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The Transformational Power of Buddhism

myfilmblog.com — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:50:26 GMT

Explore the transformational power of Buddhism when you download two classic films: Meditate and Destroy and The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Meditate and Destroy is a powerful and moving documentary chronicling Noah Levine's harrowing journey from addict and juvenile delinquent to leader of America's first Buddhist punk movement: Dharma Punx. Directed by Sarah Fisher, Meditate and Destroy is the first film to trace the influence of this movement in major cities throughout America, where a new generation of youths are increasingly turning to meditation as a departure from drugs, violence and crime. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is a two-part series exploring the titular spiritual text originating in the spiritual cultures of the Himalayas. Leonard Cohen's narration and the film's breathtaking cinematography combine to boldly visualize the afterlife according to the ancient text's wisdom. The resulting effort has been described by CM Magazine as a "marvelous documentary creation" that "demands multiple viewings." Both films are sure to enlighten you.

Meditate and Destroy

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

Brion Gysin's Flickering Light at the New Museum Dream Machine

myfilmblog.com — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:58:10 GMT

After the Guggenheim's 2009 show, The Third Mind, named for a concept of collaboration by famed novelist William S. Burroughs and lesser known painter, writer, restaurateur, raconteur Brion Gysin, inevitably a curiosity would grow around this exceptional artist of many trades. The New Museum does great service to Gysin's work in a new show called Dreamachine, so dubbed for a device he co-created to stimulate hallucinatory states of consciousness.

Read the article

Watch the film FLicKeR about Dreamachine

“Holes In My Shoes” on PBS WNET 13 and Jack Beers would have been 100

myfilmblog.com — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:23:47 GMT

Monday, July 5th @ 10pm - "Holes In My Shoes" - airing again on PBS WNET Thirteen (New York/Conn./New Jersey). The award-winning feature doc is back on the tube for an encore! Jack Beers (whom the feature documentary is about) would have been 100 years old this July 27th! PBS WNET 13 is honouring this anniversary with the airing of our film again.

Please share this information with everyone you think might enjoy it (email, Facebook, Twitter, text, whatever goes these days). If you aren't in the tri-state area and you'd like to watch the film, click here to preview or download. To purchase the DVD, click here.

It is now one year since Jack Beers passed away. I miss him more than words can say, as do many of you. He always wanted to make 100 and said he'd have a huge party where everyone was invited if he did...yet, his 99 years in this life were extraordinary, da best (as Jack would say).

100,000 people tuned in last December to PBS WNET 13, and we received so many moving, genuine, and passionate comments. The film achieved above-average ratings for the TV channel. Jack would have been amazed to see this kind of reaction from his beloved NYC!

Finally, good news is that the film will be distributed nationally across the USA on PBS by the end of 2010, so millions more will get to know Jack. For the PBS WNET 13 airings, we secured sponsorhip partners in Miele, Green Cross International (Mikhail Gorbachev's organisation), ENT & Allergy, and Gringer & Sons. We are currently seeking additional corporate/NGO/individual sponsorship partners for the PBS national distribution, so if you have any ideas of who may be interested, let me know - really appreciated.

Other news is that "Holes In My Shoes" is about to have literary representation with the wonderful Mansion Street Literary Management. Hopefully, the bookshelves will be lined with Jack's great story in the near future.

Thanks again, and if you can let others know in NY/Conn/NJ about "Holes" being on this Monday, July 5th @ 10PM, that would be fab!

All the best, stay in touch, and always feel free to let us know your thoughts about the film.

Be da best,
David Wachs
Director/Producer

www.holesinmyshoes.com

www.facebook.com

Interview with Niko von Glasow

myfilmblog.com — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:34:40 GMT

Filmmaker Niko von Glasow dishes about his early days in the film industry, when he was as an assistant fetching coffee for the legendary and temperamental although undeniably brilliant Rainer Werner Fassbinder, for which he received a production assistant credit. He charts his course from there before talking about his days at NYU and the Actor's Studio and closes with an honest assessment of his on work, placing the NOLA-winning NOBODY’S PERFECT, and his first film WEDDING GUESTS, at the top of the heap.

