the wonderful Wendy G!

** Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin will be present for a post-show Q&A **

Yvonne M’Sadoques rocks forward in her chair. She’s lived in the Abenaki community of Odanak for over a century – and has no shortage of stories to tell.

“The priest would march into our home and order us to stop dancing. We were going to the devil, he said.” She pauses, a humorous glint in her eye. “But you know – I don’t really believe in the devil. Do you?”

M’Sadoques is in conversation with Alanis Obomsawin, another of Odanak’s proud daughters – and one of Canada’s leading documentary filmmakers.

Obomsawin’s illustrious career comes full circle with Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises. Having dedicated nearly four decades to chronicling the lives of Canada’s First Nations, she returns to the village where she was raised to craft a lyric account of her own people.

Best Documentary Award, 2006, Imagine Native Media Arts Festival, Toronto

Alanis Obomsawin, a member of the Abenaki Nation, is one of Canada’s most distinguished documentary filmmakers. Her work embraces strong social themes and is inspired by the desire to let the voices of her people be heard. She has made over 20 uncompromising documentaries on issues concerning Aboriginal people in Canada.

THE GOOD SOLDIER is documentary film that follows the journeys of five American combat veterans from different generations as they sign up for war, go into battle, and eventually change their minds about what it means to be a good soldier.

THE POODLE TRAINER screened at Sundance this week, the third of his shorts to be exhibited at the fest. The other two: LOSING LUSK and OCULARIST. Sadly, none of these are available on-line.* (For music lovers, all these films are scored, brilliantly, by Auditory Sculpture; these aural contributions a hallmark of Vance’s complete aesthetic control of the short form. Order Auditory Sculpture’s album, That Might Be You But This Is Me, here.)

I had the pleasure of……screening Vance’s first short doc, OCULARIST, at the 1 Reel Film Festival at Bumbershooot back in 2003. (I still consider it one of the five best short docs I’ve ever seen!) Subsequently, I commissioned — not fiscally, sorry, Vance! — another short inspired by my question: What In God’s Name? Renamed(?) WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD, you can watch this film here. (A p.s.a. Vance shot, PERMISSION, can also be seen by clicking this sentence. It does more to challenge perceptions of a very divisive, public issue than a thousand progressive celebrity rants or right-wing bible thumpings.)

Please, let me know what you think. Then, drop Ken and Michael a line. Tell them to keep an eye out for the competition. Vance Malone has triumphed in the short form; I eagerly await his first feature.

*Truth be told, you can watch OCULARIST on Auditory Sculpture’s site, but it is far from the ideal forum to view such visually compelling work.

Check out the new list of playdates for Yun Suh‘s boundary-breaking documentary, Surely, CITY OF BORDERS has been or soon will be at a theater (very) near you.

LesGaiCineMad (Madrid, Spain)
http://www.lesgaicinemad.com/peliculas/documentales/city-of-borders
Tuesday October 30 10pm Lola Bar
Tuesday November 3 3pm Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Gender Bender Film Festival (Bologna, Italy)
http://www.genderbender.it/ita/dettaglio.asp?id=285
Wednesday November 4 10:30pm Cinema Lumière

Regent Park Film Festival (Toronto, Ontario)
http://www.regentparkfilmfestival.com/filmbydate.html#borders
Friday November 6 7:30pm Nelson Mandela Park Public School

Global Visions Film Festival (Edmonton, Canada)
http://www.globalvisionsfestival.com/filminfo.php?fid=80
Sunday November 8 8:00pm (Closing Night) Stanley A. Milner Library Theatre

Reeling Film Festival (Chicago)
http://www.reelingfilmfestival.org/film.php?fid=42
Tuesday November 10 9:00pm Landmark Theater

BiMovie (Munich, Germany)
http://www.bimovie.de/links15/filmuebersicht.htm
Wednesday November 11 7:00pm Maxim Kino
Friday Novemer 13 7:00pm Maxim Kino

Aarhus Film Festival (Arhus, Denmark)
http://www.aarhusfilmfestival.dk/en/programme/love/
Friday November 13 2:30pm Ost for Paradis A

Queersicht Film Festival (Bern, Switzerland)
http://www.queersicht.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=24
Friday November 13 11:00pm Kino In Der Reitschule
Sunday November 15 1:00pm Kino In Der Reitschule

Holebi Film Festival (Leuven, Belgium)
http://www.holebifilmfestival.be/programma/film/921
Saturday November 14 8:00pm Cinema ZED
Tuesday November 17 5:00pm Cinema ZED

Other Israel Film Festival (Manhattan)
http://www.otherisrael.org/films
Sunday November 15 7:00pm JCC
Wednesday November 18 7:00pm Cinema Village

Temple Beith El Aptos (Santa Cruz)
http://www.tbeaptos.org/index.shtml
Monday November 16 Jewish Community Center

New Orleans Middle East Film Festival
http://nolamideastfilmfest.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-orleans-middle-east-film-festival.html
Saturday November 21 9:30pm Zeitgeist Multi-disciplinary Arts Center

Florence Queer Film Festival
www.florencequeerfestival.it

Many thanks to the rambunctious Rachael B!

This film is presented as part of The 14th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

Many thanks to the rambunctious Rachael B!

This film is presented as part of The 14th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

Director: George O’Donnell

In a quiet Florida suburb, a group of young men struggling to escape the wreckage of their pasts have found an unusual way to create new lives for themselves: on the Web for the whole world to see. Their new home is CollegeBoysLive.com, a voyeur house rigged with 32 webcams, where their every move is watched live by thousands of paying members. The site’s creator claims CollegeBoysLive.com is simply about showing that “it’s okay to be gay,” but the neighbors insist it’s a pornographic whorehouse and sue to have them evicted.

Moreover, drama unfolds between the roommates and their keepers when the realities of life outside their virtual walls come crashing in via obsessive viewers, relationship woes, and trouble with the law. And any attempt at leading an off-camera life at school or a regular job competes with the constant pressure to perform for the cameras and keep the customers happy.

Part “Real World,” part “Jerry Springer,” and part “Queer as Folk,” this intimate and provocative documentary examines a complex subculture of voyeurism, exhibitionism, and the tradeoffs involved in sustaining it. But at its heart, COLLEGE BOYS LIVE is a surprisingly poignant search for family and acceptance.

