2002 Independent Feature Project

[see an interview with Paul Goudreau]

Documentary Short, DVCam, Color/B&W, 25 min, 2002

Synopsis:
Is it art or graffiti? Intimidation or information? Throughout Northern Ireland, hundreds of giant murals cover the walls of public housing in working-class neighborhoods. Images of gun-wielding men, political slogans and scenes out of history all vie for the public's attention. Meet the artists who create these murals - and others who want them taken down.

Talent:
Directors/Producers: Christine Hurson, Paul Goudreau
Executive Producer: John Michalczyk
Director of Photography: Paul Goudreau

Contact:
Paul Goudreau
Etoile Documentary Group
60 Pleasant Street
Lexington, MA 02421
phone (781) 862-6428 
goodaddy@aol.com 

Documentary Work in Progress, DVCam,

Synopsis:
How do we measure greatness? Ski champion Bode Miller wants it to be on the mountain. From his eccentric home in Franconia, New Hampshire to the European Alps and the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Bode skis for the love of it all. Through the awards and spills that come and go, Bode pursues his dream, FLYING DOWNHILL.

Talent:
Director: William Rogers

Contact:
William Rogers
Coruway Film Institute
163 Court Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
phone (603) 436-3092
fax (603) 766-6589 
wcrogers@coruway.mv.com 

[see an interview with Ross McElwee]

Documentary Feature, 35mm, Color/B&W, 120 min, 2002

Synopsis:
BRIGHT LEAVES develops from telling the story of my great-grandfather's doomed career as a tobacco baron into a personal meditation on the deadly dance my home state of North Carolina has engaged in with the tobacco industry. On a deeper level, the film considers notions of legacy, complicated for the South by its ties to tobacco.

Talent:
Director/Writer/DP: Ross McElwee
Editors: Ross McElwee, Mark Meatto

Contact:
Ross McElwee
Carpenter Center for Visual Arts
Harvard University
Boston, MA 02138
phone (617) 496-6606
fax (617) 495-8197 
mcelwee@fas.harvard.edu 

[see an interview with Jay Craven]

No Borders Narrative - Script - Comedy,

Synopsis:
DISAPPEARANCES is a Prohibition-era adventure film, comedy and drama, based on the award-winning novel by Howard Frank Mosher. It tells the story of Quebec Bill Bonhomme, a hardy schemer and dreamer, who resorts to whiskey-smuggling. Quebec Bill takes his son, Wild Bill, on the journey. Together, they cross the border into vast reaches of Canadian wilderness for an unforgettable four days "full of terror, full of wonder."

Talent:
Director/Writer: Jay Craven
Producers: Jay Craven, Todd J. Harris
Executive Producer: Matt Salinger
Director of Photography: Frederick Elmes

Cast:
Principal Cast: Kris Kristofferson

Contact:
Jay Craven
949 Somers Road
Barnet, VT 5821
phone (802) 592-3190
fax (802) 592-3193 
jcraven@kingdomcountry.com 
http://www.kingdomcountry.com 

Documentary Feature, DigiBeta, Color/B&W, 90 min, 2002

Synopsis:
EAST TIMOR: BETRAYAL AND RESURRECTION is a documentary film about the amazing struggle of the East Timorese people to achieve independence despite genocidal Indonesian oppression and a series of betrayals by the international community. In the face of these spirit-crushing ordeals, the East Timorese managed to maintain their dignity and humanity.

Talent:
Director/Producer/Writer: Theodore Folke
Executive Producer: Tord K. Roe
Directors of Photography: Steen Johansen, Antonio Dias
Editor: Jade Ann Benetatos, Theodore Folke

Contact:
Theodore Folke
The Samba Project, LLC
13 Poplar Plains Road
Westport, CT 06880
phone (203) 226-8855
fax (203) 222-1137 
tmacf@earthlink.net,  virgomina@yahoo.com 
http://www.easttimorfilm.com 

Documentary Work in Progress, MiniDV, Color,

Synopsis:
GE spends many millions telling us they bring good things to life. But to the people of Pittsfield, Mass., GE's PCBs have poisoned its workers, contaminated local homes and businesses and more than 100 miles of the Housatonic River. In response, GE workers, sportsmen and environmentalists have waged a 20-year campaign to force a cleanup.