Watch the interview

Silver Docs Round-Up

Elizabeth — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:48:57 GMT

A little smaller this year than last year due to budget cuts, Silver Docs in its eighth year remains a favored festival for filmmakers, sales agents, distributors and audiences. Panels on funding, the craft of story telling, and the ins-and-outs of distribution were well attended. Screenings sold out to such films as Freakonomics and The Red Chapel.

Unlike SXSW, where the emphasis is on the intersection of technology and DIY distribution, Silver Docs industry panels focus on novice filmmakers. I was joined on a panel moderated by Byron Hurt with Louise Rosen, Diana Holtzberg of Films Transit International, and Cynthia Fenneman, President, American Public Television to discuss Letting Go of Your "Baby" … or Not. Distribution in 2010, What is a Filmmaker to do? In a market with fewer commissions, less funding, and a plethora of films for distributors to choose from, is it better to work with an agent or go solo; work with a distributor or go the DIY route?

As a distributor, I advise all filmmakers to seek advice, from peers, agents, friends or family. Ask questions early on and plan your strategy long before your film is at rough cut. Build your audience using social media tools and grass roots outreach. Define your festival strategy. Solicit the advice of agents; understand that a savvy, established agent will have relationships with programmers at TIFF, Sundance, Sheffield, SXSW and IDFA, to name a few.They will know the deadlines and festival programmers' preferences and will share that knowledge with you.

At Kino Lorber, acceptance into a prestigious festival, or an award, can be the deciding factor in acquiring a film for release.

A year ago we screened The Red Chapel at rough cut stage. At the time, our analysis was that the challenge of releasing a subtitled doc about two Danish comedians who infiltrate North Korea would be very challenging. We look to release films that we can successfully premier in New York city theatrically, ensuring a review, and then continue to show across North America at independent theaters and calendar houses, windowing with sales to the educational market, television and eventually, direct-to-consumer and then into retail and digital. Our output deal with Netflix's Watch Now allows us to make all of our theatrically-released films available direct to the digital world, as well as via VuDu, Amazon, Hulu and cable VOD. When The Red Chapel won the World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance, it was no longer an obscure foreign doc but a critically recognized film that premiered at MoMA's New Directors and played to a sold-out audience at Silver Docs.

So before you approach a distributor, start to build your audience and develop a festival strategy before you even start filming. Consider working with an agent such as Diana, from whom we recently licensed The Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould or Josh Braun of Submarine, who brought another festival favorite to us, Winnebago Man, which opens July 9th at the Sunshine in New York and will roll across America throughout the summer.

Lorber Films acquires 'Genius Within'

myfilmblog.com — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:03:16 GMT

Lorber Films has picked up "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould," set for a theatrical release opening in September at Gotham's Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. DVD and digital will follow in early 2011.

Deal was negotiated by Lorber's Richard Lorber and Elizabeth Sheldon with Film Transit Intl.'s Diana Holtzberg and White Pine Pictures' Kelly Jenkins.

Lighthouse International Film Festival to Open with "Red Chapel"

Elizabeth — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:05:49 GMT

It also fits his vision for the festival. Mr. Prince has tried to model Lighthouse—now in its second year—on festivals like those in Nantucket and the Hamptons "that bring in films from the top festivals around the world." Of this year's 70 movies, several are hot off the reels from Sundance and Berlin. Opening night will feature "The Red Chapel," a movie best described as "Borat" in North Korea. Named best world documentary at Sundance, it features two Danish comedians and one journalist traveling in the Communist state under the pretense of a cultural exchange.

The Devastating Legacy of Thalidomide

myfilmblog.com — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:23:46 GMT

Niko von Glasow and Bianca Vogel in "NoBody’s Perfect."

How rare is it to discover a documentary about disability that scorns “differently abled” euphemisms and rhapsodies of inner beauty? Rare enough to make “NoBody’s Perfect” an exemplar of fresh-air filmmaking that addresses the devastating legacy of the drug thalidomide with acidic wit and grumpy honesty.