Many thanks to the rambunctious Rachael B!

This film is presented as part of The 14th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

Director: Arthur Ian

Glimpse through the keyhole into the world of male prostitution and hear the stories of hustlers and the men who seek them out. Through a series of candid and compelling interviews, LOOKING FOR ROMEO uncovers the experiences of escorts and their johns. Each offering a unique perspective, the men tell shocking and exciting stories of love found and lost, of control and abuse, of hope and tragedy. We learn about what drives men to prostitution, as well as some shocking secrets of the trade. The johns expose what motivates them to seek out the company of hustlers and how they feel about their experiences. LOOKING FOR ROMEO casts light on issues of affection and companionship, and the desire to escape solitude and insecurity-all with some instant gratification and excitement thrown in. This film offers no easy answers, but lets viewers witness some of the very human experiences that all the men in this film face.

Rated R for some language.

Running time: 120 minutes.

On the 20-year anniversary of his groundbreaking masterpiece ROGER & ME, Michael Moore‘s CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY comes home to the issue he’s been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan. From Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan, Michael Moore will once again take filmgoers into uncharted territory.

With both humor and outrage, Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY explores a taboo question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Years ago, that love seemed so innocent. Today, however, the American dream is looking more like a nightmare as families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Moore takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere. What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal…and 14,000 jobs being lost everyday.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY is both a culmination of Moore’s previous works and a look into what a more hopeful future could look like. It is Michael Moore’s ultimate quest to answer the question he’s posed throughout his illustrious filmmaking career: Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do?

Frankly, sometimes I wonder if it’s under-appreciated or over-rated. Heck, I lost consciousness during A WALK TO REMEMBER and remain convinced it’s completely forgettable. Must we be aware at all times? Or is the issue more a matter of focus or… intention.

Dr. Amit Goswami, aka THE QUANTUM ACTIVIST, posits that our “reality” is just the manifestation of our collective consciousness, that our world is manipulated by a (sometimes passive) group-think, of sorts. If we alter our intentions we could alter our destinies. However, to do so requires our willingness to shed black and white notions of existence. He lays out his arguably scientific reasoning in Ri Stewart & Renee Slade‘s documentary which wisely peppers a filmed lecture with more candid exposure to the good doctor. In turn, we discover a man who has battled his own very human insecurities — foremost, jealousy — and has reinvented his world, at least, finding humor and self-styled success on the journey. Even if you doubt the theories he espouses, it is difficult to deny his personal findings.

I had the pleasure and privilege of hosting Dr. Goswami at the sold-out(!) premiere screenings of THE QUANTUM ACTIVIST in Seattle and Portland. I was delighted to question the 60-something(?) physicist/philosopher for each answer played out like a thesis project co-written by Deepak Chopra and Johnny Carson. (Gotta love a man who can find new explanations for the universe and admit to being confounded his ex-wives.) Yes, the converetd were happily preached to, but I spoke with a number of skeptics in attendance who confessed the film provoked a reconsideration of their more grounded, secular beliefs. THE QUANTUM ACTIVIST may not sway everyone, but if it compels you to reexamine your life, then change truly is possible. For only in formulating our true goals and values can we ever hope to achieve them.

Call it Consciousness, if you like. Use it or lose it. Or, beware Brion James‘ ominous slap-upside-the-head in BLADE RUNNER: “Wake up, time to die.”

UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US lets the convicted crooner, Vikernes, lyricize about his political leanings and musical ambitions. Documentarians Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell also check in with his foes, friends and fellow rockers for both perspective and the saner side of the black metal movement. Commendably, the film foregoes shock value in favor of fair-minded story-telling and surprising portraits of the major players in the case.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to talk with Aaron and Audrey when they were in Seattle this summer. Eavesdrop on my conversation with them here. And, if you’d like to reach your own verdict about Varg Vikernes, you can see UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US this Sunday (at 6:30pm) at the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival.

It’s not yet Oscar® season and yet there is reason for movie-lovers to rejoice: three solid films a headed your way, one on dvd, one on HBO, one in a theater near you. Working backwards, they are: BURMA VJ, IN A DREAM and TYSON.

TYSON is James Toback‘s stunning filmed interview that essentially serves as the former boxer/current grieving father’s self-portrait. You may not leave loving Iron Mike, but no doubt you’ll understand and empathize with him in a manner you never thought plausible. (For my full review and my interview with the director, click here.) TYSON is available on dvd as of Tuesday, August 18th.

IN A DREAM is the year’s most lovingly shot documentary, an artful effort by filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar to better understand his father, Isaiah, a self-proclaimed outsider artist intent on (re-)tiling his Philly neighborhood. His brilliant mosaics reflect beautiful light and an unwell mind. Isaiah is either a mad genius or a blessed bastard, and in the process of making the movie, his son respectfully and objectively reveals both aspects of his elder. The score and cinematography are top-notch. IN A DREAM debuts on HBO2 on Wednesday, August 19th. (For scheduled airdates, click here.)

BURMA VJ is a chilling reminder that freedom of the press is a privilege, not a right; a freedom that must be fought for or lost forever. And while it may be tempting to disregard the story cause, you know, it happened over there somewhere, don’t presume its guaranteed to remain here. BURMA VJ is a cautionary tale wrapped in the scary riddle of Myanmar’s oppressive politics. (For my full review, click here.) BURMA VJ opens this Friday, August 28th, at the Northwest Film Forum.

]]> http://thewarrenreport.com/2009/08/17/youre-not-in-a-dream-three-great-docs-are-headed-your-way/feed/ 1 http://thewarrenreport.com/2009/08/17/distinguishing-features-motherland/ http://thewarrenreport.com/2009/08/17/distinguishing-features-motherland/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:26:33 +0000 Warren http://thewarrenreport.com/?p=7799 Many thanks to that mensch, Mark L!

**Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report will host an exclusive post-show panel discussion. Stay tuned for names of special guests.**

An honest and intimate look at the complexities of grief and healing, MOTHERLAND is about resilience, triumph of the human spirit and the power of unconditional love. It also reminds us of the vastly different ways in which disparate cultures confront deeply felt personal challenges.