Talent:
Director/Producer/Executive Producer/Writer/DP: Mickey Friedman

Contact:
Mickey Friedman
Blue Hill Films
32 Rosseter Street
Great Barrington, MA 01230
phone (413) 528-9395
mfried@bcn.net 

[see an interview with Melanie Perkins]

Documentary Work in Progress, BetaSP, Color,

Synopsis:
HAVE YOU SEEN ANDY? is the personal story of a childhood friendship abruptly ended by the tragic abduction of a young boy. In 1976 Andy Puglisi was playing at a pool in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Then, suddenly, he disappeared. Twenty-two years later, filmmaker Melanie Perkins, Andy's childhood friend, began her search for answers in this shocking true-crime story.

Talent:
Director/Producer/Writer: Melanie Perkins

Contact:
Melanie Perkins
Project Productions
P.O. Box 156
Andover, MA 01810
phone (617) 699-1962
mclaughlinm@attbi.com  
http://www.haveyouseenandy.com 

Documentary Work in Progress, BetaSP, DVCam, 8mm, Color,

Synopsis:
My father told me we were Jewish when I was six. Since we celebrated Christmas and never went to synagogue, this came as a surprise. American non-practicing Jews have a paradoxical, embattled, even humorous relationship to their Judaism. In MATZO AND MISTLETOE, Mike Wallace, Walter Shapiro, Daphne Merkin, Jules Feiffer and others share tales about their secular Jewish identities.

Talent:
Director/Producer/Writer: Kate Feiffer
Editor: Christopher Mara

Kate Feiffer
Split Rock Productions
P.O. Box 1016
West Tisbury, MA 02575
phone (508) 696-9240
fax (508) 696-8087
alley@gis.net 

RATED X - ONE FAMILY'S BUSINESS 

Documentary Short, BetaSP, Color/B&W, 28 min, 2002

Synopsis: 
In 1960 Jon Berberian and his wife, Elizabeth, were both successful opera singers with the New York City Opera. In 1962, as a gift from Jon's father, they received a grand old Vaudevillian theater in Providence, Rhode Island. Today, the Columbus Theatre shows adult films every night and all day on Sundays. RATED X - ONE FAMILY'S BUSINESS is their story.

Talent: 
Director/Producer/Editor: John Lavall 
Directors of Photography: John Lavall, Jessica Jennings 

Contact: 
John Lavall DevLo 
260 Wilson Avenue 
Rumford, RI 02916 
phone (401) 438-7868 
john@devlomedia.com

THE SAME RIVER TWICE

Documentary Feature, BetaSP, Color, 80 min, 2002

Synopsis:
Twenty-five years ago, a group of mid-20-year-olds became white-water river guides. They were communal, naked and worked hard at being environmentally alert and materially indifferent. By interweaving images from their river-lives with scenes shot over the last five years, the film constructs a collective, temporal mosaic of their life choices.

Talent:
Director/Producer: Robb Moss
Director of Photography: Robb Moss
Editor: Karen Schmeer

Contact:
Robb Moss
Next Life Films
37 Greenough Ave
Boston, MA 02130
phone (617) 495-4456
fax (617) 495-8197 
robbmoss@fas.harvard.edu  

[see an interview with DJ Kadagian]

Documentary Short, DigiBeta, Color/B&W, 45 min, 2002

Synopsis:
Our dynamic cast of speakers takes a critical look at the interplay of money and politics and the impact on the underclass - particularly black America. The ideological lines between our two parties have become so blurred, as each tries to claim the center, that ideology is no longer significant. It is clear that money drives politics and public policy.

Talent:
Director/Producer: DJ Kadagian

Contact:
DJ Kadagian
Four Seasons Productions
121 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
phone (203) 226-3696
fax (203) 438-0319 
dj@4seasonsassets.com