Read full movie review at New York Times

Watch Nobody's Perfect online

Watch a short clip on iPhone or iPod Touch (13.7 MB)

A Day in the Life of the Dalai Lama

myfilmblog.com — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:27:09 GMT

It is quite a treat to see the Dalai Lama exercising on a treadmill just like millions of other people around the world. Although his Buddhist philosophy is focused on the mind, he sees the importance of taking good care of the body. The director, who provides a running commentary on his activities, notes at one point that it's a paradox that a man of nonviolence is surrounded by armed body guards. But given the continuing tension between China and Tibet, these are necessary precautions. More than 200 study at the monastery and listen to teachings given by the Dalai Lama, which can run from one to five hours. We see him giving a lecture with references to the Big Bang, the self, and compassion as "the basic nature of the mind."

Watch Sunrise Sunset Online, iPad or iPhone

The Socalled Movie

myfilmblog.com — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:09:07 GMT

It sounded like a great idea for a documentary: In 2007, the Montreal rapper and producer Socalled, a.k.a. Josh Dolgin, along with his parents, organized a klezmer/heritage cruise down the Dnieper River from Kiev to Odessa. On the chartered boat, Jewish Russian and Ukrainian immigrants revisited their once-vibrant homeland and traced their ancestral roots in the towns and shtetls they left in the 1930s and '40s. At night, they danced, sang and communed with some of the brightest lights on the contemporary klezmer scene.

While selling the cruise at a klezmer night at Oscar Peterson Hall, Josh ran into filmmaker Garry Beitel and invited him to come along and film the voyage. Beitel agreed. But it didn't take long to decide that Dolgin was a better subject than the cruise.

And that's how the world missed out on a Ukrainian klezmer-cruise Up the Yangtze-style doc and got The Socalled Movie instead.

The Socalled Movie is made up of 18 vignettes Beitel culled from two-and-a-half years he spent following Dolgin around with a camera (the Dnieper cruise is one of the short films). Other sequences explore Socalled's collaborations with Montreal country singer Katie Moore, French showman Chilly Gonzales, klezmer clarinettist David Krakauer, '50s lounge icon Irving Fields, and Dolgin's musical hero, funk trombonist and former James Brown backer Fred Wesley.

Taqwacore -The Birth of Punk Islam

myfilmblog.com — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:38:20 GMT

While the idea of punk rock Muslims might sound ridiculous to some people and to others it might even be blasphemous, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, Taqwacore: The Birth Of Punk Islam is inspiring and hopeful. Not only do those involved dispel any stereotypes you might have about Muslims, they also show how it is possible to be a religious person without letting your religion dictate who and what you are as an individual. The underlying message of tolerance and respect, mixed with a healthy dose of the benevolent chaos of punk, is one the world could stand hearing over and over again.

The Human Rights Movement Makes its Way to Video On Demand

myfilmblog.com — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:47:28 GMT

The human rights movement makes its way to Video On Demand (VOD) with Kimjongilia, offering all Americans the opportunity to take part through viewing this momentous documentary through instant online viewing or downloading. Testament to the power of the information age to bring to light the atrocities of the world's most isolated nation, this VOD release will reveal the tragedies of the ongoing totalitarian state of Kim Jong Il, the last large-scale totalitarian state of the twentieth century.

Not yet available on DVD, Kimjongilia is accessible now from the comfort of home or on iPod, iPhone, or iPad at MyFilmBlog.com. Winner of the Best Film 2010 from One World Brussels, in co-op with Human Rights Democracy Network, Kimjongilia is a cri de coeur that will put North Korea on the table in human rights debates around the world.

To read Filmmaker N.C. Heikin's blog visit Kimjongilia.MyFilmBlog.com. Access bonus interviews not included in the final cut, ask the filmmaker questions, and learn what you can do to stop the death camps in North Korea.

When viewers purchase a ticket to watch Kimjongilia On Demand at MyFilmBlog.com, the price of the ticket ($4.95) will be applicable to the purchase of the DVD when released later in 2010. Be sure to sign-up for our newsletter to learn when it is released! Kimjongilia had its U.S. premiere at New York's Cinema Village and will also be available at select theaters and community screenings across America before the DVD release. Click here to find out about upcoming screenings and learn how you can host a screening in your community.