Each year over eight million families around the world suffer the loss of a child. In Jennifer Steinman‘s moving and inspiring documentary film, a 17-day trip to South Africa transforms the lives of six grieving women from across the US. Unexpectedly and eight thousand miles from home, each finds comfort and healing in a landscape that appears, at first, to offer little more than melancholy.

Prior to their journey, the six intrepid women featured in the film have each suffered the death of a child but otherwise have little in common. And although the anticipation of a long, emotional journey with a group of strangers evokes anxiety, the women all share a desire to make sense of their tragedies and to move forward with their lives…

Debbi works as a paramedic in a rural Northern California town. Her son Garrett was hit by a drunk driver on the side of a highway while waiting for his car to be towed.

Mary Helena, an African-American actress and storyteller from urban Wisconsin, suffered a debilitating stroke less than a year after her son Aaron was killed in a triple-homicide.

Anne is married to an advertising executive in San Francisco and works as a volunteer for a local children’s charity. Her daughter Grace died of suicide at the age of 15.

Kathy, a suburban mom from Santa Rosa, California, works in a hospital emergency room. Her husband is a local police officer. Their son Mike died in a motorcycle accident.

Barbara, a nursing student from the small town of Dixon, California, is struggling with her impending divorce. Her marriage began to unravel after her son Jason died in a head-on collision.

Lauren is a 22-year old student from Oakland, California, and the youngest member of the group. Her older brother, Teveston, was killed by angry gang members who retaliated when he refused to join.

These six remarkable women travel half way around the world where they live with local families and work with African organizations dedicated to improving the lives of children. As they come to know each other, they assist teachers in over-crowded day care centers, lead activities with abused and at-risk teens and help care for physically-challenged youth. The work is meaningful and rewarding and a welcome reprieve from the depression, isolation and stagnation of life at home. In the end, the women share not just their stories and their pain but themselves – with and for each other and even more profoundly, with the children who touch their hearts at every turn.

MOTHERLAND was the winner of the 2009 Emerging Visions Audience Award at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. Its other awards include the Jury Prize for Best Feature at the 2009 Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival and Best Documentary at the 2009 California Independent Film Festival.

There are many worthy candidates: TYSON, FACING ALI, IN A DREAM, EVERY LITTLE STEP and ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL.  But there are three that seem like sure-fire nominees. Ondi Timoner‘s may be the best. WE LIVE IN A PUBLIC captures Josh Harris‘ fascinating yet misguided life on (surveillance) camera, and cautions how we may all be slowly imprisoned by our addiction to social media. However, two other titles would seem more likely to score the Academy Award. FOOD, INC. is as topical as AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH and just as exhaustive an overview of a global issue. THE COVE is this year’s MAN ON WIRE, a doc-cut-as-thriller, that exhilarates as it educates. (Click here for my extended interview with THE COVE’s director, Louie Psihoyos.) The story of the annual Japanese slaughter of dolphins unfit for sale to aquariums and water parks is well-paced and emotionally potent. Were the featured Flippers Jewish, I would consider this saga of cetacean genocide a lock.

If you were a voting member of the Academy, who’d get your (early) nod? Draw your own conclusions and place your wagers in the comments section below.

**IF THE WARREN REPORT IS SOLD OUT, PLEASE KNOW A FEW TICKETS REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. JUST CLICK HERE!**

Please note:  Dr. Amit Goswami will join Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report for an exclusive post-show q&a that will freak your melon.

Be prepared to take a discontinuous leap.

There is a revolution going on in science. A genuine paradigm shift. While mainstream science remains materialist, a substantial number of scientists are supporting and developing a paradigm based on the primacy of consciousness.

Dr. Amit Goswami, Ph.D, a pioneer of this revolutionary new perspective within science shares with us his vision of the unlimited potential of consciousness as the ground of all being, and how this revelation can actually help us to live better.

THE QUANTUM ACTIVIST tells the story of a man who challenges us to rethink our very notions of existence and reality, with a force and scope not felt since Einstein.

This film bridges the gap between God and Science. The work of Goswami, with stunning precision and without straying from the rigors of quantum mechanics, reveals the overarching unity inherent in the worlds major religions and mystical traditions.

Meet the man behind the message as Dr. Goswami tells how he moved away from the religious teachings of his childhood, to seek his path in nuclear and theoretical quantum physics, and how he has come full circle, through quantum insight, back to the very religious axioms offered as a youth.

With a poignant relevance to the problems of our day this film follows Dr. Goswami as he demonstrates how our mistaken views of reality have led to our current environmental, social, economic and spiritual crisis; as well as the means of correcting these errors. At stake is nothing less than our survival upon the planet. THE QUANTUM ACTIVIST is a film for our time. It is a film for all time. It is a film whose very subject transcends time.

Witty, profoundly insightful and colored with humor, THE QUANTUM ACTIVIST brings you Amit Goswami’s vision of the universe. Steeped in the verifiable facts of Quantum Mechanics, Dr. Goswami dares to pose the question, “What are you doing to participate in the creation of the reality we all share?”

THE COVE is an astounding piece of investigative journalism with the heart of an action thriller. Led by Louie Psihoyos, leader of the Ocean Preservation Society, and Richard O’Barry, an internationally recognized authority on dolphin training who is best known for his work on the 1960′s TV show “Flipper,” the film follows a high-tech dive team on a mission to discover the truth about the international dolphin capture trade as practiced in Taji, Japan. Utilizing state-of the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide.

THE COVE is also directed by Louie Psihoyos, who brings confidence and precision to his insider’s account of this life-or death covert operation. A celebrated photographer who has created images for National Geographic for 18 years, Psihoyos captures the magnificence of the dolphins themselves and the ocean that surrounds them.

Save Japan Dolphins!
www.takepart.com/thecove
www.SaveJapanDolphins.org

Many thanks to the convivial Christin M!

**PLEASE NOTE: Award-winning filmmaker/voyeur(?) Ondi Timoner will join Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report for an all too revealing, post-show q&a.**

** WE LIVE IN PUBLIC was just honored with the Special Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival! **

On the 40th anniversary of the Internet, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC tells the story of the effect the web is having on our society, as seen through the eyes of “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of,” visionary Josh Harris.  Award-winning director, Ondi Timoner (DiG!), documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade, to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes control of our lives.