The Sound of Insects

myfilmblog.com — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:17:04 GMT

In a remote wintry forest, a hunter discovers the mummified corpse of a 40-year-old man. A diary is found near the body, detailing the man’s everyday thoughts as he commits suicide through self-imposed starvation. Based on an incredible true story, and adapted from the novella “Until I am a Mummy“ by Shimada Masahiko, Peter Liecthi’s THE SOUND OF INSECTS is a stunning investigation into the mystery of the man’s enigmatic self-destructive motivations. Taking on his point-of-view, the film presents the notebook entries as stream-of-consciousness musings on the world around him as his body dissipates, an attempt to piece together the causes of his disillusionment. With luminous cinematography of the vaulting trees that surround his tented tomb, and of hallucinated memories of the cities and people he left behind, THE SOUND OF INSECTS is a hypnotic and transcendent meditation on how the renunciation of life paradoxically reveals its beauty.

Watch a film trailer on iPhone or iPod Touch

Watch a film trailer in Standard Definition

Two in the Wave (2009) is NYT Critic's Pic

myfilmblog.com — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:00:46 GMT

In Emmanuel Laurent’s new documentary, “Two in the Wave,” the “two” are the filmmakers François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. The wave, needless to say, is La Nouvelle Vague, a journalistic name that not only stuck to Truffaut, Mr. Godard and their colleagues, but that also changed the way film history is understood.

Watch a trailer (Flash) and read the overview

Watch a film trailer in Standard Definition (Computer HD, iPhone, iPad)

Watch Sex How To Do Everything Second Episode Online

myfilmblog.com — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:29:17 GMT

Sex gurus Em and Lo return in episode 2 for another installment of naughty educational fun that’s strictly for adults only. Bringing with them a vast catalog of carnal knowledge in the art of lovemaking, the cheeky duo explore ‘manual sex’ in an episode that is all about the sex that ‘you can do with your hands’.

First: the facts. Em and Lo reveal that a recent truechristian.com study found that American industries annually lose $3.14 billion in errant productivity thanks to people ‘misbehaving’ at work. And, with the apparent health benefits, it shouldn’t be a surprise that people are seizing every available moment to ‘relieve’ themselves. As Em and Lo report, there is a strong link between male masturbation and a decrease in prostate cancer, while women who frequently self-pleasure score higher on self-esteem indexes and possess a better body image.

So if everybody’s doing it, why is nobody talking about it? Em and Lo find out by chatting to Dr Carol Queen, pioneering sex educator and host of the annual Masturbate-a-thon in San Francisco. They also get out onto the streets of New York to set up their own confessional booth in the middle of Times Square, and then quiz the general public in London.

Meanwhile, intrepid testers Georgie and Dougie investigate inflatable friends and other prosthetics, exploring both classic and cutting-edge masturbatory aids. Plus, Sex: How to Do Everything presents tongue-in-cheek ways to incorporate self-love into your everyday life -- watch now to find out how!

Later, Em and Lo present advice on how to unravel the mystery of what women want – making you a bona fide sex god with the ‘poke and stroke’ technique – and explain why solo sex is not just a poor relation to intercourse. The health benefits for the 37% of women who self-pleasure from time to time are wide-ranging, and Em and Lo are keen to stress that there is no shame in the practice. After all, it’s sex with someone you love!

Watch Sex How To Do Everything Episodes Online

The Cannes Festival Opens With a Search for Money

myfilmblog.com — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:08:40 GMT

Arthouse distributor Richard Lorber, of Kino Lorber, was one of the few arriving at the festival in a “glass half-full” kind of mood. Lorber sees the landscape changing for the better, and is eager to find opportunities. But he releases movies in a handful of theaters; this festival is made for his kind of business.

Count on Lorber and IFC and Sony Classics to be picking up quality titles for crumbs.

Kimjongilia

Lily — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:22:56 GMT

The documentary Kimjongilia is a total experience of North Korea that layers music, animated sequences, interpretive dance, and, most strikingly, harrowing interviews with escapees of the totalitarian state, interwoven with hallucinatory propaganda footage. Filmmaker N.C. Heiken creates a consistent and incredibly unusual sensibility in her film of pain and propaganda. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans fill stadiums in praise of their leader with gymnastics, fireworks and synchronized marching formations – the footage may remind viewers of Leni Riefenstahl’s The Triumph of the Will. This footage is edited together with the voices and faces of victims behind the veneer who reveal a human loneliness and despair that is rarely communicated in life.