Josh Harris, often called the “Warhol of the Web,” founded Pseudo.com, the first Internet television network during the infamous dot-com boom of the 1990s.  He also created his vision of the future: an underground bunker in NYC where 100 people lived together on camera for 30 days over the turn of the millennium. (The project, named QUIET, also became the subject of Ondi Timoner’s first cut of her documentary about Harris.  Her film shared the project’s name.) With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire.  Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public.

Ondi Timoner — the only filmmaker to win the Sundance grand jury award twice in history — graduated from Yale University cum laude and founded Interloper Films in 1994.

She has achieved worldwide critical acclaim with her feature length documentary, DiG! – which took home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (2004). Her short film, Recycle (2005) was a winner at the ICG Awards, and screened at both Sundance and Cannes.

Since DiG!, Ondi has also directed commercials for McDonald’s, State Farm, DeVry, the Army and Ford, which has helped her independently fund her latest film projects, JOIN US, released in 2007, and her next feature release, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC.

Whether it’s rock music, religious cults, or the virtual world of the Internet, Ondi always takes the viewer deep into worlds they would never otherwise explore. Her iconoclastic work is noteworthy for telling stories that unfold over time with incredible access and emotional depth.

In March 2008, Ondi traveled to Ethiopia to shoot THE GREATEST GIFT, a short film for the non-profit organization, One Love Africa Schools. In October, Ondi returned to Africa, traveling to Ethiopia and Senegal, where she directed/produced two shorts for the prestigious annual show CNN: HEROES.

Upcoming projects include two narrative feature films, THE PERFECT MOMENT, about the controversial work and life of Robert Mapplethorpe. And of course Ondi continues to follow Josh Harris as his horizons expand in the wake of this film’s release!

An Israeli, a Palestinian and a South Korean walk into a gay bar in Jerusalem and… nothing happens. That is the beauty of Shushan, the LGBQT dance club situated in the heart of the traditionally intolerant city. (Heck, when two peanuts walk down Jaffa Street, one is usually a-salted!)  CITY OF BORDERS is a testament to this Mid-East oasis, a place where Arabs and Israelis reveal(ed) their identities without fear of fallout, payback or hatred. However, beyond Shushan’s walls, the orthodoxy of ignorance remains and the threat of prejudicial violence reigns.

Director Yun Suh fashions a compassionate and compelling documentary by graciously and inconspicuously providing camera-time to some of the club’s most arresting patrons, the opportunity to share their stories of faith, fatalism and flamboyance in the face of grave danger. Adam, an Israeli, bears his scars as a survivor of a brutal hate crime. Boody, a Palestinian, masks his fears, illegally crossing the border nightly just so he can cross-dress. Samira, a Palestinian Israeli, boldly courts Ravit, a Jewish Israeli, unafraid of retaliation. Love, means more.

Although I could not sway Yun Suh to go dancing, she did agree to sit down with me — at the fabulous Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle! — to discuss her bent on public service, racial profiling and foreign policy. (Special thanks to Simone Nelson, the dynamic yet camera-shy co-producer of CITY OF BORDERS.)

THE FOG OF WAR is Shakespeare-verite, the tragedy of an internally-conflicted power-broker whose best intentions are undone by his protracted and pernicious decision-making. If you have yet to see the movie, please, rent it and revisit history learning lessons both from America’s involvement in Vietnam and the architect of that disastrous donnybrook.

* Undisclosed causes, though I suspect the 93-year-old fell victim to Col. Mustard with a lead pipe in the Conservatory.

Participant Media‘s FOOD, INC. takes an encyclopedic approach, cataloguing all the ills of Big Ag. THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN makes it personal, tracking the career path of America’s most unorthodox, organic champion. Chris Taylor‘s FOOD FIGHT is less combative than its title suggests, quickly itemizing the decline of our country’s dietary standards in order to focus on the “revolution” born in Berkeley and now responsible for the abundance of farmers markets in major metropolises and heirloom tomatoes on foodies’ lips.

FOOD FIGHT features omnipresent omnivore Michael Pollan, celebrity pizza-maker Wolfgang Puck and activist/restauranteur Alice Waters among a bushel of other  toque-inged heads dishing about the military industrial complex, carbohydrates and California cuisine. They all agree: post-war efforts to mass produce meals and reduce dependence on household  help increased efficiency while eliminating almost every element of taste, developing a nation of ignorant shoppers with bland palates and bulging waistlines. They all agree: locally-grown foods top corn-bloated food-like substances. And, unless, you are a self-loathing, slow-witted, fast-food-raised diabetic you simply won’t argue the benefits of reversing 4o years of Earl Butz‘s failed farm policy that favors profit over flavor, aimless fecundity over sensible food security.

On screen, FOOD FIGHT knocks out its target, Big Ag, a  tomato can if ever there was one. Sadly, in real-life the match drags on. Big Ag’s a bruising student of the sweet science, using government subsidies, savvy marketing and rigged economics to lure consumers into a tragically unhealthy rope-a-dope gambit. They grow crap cheap, sell crap cheaper, wearing us down round by round, getting into our heads with their most literal taunt: Eat shit and die. 

So, what are you going to do? Take the one-way ticket to Palookaville? Or, change your habits, change your diet and rejoin the FOOD FIGHT?

For decades, the consequences of candor in the Union of Myanmar have been equally costly and more gravely ignored. However, an intrepid, outlaw band of reporters has captured snippets of taxed speech and non-violent protest and broadcast these images and outrages to the rest of the world while risking their lives. These journalists’ brave and tragic tales are recounted in BURMA VJ, an award-winning documentary by Anders Ostergaard, that immerses viewers into the country’s cloistered culture and recruits sympathizers for the unlikely revolution spurred by the nation’s typically apolitical monks. As significantly, BURMA VJ dramatically reminds Westerners that The Fourth Estate comes with a mortgage and forewarns that should we continue to neglect our debt, our governments will foreclose on us. The power of the press is its autonomy, its ability to check and re-balance. Undermine the authority of the press and everyone’s speech becomes cost-prohibitive.

See BURMA VJ for the geo-political indoctrination. Then, ask what you have done to protect your local and national press outlets and what you have done to demand they uphold their professional responsibilities. The incompetence of the press — whether headlined by Jayson Blair‘s shameful inventions or Judith Miller‘s war-mongering misrepresentations — is not only heinous, it’s treasonable. Before we can speak Truth to Power, we need reporters to do some of the legwork for us. In Burma, newsmen would sooner die than sacrifice their integrity. Here, too many of our ink-stained wretches and tele-prompted wenches would sooner sell their souls for their own shows than risk access to a staged reading of the day’s presidential talking points.

Which would you rather eat?

a) a genetically-modified, patent-protected soybean increasingly devoid of nutrients that may put all family farmers out of business?

b) a hamburger comprised of dozens of the ground-down slaughtered carcasses of cattle — raised more cruelly than Augusten Burroughs, Christina Crawford and Antwone Fisher — and padded with an ammonia-cleansed filler of fat, gristle and trimmings?

c) your words?

FOOD, INC. poses this question indirectly, but it is the crux of the movie. If we truly are what we eat, shouldn’t we review our options a little more judiciously? And, shouldn’t we discuss our choices publicly before our Freedom of Speech is bought out by the very business interests that intend to limit them?

Robert Kenner‘s well-packaged documentary serves up the issues in a manner suited for mass consumption. The film covers all the inherent problems with our increasingly industrialized food chain from the main ingredient of chicken soup to Big Food’s litigious oppression of growers and consumers that’s just nuts. We learn that poultry-breeders are today’s indentured servants, seed-cleaners are tomorrow’s witches and grocery-shoppers are an endangered species… because food-like substances being marketed and sold to us are killing us slowly. (Think you’re healthier than your grandparents? Guess again. They didn’t stop thrice daily at the Yum-Yum Snack Shack for a Mega-Meal and Jug-o-Pop. Grandma and Grandpa also got out in the sun — to work! — once in a while.)

Authors Eric Shlosser and Michael Pollan have stated their convincing cases before — in Fast Food Nation and In Defense of Food, respectively. Here, they offer up their worries and warnings in bite-sized chunks that serve as a narrative backbone, along with pinches and dashes of like-minded mavericks such as Joel (Salad Bar Beef) Salatin of Polyface Farm and Gary (Stirring It Up) Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm. (The latter is a entrepreneurial champion of the commodification of the organic movement; the former, an authoritative advocate for the (re-)simplification of the food cycle. Bet he read Snip, Snap, Snurr and The Buttered Bread.) Naturally, the big cheeses of Big Food refuse to go on camera, on record. Consequently, it is the repressed testimony of Republican mom Barbara Kowalcyk that lifts and separates FOOD, INC. from the cornucopia of related documentaries. Having lost her 2-year-old son to an E. Coli outbreak in 2001, Ms. Kowalcyk now fights for food safety legislation despite the efforts of lobbyists and lawyers to shut her up. Sadly, these money-launderers and three-bit shysters have succeeded to a great extent. Congress has done little to protect the public. And, when pressed to explain how her own eating habits have changed since her son’s death, Ms. Kowalcyk zips her lips for fear of prosecution. (You’ve got to see it to bereave it.) Apparently, it’s okay for the food industry to kill kids with tainted burgers, yet it is not okay for to her to have it her way and speak her piece. Even Elise Pearlstein, the producer of FOOD, INC., shied away from talking about her diet, during our conversation, for fear of retaliation. Only Oprah is bold and wealthy enough to speak up… and shill out for a dream team of defense attorneys. But what good is the First Amendment if Free Speech is only available for purchase? What good is the FDA if its policing-powers are as morally-corrupted by conflicts of interest as Eliot Spitzer at a Hookers-For-Justice conference? What good is the federally-approved food pyramid if its corn-and-grain keystones serve only as building blocks for a fatter, not fitter, America?

FOOD, INC. frames the dilemma, offers multiple choices. THINK before you bite. Read Pollan, Schlosser and Salatin. Read Nina Planck‘s Real Food: What to Eat and Why, the best blend of the sense and science of nutrition. Better yet, visit a farm, not just your farmers’ market. If you’ve got kids, take ‘em. If you’ve got fists, shake ‘em… at Tyson, Perdue, Monsanto and so many more. Remind yourself where your meals come from before saying grace. Not everything that lands on our plates is worth being thankful for, but by changing your shopping habits, you can ensure you are blessed. Think global, eat local.

(For more information on food issues, purchase a copy of The Warren Report: EAT ME, a half-hour investigation of organic food and farming with special guests Nina Planck, Colin McCrate and John Peterson of THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN. The dvd — which contains bonus materials including a 40-minute panel discussion with Peterson, McCrate and Maria Hines, chef/owner of Tilth — sells for only $10, plus $5 p&h. Order on-line or write to warren@thewarrenreport.com)

And I suppose it is in keeping with Johnny’s maverick spirit that I offer today’s THINK piece below, a conversation-starter about how often films and folk heros are pigeon-holed because of the general public’s discomfort with any ambiguities.

Please, let me know where you stand, then watch my interview with filmmakers David Barba and James Pellerito — recorded at Seattle’s first-class Pan Pacific Hotel — to be posted on The Warren Report in the very near future.

ABOUT ELLY  (d. Asghar Farhadi)  Whether or not Iran is a terrorist state is inconsequential; the country regularly produces the best foreign films. Proof that censorship is the true mother of invention. 

ADAM  (d. Max Mayer)  Finally, a feature that tackles Asperger’s respectfully rather than as a Lifetime disease-of-the-week. 

ART & COPY  (d. Doug Pray)  Like Mad Men? Don’t believe the hype, get the facts in this artful doc about the advertising world… in the 60s.

BLACK DYNAMITE  (d. Scott Sanders) A parody of blaxploitation flicks using my fave, THREE THE HARD WAY, as its “source material.”

BURMA VJ — REPORTING FROM A CLOSED COUNTRY  (d. Anders Hogsbro Ostergaard)  The revolution may not be televised, but this uprising was captured bravely by new world media.

THE CONVERSATION  (d. Francis Ford Coppola)  One of the 10 Best Films… EVER. Gene Hackman. John Cazale. Brilliant!

THE COVE  (d. Louie Psihoyos)  Just when dolphins thought it was safe to stay in the water, Richard Barry reveals they have more to fear than tuna nets. 