This film is a visceral reminder of the devastating injustices practiced around the world today. This is a country where a “crime” committed by one person leads to the life-long imprisonment of three generations of his or her family, and where children are forced to watch their family members publicly executed. In one particularly memorable testimonial, a man recounts how he escaped the prison camp at the expense of his friend’s life: the friend was electrocuted as he passed through the barbed wire fence, allowing him to escape unscathed.

Awarded the EST FILM 2010 from One World Brussels, in co-op with Human Rights Democracy Network, Kimjongilia examines the mass illusion possible under totalitarianism and the human rights abuses required to maintain that illusion.

Watch Kimjongilia online

Italy's culture minister boycotts Cannes Film Festival

myfilmblog.com — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:13:57 GMT

Italy's culture minister has snubbed an invite to the Cannes Film Festival in protest at a decision to screen a film about the L'Aquila earthquake. Sandro Bondi has objected to the satirical documentary which criticises Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's handling of the disaster. Read more

Nollywood Babylon

Lily — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:50:33 GMT

Lagos, Nigeria, a city of 15 million people, is the capital of contemporary African cinema. Since 1992, with the popular success of Living in Bondage, a film in which the Nigerian elite use black magic to maintain their social and financial prestige, the Nigerian movie industry (christened Nollywood) has become the third largest in the world after Hollywood and Bollywood. In this exploding market for locally made home videos, Nigerian filmmakers cast, shoot and sell films at lightning speed in the heart of Lagos. A truly populist cinema, Nollywood produces up to 2,000 films a year, reaching African audiences throughout the continent and the world.

Nollywood Babylon demonstrates the power of cinema to speak to and create a social identity. According to filmmakers Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal, the themes of these films "reflect the collision of traditional mysticism and modern culture." The films temper frightening, ecstatic visions of cult practices and witchcraft with redemptive Christian endings that seek to reconcile their deep contradictions. Despite this sensationalism, Addelman and Mallal show how these films deal with the defining conflicts of African life, and hone in on the profound, universal human struggles contained within the films’ melodramatic excess. Addelman and Mallal take the viewer into the complex world of Nigerian cinema in this captivating documentary, and leave us with the feeling that we are on the brink of a truly immortal Nigerian cinema. The Great African Film will come out of this movement.

Watch Nollywood Babylon online

Watch Sex How To Do Everything Third Episode Online

myfilmblog.com — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:54:05 GMT

The third episode “Orgasm” will educate you and your partner about how to have better orgasms and, most importantly, how to have them together. Featuring the best of Em & Lo’s emotional and technical know-how, this episode includes lessons on pelvic alignment, tantric methods, orgasmic spots, and investigations into today’s controversial sex claims. With instructive dioramas, illustrations, and lustful how-to demonstrations, this whole-body approach to the orgasm is bound to revitalize your interest in achieving a transformative experience in bedroom.

Watch introduction to the third episode in HD or on iPod and iPhone

The SoCalled Film To Show at Hot Docs

Elizabeth — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:43:55 GMT

reFrame Films and the NFB are very proud to announce the “Socalled” Movie’s Canadian premiere this May at Hot Docs in Toronto, one of the the most coveted doc festivals in the world. The film screens May 2nd and 4th. Tickets and passes available here.

Sun, May 02 9:15 pm at Bloor Cinema.
Tue, May 04 11:30 am at The ROM Theatre.

Stay tuned for more announcements, including guest appearances and a chance to win tickets for opening night!

The Round-up from SXSW

Elizabeth — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:03:42 GMT

I think festivals should always pray for chilly, rainy weather because there is a direct correlation between screening attendance and sunshine, i.e. the better the weather the fewer movie goers, which might explain this years long lines and inability to get in to watch some films last week in Austin. With all the rain, I felt like I had never left the East Coast.