EVERY LITTLE STEP  (d. James D. Stern & Adam Del Deo) One singular sensation, this meta-doc pulls back to encompass both the origins of A CHORUS LINE and its redefining revival.

FILM 1ST. a girl & a gun  (d. Gustav Deutsch)  It’s always worth checking out one experimental film and this mix of war footage and vintage porn promises to titillate if not make sense.

FOREVER ENTHRALLED  (d. Chen Kaige)  Some directors demand respect. 

GARBAGE DREAMS  (d. Mai Iskander)  Feeling sorry for yourself? Remember: life ain’t that bad. Compare yours to these Egyptian kids who, literally, spend their lives in the dumps.

THE HURT LOCKER  (d. Kathryn Bigelow)  Ms. Bigelow may be the most under-rated action director of our day. Glad to see her work back on screen. Note: this ought to be Jeremy Renner‘s breakout role.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF LITTLE DIZZLE  (d. David Russo)  Seattle’s own David Russo is truly a film ARTIST, someone who understands how to use the visual medium for the greatest possible impact. Bonus: watch a man birth a fish out his butt! 

INJU, THE BEAST IN THE SHADOW  (d. Barbet Schroeder)  An erotic mystery thriller from the man who made REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE and BARFLY… count me in!

MACHAN  (d. Uberto Pasolini)  A Sri Lankan comedy about international handball competition? Either way, this should prove memorable and, possibly, hilarious. 

MANHOLE CHILDREN  (d. Yoshio Harada)  This documentary makes GARBAGE DREAMS play like a Disney flick.

MESRINE: A FILM IN TWO PARTS  (d. Jean-Francois Richet) Forget PUBLIC ENEMIES. This four-hour French bio-pic tracks the titular career criminal’s rise to the country’s Most Wanted. #1… with many bullets.

THE MISSING PERSON  (d. Noah Buschel)  Michael Shannon was Oscar®-nominated for his performance in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. See, again, why he may be America’s most undersung actor.

MOON  (d. Duncan Jones)  Sam Rockwell stars in a sci-fi thriller that seems to owe a debt to Rod Serling, SOLARIS and SILENT RUNNING. 

MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON  (d. Lucy Akhurst)  Silly mockumentary belittles Brit twits who get their hanky-waving groove on. MORRIS (sur)passes A MIGHTY WIND.

PAPER HEART  (d. Nicholas Jasenovec)  Charlene Yi is a very funny lady. I’d watch her do anything. So why not take in this pseudo-documentary love trip with her equally adorable (and adored?) cohort, Michael Cera.

SCHOOL DAYS WITH A PIG  (d. Tetsu Maeda)  After watching FOOD, INC. you might want to review the joyful Japanese SCHOOL DAYS for a reminder of some of the more basic moral quandaries regarding our carnivorousness. 

Body blow. Body blow. Body blow. Boom! Upper cut. Chuck Wepner took his beatings like a man, like a brave, yet foolish man with bad vision. In short, like Mr. Magoo in a real-life version of Punch-Out! Known also as the Bayonne Bleeder, Wepner suffered the sanquinary onslaught of Muhammad Ali in a 1975 title bout that inspired Sylvester Stallone, later that year, to “invent” Rocky Balboa. (O, Sly, you’re so… sly.)

Wepner’s bloodied losses, however, pale in comparison to the punishment Mike Tyson, the  once-invisible heavyweight champion of the world, endured outside the ring. In TYSON, Iron Mike is permitted to tell his tale, in his own peculiar vernacular, this pugilist’s patois a hybrid of jailhouse lawyer and therapized man-boy.

Director (and Tyson’s off-screen confidante) James Toback lets the cameras roll and lets his subject deliver his soliloquy, a mournful life-story, in a succession of interviews that smack of actual analysis, only Mike’s sitting up, not lying down on the couch. Yes, TYSON only provides his take and some have criticized the film for this alleged partiality. But this ain’t Fox News and Toback isn’t declaring the doc is fair and balanced. However, isn’t hearing someone’s explanation/s just as valuable as presenting the prosecution? Besides, Tyson is remarkably self-critical, even if sporadically contradictory. He may not confess to every sin, but consider the possibility that he may not be guilty of them all. 

With the fluid assist of Aaron Yanes‘ brilliant editing, Toback has crafted a stunning portrait of an athlete and ex-con everyone thinks they know, but surely doesn’t. Trust me: TYSON may not change your mind about the boxer, but it does enable you to empathize with the man buried within the maniac.    

Watch the highlights of my interview with James Toback in today’s FILM RAP below. Stay tuned for The Warren Report’s release of the entire conversation.

**Now, The Warren Report is ready to send you to see ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL this week. 25 readers will receive a run-of-engagement pass (good for two!) to see the movie by providing the smartest and/or funniest responses to this question: What did you do when you were younger that you would be thrilled for an audience to see today yet shocked that they had actually paid for the privilege?**

Entries must be posted on this blog by 10am on Monday, May 11th, 2009. Winners will be determined in accordance with  my wit and whim. (Please be sure to include your e-address.)

For more information about ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, please read the studio-approved synopsis below. 

At 14, Toronto school friends Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it.

Their band, Anvil, went on to become the “demigods of Canadian metal,” releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982′s Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generation, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil’s career took a different path – straight to obscurity.

Director Sacha Gervasi has concocted a wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil’s last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. His ingenious filmmaking may first lead you to think this a mockumentary, but it isn’t. Gervasi joined the legendary heavy-metal band as a roadie for a tour of Canadian hockey arenas, so he has intimate insight into the members’ eccentricities. It’s fascinating to see the reality of their day-to-day lives as they struggle to make ends meet, take a misguided European tour, and engage in antics on the road – which is not always lined with fans. Gervasi even finds a softer center to this raucous film, introducing us to band members’ ever-supportive, but long-suffering, families.

At its core, ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year. Anvil rocks – it has no other choice.”

Years later, New York was haunted by another killer, this one far deadlier, AIDS. Richard Berkowitz, unrelated, didn’t take orders, he shouted them at his clients, earning a “healthy” living as an S&M hustler. But seeing his friends die around him provoked a more sensitive and sensible response. David became the most vocal and, most likely, the first active proponent of “safe sex.” In 1983, Richard published How To Have Sex In an Epidemic: One Approach. He co-authored the pamphlet with Michael Callen, Richard Dworkin and Joseph Sonnabend, MD, but it was Richard who remained the greatest advocate of condom usage despite the gay community’s virulent backlash and hypocritical accusations. (Callen and Dworkin focused their energies on more charitable, community-building efforts and Dr. Sonnabend continued to develop his mutifactorial model of the disease.)

SEX POSITIVE is a sometimes shocking portrait of Berkowitz and his boat-rocking past. Directed with a respectful intimacy and remarkable audacity by 25-year-old Daryl Wein, the film reveals Berkowitz as a hero of his generation, but one with enough flaws to defy worship. Richard is a complicated man whose conviction may have save thousands of lives yet cost him his own. SEX POSITIVE is smart, surprising movie-making, reflecting humanity in all of its glorious ambiguities. 

In honor of Richard Berkowitz — and with apologies to Johnny Mercer — remember this lyrical plea: You’ve got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the SEX POSITIVE. Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative. Don’t mess with Mister Not-so-clean.

To watch the SEX POSITIVE trailer, click here. To watch a preview of The Warren Report‘s special episode about sex addiction, Do Me, click here.

THIS IS THE LIFE has won several awards on the festival circuit and can now beseen on Showtime and ordered on dvd.

Many thanks to the indispensable Spencer F!

NERDCORE FOR LIFE is presented as part of the ongoing STIFF Nights series.

Two of the 21st century’s most powerful social forces; Hip-Hop and Geek Culture, collide head-on in the feature length documentary, NERDCORE FOR LIFE. Born on the Internet, Nerdcore is rap music made by geeks, for geeks and covers such traditionally nerdy topics as comic books, video games, anime, sci-fi, astrophysics and technology. Filmed over the course of two years, NERDCORE FOR LIFE follows the top names in this new genre as they celebrate ‘geek life’ and their love of Hip-Hop to the fullest, fight anti-nerd stereotypes and struggle to overcome the common obstacles that prevent musicians of all genres from fulfilling their dreams.

Watch today’s THINK piece for a preview of this weekend’s exclusive edition of FILM RAP with special guest Jessica Yu. Then reserve a seat right here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohR-9ugs9V0

SLEEPWALKING THROUGH THE MEKONG follows Los Angeles based band Dengue Fever on their recent journey to Cambodia to perform 60s and 70s Cambodian rock n’ roll in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed. The odyssey is a homecoming for singer Chhom Nimol and a transformation for the rest of the band as they perform with master musicians and record new songs along the way.

Along with the free screening, there will be FREE Izze Soda and FREE popcorn at the Snack Bar. It’s all ages. We just got word that band members will be on hand at the event as well. For more information, click here.

* Thank you, Dave Elvin, for clarifying Al Gore‘s stupefying presentational technology.

Hunter S. Thompson

Watch Oscar®-winner Alex Gibney‘s trippy documentary, GONZO: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Then question what you see, consider what you don’t and… draw your own conclusions. The smartest and funniest comments on this here blog received by Noon on Monday, February 9th, 2009, will win (valuable!) prizes.

For some behind-the-scenes, beyond-the-shenanigans insight, check out my interview with filmmaker Alex Gibney (ENRON: The Smartest Guys In The Room) during which he reveals his unorthodox plan for saving The New York Times and his unique, almost-method approach to shooting Hunter’s life-story. Pass this by and you won’t get high, sucker.

Good film composers maintain an anonymity greater than James Belushi‘s acting coach. Indeed, a good score should almost go unnoticed. Pity poor Mateo Messina, a tunesmith so talented that few realize he shepherded JUNO’s soundtrack to the rank of the nation’s #1 album, one of only a handful of movie discs to achieve the status in recent years. (TITANIC and DREAMGIRLS also topped the charts.) Mateo’s ingenuity is exemplified by his having created JUNO‘s seamless aural tapestry, weaving the original songs of Kimya Dawson — of Moldy Peaches fame — along with Cat Power, Sonic Youth and his own incidental, instrumental strokes.

This weekend, Seattle-ites can catch another one of Mateo’s musical masterpieces, JUMP!, a hyper-documentary depicting the aspirations and athleticism of rope-jumping teens and pre-teens nationwide striving to be the world’s best speed-jumpers and double-Dutch teams. (**JUMP! will screen again on Saturday, January 31st, 2009 at 3:30pm at the Northwest Film Forum.**) Once again, Mateo’s score deftly mixes a melange of contemporary songs, with his own genre-hopping compositions. The music is as joyful as the unexpected “sport” it celebrates.

To learn more about Mateo Messina, watch my FILM RAP with the young, charitable composer. For even greater insight, download — for FREE! — my entire interview with the winning award… winner. 

For my complete review of JUMP! and other movies showcased at the Children’s Film Festival, please visit the Seattle’s Child website.

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MAN ON WIRE was just nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar®. It will compete against THE BETRAYAL, THE GARDEN,TROUBLE THE WATER and ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD.  I.O.U.S.A. should have been included in the mix.

To hear my interviews with directors Tia Lessin (http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/) and Patrick Creadon (I.O.U.S.A.), please click on their names. And, let me know what you think.

The Henry Art Gallery.

This event presented in conjunction with TheFilmSchool.

**Please note: Oscar®-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu will join Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report for an exclusive, extended — and possibly antagonistic? — post-show discussion about her unique approach to story-telling, whether fact or fiction.**

PROTAGONIST explores extremism through contrasting stories of personal revelation. The film features four individuals who have been devoted to personal odysseys – a cause, a quest, an ideal – to the point of total consumption. At first glance the characters appear disconnected: a former German terrorist, an “ex-gay” evangelist, a bank robber and a martial arts student. But as their stories unfold, one starts to see the parallels between the uncommon, common experience of these four men. Each character embarks on a journey for valid reasons, only to find himself so deeply embedded in the cause that he becomes the opposite of what he had intended. He is blind to this fact, though, until the forces of fate and character boil and distill to a single moment of dark epiphany. In telling this echoing story, the film asks: what is the path to extremism? In responding to the turmoil of life, where does one draw the line between the reasonable and the unreasonable? And how does one recover from the delusion of certainty?