Much has been said about the films in Austin and how it is a growing festival with a unique angle on the intersection between film distribution and technology. Panel after panel discussed why some digital ventures don’t deliver, the future of independent film distribution, and how to succeed in making a video go viral (without kittens). We are entering what is probably phase 2 of DIY film distribution, where ventures such as BSide proved that there were audiences to be reached using online outreach to get niche audiences to screenings, but failed to generate sufficient revenue for their investors. We have the Auteurs who offer a proprietary VOD platform but can’t get eyeballs, suggesting that technology and content alone are not sufficient. And now YouTube has announced that it will offer Pay Per View to independent filmmakers. Is it the solution filmmakers have been waiting for or is the habit of free to deeply entrenched in the YouTube culture to translate to Pay Per View? I guess we’ll see… one of our upcoming Knitting Factory Entertainment releases is a YouTube Pay Per View feature and so far it is going well at more than 166,000 views.

On the film side, I had my favorites. I think the highlight was the after-party for CANAL STREET MADAM. Talking to the (in)famous Jeanette was a pleasure and only proved my hunch that the lady might be a whore, but she isn’t anybody’s victim. Another viewer over at Indiewire suggested that she is simply ‘libidouness,’ but that is like saying that most people go to work in the morning not for the money but for the pleasure. Perhaps that is true for the guys over at IndieWire, but tell that to your average joe and he’ll probably spit in your coffee. Most of us, alas, must work for our bread and Jeanette earned hers the old fashioned way. Nothing wrong with that – like she said, if it is between two consenting adults it shouldn’t be illegal.

The EyeSteel Films crew was out in full force. Omar Majeed, the filmmaker behind TAQWACORE: THE BIRTH OF MUSLIM PUNK will be keeping fans new and old abreast of all things Taqwacore related at taqwacore.myfilmblog.com. Sign-up and stay tuned for updates regarding festival screenings, the upcoming NYC premier and theatrical dates throughout the summer.

REEL INJUN, which will open theatrically at MoMA in June, and THE SOUND OF INSECTS also garnered attention. Stay posted for further updates.

Watch «Sex: How To Do Everything» Third Episode Online

myfilmblog.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:51:40 GMT

Hosted by nationally syndicated relationship columnists and best-selling authors Emma Taylor and Lorelei Sharkey (better known as Em & Lo) SEX: How To Do Everything is a provocative and informative ten-part series that will answer all your questions (even those you were too embarassed to ask) and provides live demonstrations with various models, experts and amatuers.

Restricted to US only

Very explicit sexual images and discussions.

Watch «Theater of War» Now Online Exclusively from Alive Mind

myfilmblog.com — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:43:44 GMT

Critically acclaimed documentary about the dramatic performance of one of the reigning queens of contemporary theater and film, Meryl Streep, as she interprets the role of Mother Courage in Tony Kushner's The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival in Central Park production of Mother Courage and Her Children.

This inspired doc investigates the power of theater to provoke its viewers out of their complacency in the midst of protracted war, and proves the urgent relevancy of the great 1939 anti-war play by one of the twentieth century's most renowned playwrights, Bertolt Brecht.

"...filmmaker John Walter jumps from art to history and politics and back again, from the theater of the streets to the theater of the stage, without pause. That makes the movie... tough to summarize, which is part of its appeal" - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Take advantage of the exclusive opportunity to watch the film for $4.98 in our online screening room and enjoy the film in the comfort of your own home or out on your iPod/iPhone. When we release the DVD, you will be notified and receive a 25% coupon to be applied towards the purchase of the DVD. The DVD will include bonus materials featuring Meryl Streep, Michael Moore, behind-the-scenes extras and much more, coming soon from Lorber Films.

Watch the film trailer (Computer HD)

Watch the film trailer on iPod/iPhone (11.6 MB)

Film duration: 1 hour 35 minutes

(HD or iPhone/iPod) US only. Ticket is good for one week.

Watch Gogol Bordello Non-Stop

myfilmblog.com — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:48:16 GMT

Click here to watch a film trailer in HD 480p and to watch "Gogol Bordello Non-Stop" online

Definitive film on the gypsy punk rock band and international sensation uncovers the insane party culture of the band and its leader and borderline movie star Eugene Hutz.

“In “Gogol Bordello Non-Stop” [Eugene Hutz] emerges as a passionate, articulate philosopher of punk’s democratic participatory aesthetic who espouses the rejection of social hierarchies in concerts that are raucous, bacchanalian performance-art carnivals.” — Stephen Holden, The New York Times

A vibrant chronicle of one of today’s most notorious and revered live bands, GOGOL BORDELLO NON-STOP follows Eugene Hütz’s gypsy-punk brigade around the world as they spread their liberating libertine musical gospel. Filmmaker Margarita Jimeno tracks their raucous gigs from 2001 to 2006, from NYC to Italy, as the band rises from dingy basements to festival main-stages. The cast is a rotating circus of polyglot personalities from Israel, Russia and America, who dish on their music, their heritage, and their favored vices. Hütz, a sardonic mustachioed Ukrainian immigrant and the group ringleader, fuses his gypsy heritage with a love of punk rock and burlesque. Part carnival barker, social organizer, and poet, he’s a mesmerizing presence on-stage and off.

GOGOL BORDELLO NON-STOP is an artful documentary that mixes flamboyant costumes, intricate dance choreography, a relentless beat and an explosive energy not seen since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll.

Sundance and Beyond

Elizabeth — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:53:10 GMT

Nice to see that Last Train Home from EyeSteelFilm, the same production company that produced Up The Yangtze and the documentary Taqwacore, is getting a phenomenal reception. Ella Taylor from NPR writes:

And the Chinese documentary Last Train Home ended up as my favorite film of the festival, bar none. Director Lixin Fan followed a migrant-worker couple trying to get tickets for trips home to their village to see the kids they left with their grandmother years ago in order to earn a meager living. Watching this devastating portrait of a family trying to glue itself back together, you wonder how China, on its way to becoming the world's richest nation, will avoid civil war if it doesn't also attend to the needs of the millions of poverty-stricken families like this one.

It won the IDFA Best Documenatary Award and is apparently poised to storm America.

Theater of War

myfilmblog.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:20:49 GMT

In 2006, The Public Theater in New York City mounted an outdoor production of Mother Courage and Her Children, which boasted a new translation by Tony Kushner, featured Streep and the great Kevin Kline, and was directed by the Public’s George C. Wolfe. Written in 1939 largely in response to the invasion of Poland by Hitler’s German army, the play is about the devastating effects of war and the blindness of anyone hoping to profit by it. Nearly seven decades later—as the war in Iraq wages on with no discernible end—Brecht’s play has a lamentable resonance. That is, it rhymes.

Walter takes us behind the scenes, including unprecedented access into Streep’s artistic process. He interweaves these scenes with enthralling details about the play’s author, including a pivotal moment of Brecht’s brilliant testimony before the House Un- American Activities Committee, when he gave a brilliant performance and quickly departed the stage and the country.

THEATER OF WAR is more than a backstage pass. It’s an engrossing and fiercely intelligent look at war and capitalism, and their regrettable dependence on one another. But even more, it’s about the power—if not responsibility—of art and artists to cast a light on that which we prefer not to see.

Starring: Meryl Streep and Bertolt Brecht
Directed By: John Walter

Who Rules America?

myfilmblog.com — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:41:45 GMT

Most Americans have no trouble believing that God exists, but they are uncertain about whether an American ruling class exists. They seem to think the idea of a ruling class is restricted to European aristocracies of yore and assorted eastern potentates of today. In The American Ruling Class Lewis Lapham takes a wry trip across America, ostensibly to educate two fresh-faced graduates about the ways of power and privilege. Some of their interlocutors express puzzlement about the very idea of a ruling class in America, while others seize on the phrase with palpable disdain for anyone who has doubts about the concept. The result of these conversations is instructive and sobering; I was particularly struck by the sheer difficulty of living in America on a standard working wage—the kind a waiter might expect to earn. Clearly, some people earn too little, while others “earn” too much. Surely there can be no serious doubt that a minority of the population commands more power per capita than the majority: some people own disproportionately large amounts and have access to political power that is commensurate to their wealth. If that is what we mean by a ruling class, then there indubitably exists one in America. Read more on Colin McGinn Blog