The four stories in PROTAGONIST are told in parallel threads and structured like a multi-layered Greek drama. Directed by Jessica Yu and produced by Yu, Elise Pearlstein and Susan West, this adventurous documentary is inspired by the works of the 5th century playwright Euripides. The film uses quotes from his plays as thematic chapter headings, providing a provocative common link between our contemporary stories and lending them a timeless quality. Wooden rod puppets, modeled after ancient Greek theater masks and designed by Janie Geiser, stage both the play excerpts and scenes from our subjects’ pasts. The film also features intricate title animation by Robert Conner, music by Jeff Beal and voiceover performance in ancient Greek by Marina Sirtis and Chris Diamantopolous

For the PROTAGONIST trailer and more info, please visit http://www.protagonistthemovie.com/.

Jessica Yu is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short for BREATHING LESSONS: THE LIFE AND WORK OF MARK O’BRIEN, an intimate portrait of the writer who lived for four decades paralyzed by polio and confined to an iron lung. The film also won over 20 festival awards, including the IDA Achievement Award, the Audience Award at Aspen Shortsfest, and First Prize at the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. She also won an Emmy and a Cable Ace Award for Best Documentary Director.

Yu’s documentary, PROTAGONIST, premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL, Yu’s celebrated feature documentary about the enigmatic “outsider” artist Henry Darger, debuted in competition at Sundance. REALMS won Best Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Best Editing at the Atlanta Film Festival and a Gotham Award nomination for Best Documentary. She was also nominated for the Writers Guild Award for Documentary Screenplay. Released nationally by Wellspring Films and broadcast on PBS’ independent documentary series, P.O.V., REALMS was nominated for P.O.V.’s first Primetime Emmy Award (Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking) and featured on several publications’ 2004 “top ten” lists, including the Christian Science Monitor.

Yu’s film THE LIVING MUSEUM, the award-winning HBO documentary about an art community in a New York mental institution, premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Yu’s narrative short BETTER LATE was the debut film for the fXM Shorts Series. It has been featured in 60 festivals since its premiere at Sundance 1997, and it won First Prize for Short Drama at the New York Festivals. Her other films include MEN OF REENACTION, a documentary about Civil War reenactors, for which she received grants from ITVS and NEA; the popular black & white short SOUR DEATH BALLS, which won several awards, including Best Live Action Short at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, was featured at Berlin, Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, San Francisco, Sydney and the national PBS series ALIVE TV; THE CONDUCTOR, a musical comedy short featuring Mark Salzman (IRON AND SILK) and the documentary HOME BASE, winner of several festival awards. She also directs commercials with Nonfiction Spots of Santa Monica, for which she has won a New York Emmy.

Yu has also written articles and fiction for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Buzz, Worth, and the Pacific News Service. She received the Murrow Award for Journalism from the Skeptics Society, the DREAM Media Award from the Western Law Center for Disability Rights and ACV’s Asian American Media Award. She has lectured at various universities and conferences. She is a MacDowell Colony Fellow and a Yaddo Fellow. Yu graduated from Yale University, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, with a B.A. in English.

In 2008, Yu released her first narrative feature, PING PONG PLAYA a comedy she has co-wrote with Jimmy Tsai.

Her latest short, KINDA SUTRA debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The Henry Art Gallery,
15th Ave NE & NE 41st St, SEATTLE

Please note: Filmmaker Annie Sundberg will join Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report during a perfectly deomcratic post-show q&a.

From the award-winning filmmakers of THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK and THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, THE END OF AMERICA, a stunning indictment of the sweeping policy changes enacted during the Bush Administration.

Made in collaboration with best-selling author Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth), the film makes a chilling case that American democracy is under grave threat. Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in other once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities — from the use of paramilitary groups and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law. With this galvanizing call to arms based on her recent book, she urges regular citizens to take back our legacy of freedom and justice.

Annie Sundberg is a director, producer, and writer of film and television. She recently co-directed and co-produced THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK with partner Ricki Stern, a production of Break Thru Films (Sundance 2007, Gotham Award nominee), theatrically released by International Film Circuit and airing on National Geographic (February 2008). The film has won seven festival awards and counting, including Best International Film at Brit Docs. Annie and Ricki Stern have been recognized with the Best Female Filmmakers Award at the San Diego Film Festival, the Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Nantucket Film Festival, and the Lena Sharpe/Women in Cinema Persistence of Vision Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.

JBL Theater @ EMP, 325 5th Ave N (at Seattle Center), SEATTLE

Many thanks to the magnificent Bartoks!

Winner: AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM – Nantucket Film Festival

Winner: AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY — Sarasota Film Festival

Winner: AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY — Palm Beach Int’l Film Festival

http://www.ofallthethingsmovie.com/

“A thoroughly engaging doc with enough appeal to reach beyond its presumptive target aud of nostalgic baby boomers… an affectionate portrait of a beloved parent and a celebration of contributions by an unsung hero of pop culture.” — VARIETY

“This is a real human drama about an ordinary guy rising above his own fears to shine in the spotlight again, and it’s at once touching and compelling to watch.” — CINEMATICAL

“It’s all terribly engrossing as we’re along for the ride with Dennis Lambert‘s big comeback tour.” — FILM THREAT FOUR STAR REVIEW ****

The most unique comeback story of the year.  Dennis Lambert was one of the most successful and diverse songwriter/producers of the ‘70s and ‘80s, with hits like “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)”, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, “Don’t Pull Your Love”, “Baby Come Back” and “Nightshift”.  He had chart-toppers in almost every genre of music — at one point four of his songs were simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a feat previously accomplished only by The Beatles.  That was then.  Today, he’s a 60-year-old family man selling real estate in Florida. But it turns out his obscure 1972 solo album is huge… in the Philippines. A Filipino concert promoter has been begging Dennis to come tour for decades, and in 2007 he finally agreed.  OF ALL THE THINGS is a hilarious and touching pop/rock/country/R&B documentary that follows Dennis on his whirlwind tour as he rediscovers his passion for music — a two-week adventure that takes him from the comforts of Boca Raton to a sold-out show at Manila’s famous Araneta Coliseum for thousands of fans he never knew he had. Some lives deserve an encore.

I Live Here is a paper documentary – an intimate journey to humanitarian crises in four corners of the wold: war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing in Burma, globalization in Mexico, and AIDS in Malawi.