Related: The American Ruling Class

That's the Spirit

myfilmblog.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:16:13 GMT

PopMatters took a look at two latest aquisitions by Alive Mind Media that stresses their commitment to releasing “specialty documentary programming in the areas of enlightened conscious: "So Help Me God" directed by Simon Cole and "Meditate and Destroy" directed by Sarah Fisher:

Meditate and Destroy focuses on former bad boy turned author and Buddhist teacher Noah Levine. As much a teaching tool as a mini-biography, we learn of the drug addled and crime filled life that transformed this self-proclaimed punk into a force for good in the realm of spiritual guidance. While Levine’s story has much more dramatic punch, it is frequently compromised by director Sarah Fisher’s desire to hard sell the man’s ‘ministry’ and teachings. Cole, on the other hand creates a Religulous like experience in which questions of dogmatic inconsistency provide fodder for humor - and occasional insight.

Indeed, So…Help Me God accomplishes the basic tenets of its set-up. Cole comes across as good natured and genuine, never openly confronting his hosts like HBO pundit Bill Maher did during his documentary. Certainly he lets the subjects spewing hate hang themselves with obvious clarity (a family of rabid homosexual hating zealots are exposed for the robot minding morons they are), but he also wants to understand and experience the substance of religious devotion. After speaking with all manner of types - Muslim, Jew, Hindi, Buddhist, etc. - he decides to confront his quandary head on. Setting up a tent in the desert, he explores the reasons and the need for faith. His last act revelation falls in line with the rest of So…Help Me God‘s direct designs.

Watch «So Help Me God» trailer

Watch «Meditate and Destroy» trailer

The Tao and Sacred Love-Making

myfilmblog.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:10:48 GMT

I was inspired to make the Sacred Love-Making film because of my passion to see real-life couples have more meaningful, pleasure-filled sex lives.

For twenty years I have explored ancient, intimate traditions from around the world whose origins date back hundreds and even thousands of years. What I was always fascinated to discover is how many of the world’s older civilizations added a sacred dimension to sex. The act itself was filled with significance and a whole-- or “holy” sense-- of satisfaction. Sex was connected to health, to nature, and to energy. It was blessed by Gods and Goddesses. It could be an effective form of prayer. It could also bring about fertility of the land and its people, but above all sex was something that left a lasting, overall feeling of connectivity and wellbeing between the two intimate partners.

Today I feel these elements have been largely forgotten and even annihilated from the experience of sex. In fact, now-a-days people tend to do the opposite, which is to amplify the focus on the aesthetics of the physical body and exaggerate and distort physicality during the sexual experience. These are the “selling points” of pornography which produces shock, feelings of shame, inferiority, and a “carrot on the stick” mentality to having ultimate sex. Watching this kind of sex on film can produce arousal-- sometimes even lots of arousal-- and stimulation for the viewer and/or participants, but it doesn’t promote the overall nourishment and real connectivity that engaging in sex can bring.

In the Sacred Love-Making film I share the practical and sublime, intimate teachings of ancient China with two, modern-day married couples who are at different stages of their love lives. The first couple has been together for four years and the second couple has been together for twenty years. The couples are at a point in their union where they are ready to have a more satisfying sex life, and the audience can watch their journey unfold on film as they explore these little known Chinese sex practices.

The Taoist of China were some of the first people to develop a sophisticated system for sex dating back to 2 B.C. Their system went by many names, such as The Art of Love, The Arts of the Bedchamber, and Taoist Sexology. For the fortunate people who learned it, it provided a pathway to experience multiple dimensions within sex. It is incredibly physical, yet also heart centered and offers the opportunity to tangibly experience a spiritual connection with someone during the act of lovemaking, which is shown throughout my film.

I made Sacred Love-Making for anyone who wants to watch an adventurous roadmap for creating more passion, harmony, desire, and a deeper union with their lover. And forget “airy fairy, hippy dippy edutainment,”-- this is not that. The film is presented in a sophisticated, tasteful, ala French film style for the mature viewer. Sacred Love-Making allows the viewer to glimpse the truer essence of great sex in a way that is natural, beautiful, tasteful, and surprising in many ways.

Watch a short clip or download to own