ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

I remember reading something about this film a long, long time ago, and I just ran into a write up on it, check out this page on the 1991 British film Young Soul Rebels , sounds interesting: the film is apparently about 2 DJs in 1977 UK. It's going on my WATCH list. Has anyone seen it? What did you think? - Sujewa

Hey DC Area Indie Film Fans, There is a very interesting & funny movie called Mutual Appreciation playing in Dupont Circle this weekend http://www.fandango.com/TheaterPage.aspx?wssac=58&tid=AABXW&wssaffid=11480 and the film's director & distributor, Andrew Bujalski, will be there for tonight's (Fri), & Sat night's & Sun night's shows. Here is the movie's website for more info (the film is about a young musician who moves from Boston to NYC): http://www.mutualappreciation.com/funfacts.html The movie has won all kinds of awards, and it is entertaining & is a good example of low-budget filmmaking excellence. Unlike many of us contemporary DV lovin' indie filmmakers, Andrew uses motion picture film for his movies, and Mutual was shot on 35 MM B&W. Very interesting. Check it out & chat w/ Andrew if you feel like it. I am sure the event will be entertaining & educational & inspiring to many DC indie filmmakers. Thanks!

Andrew Bujalski's charming '05 film Mutual Appreciation f-i-n-a-l-l-y gets a more than 1 day run in DC, starting tomorrow, Fri 10/20 @ Dupont Circle. Mutual was one of my favorite films of '05 (i saw it on DVD), & I am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen, the way it should be seen, in a couple of days. It tells the story of a young musician who moves to NYC from Boston. Mutual is far, far better than Funny Ha Ha (Mutual is the Stranger Than Paradise to Funny Ha Ha's Permanent Vacation). For more appreciation of Mutual, go here . And then go check Mutual out at the theater this weekend with some friends. - Sujewa

In this week's Washington City Paper the punk authors Mark Andersen & Mark Jenkins (who is also a CP film critic) have a conversation with Paul Rachman & Steven Blush, the makers of the doc American Hardcore, which opens in DC tomorrow (Fri 10/20). Hardcore's got a lot of DC in it, thanks to Bad Brains, Dischord Records, Minor Threat & no doubt countless others who made the early 80's scene happen. Looking forward to the history lesson this weekend. Here is the link to the interview. Here is a bit of the interview: " Andersen: In the film, Ian MacKaye says something to the effect of, “I didn’t leave hardcore. Hardcore left me.” And of course Ian is part of something that happened in D.C. in 1985 called Revolution Summer, which in many ways is a reaction against the limitations and the contradictions of hardcore. What do you think Ian was trying to say? Rachman: There are two quotes in the film that are really important. There’s that quote, and there’s G

There is one up-and-coming field of indie film/film distribution where the no/low-budget filmmaker/distributor may be able to rule (or at least have a fair chance of competing well in), and that is internet VOD (video on demand). Doing D.I.Y. theatrical screenings & tours is a lot of work, & can get expensive, and the range/how many places the film can be delivered to in a short period of time - can be very limited. Same for playing the festival circuit. Even hawking the DVD can get expensive, 'cause you may have to buy a lot of ads in the non-web world to let a lot of people know about the existence of the DVD. Internet VOD should be far less work & far less expensive to use as a distribution method - customers can pay $s through the web & the film can be delivered to them through the web, and blogging & reviews can create free publicity for movies that are available through internet VOD. But what is the current state of internet VOD? Are filmmakers making a si

Here's where I heard about it: http://www.villagevoice.com/bestof/2006/category/arts/278 Here's the MySpace page for the band O'Death: http://myspace.com/odeath From an article about the band ( http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=48714&category=22153 ): "An ensemble of guitar, banjo, electric fiddle, ukulele, and junk percussion, their ingredients—like some crazy backwoods whiskey mash—are varied. Old-timey ghost songs and gospel call-and-response rave-ups meet punk sensibilities. Guttural howling over twangy instrumentation, stomps and shouts, and the sinner's simultaneous pleading/don't-give-a-shit evocation of greater power surge through each raucous number. At other moments, the songs are more deliberate, measured, pensive—the day after a drinking binge during which you punched your best friend in the face and then went home alone to savor the memory of someone lost and gone. But even this, to a certain degree, is celebratory—every party

Shooting People picked this blog as a Pick of the Day today. Check it out here: http://shootingpeople.org/cards/viewcard.php?act=act&card=45560&message=256976 Thanks Ingrid from SP for checking out the blog. & thanks Brian, The Film Panel Notetaker for letting me know about the SP pick this morning. - Sujewa

:) :) :) Gee, thanks Kim Voynar! She opens her Cinematical article on the DV Guru interview with me with the following sentence: " Our sister site DV Guru has an excellent interview up with one of the hottest up-and-coming DIY filmmakers out there, Sujewa Ekanayake, whose latest film, Date Number One, has been doing quite well." Regardless of the relative truthiness of the hot factor statement (isn't there only like 8 DIY filmmakers self-distributing features right now in the US? :), it is always nice to have some positive press coverage from Cinematical. Here is the rest of the opening paragraph: " Ekanayake shot the film entirely on digital video using an XL1S camera and also a VX2000. The entire project cost him about $10K and took about 2.5 years from start-to-finish; Ekanayake financed the film himself from his paychecks and investments from a few friends and family. He's also distributing the film himself -- the film has so far shown in Seattle, NYC and Was

51 Birch Street , a documentary about filmmaker Doug Block's parents/aspects of their marriage that Block did not know about until his mother died, opens in NYC tomorrow: " Oct 18 - New York City ( Cinema Village ) Show times: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9:10pm (daily). Purchase tickets online here . (Doug, Mike and Kitty Block will appear at the 7pm screenings Oct 18-20. Doug Block will appear at 7 and 9:10pm on Oct 21, and 3pm on Oct 22) " Go here to read quotes from reviews of the film. - Sujewa

I visited the YouAreTV website yesterday. YouAreTV looks like a more indie film focused version of YouTube. While exploring the site I found a possibly very useful item on their FAQ page: info. on converting footage on a DVD to a format that can be uploaded to the web, to YouAreTV or the several other places that carry video clips. Go here & scroll down to "How do I get footage from a DVD, and convert it?". They recommend using a program called AutoGK, their link did not work for me, so here's the AutoGK link if anyone needs it. I have not tried it yet, but I have been on the lookout for this type of info. for a while. Thanks YouAreTV. If anyone else has info on converting DVD footage for web upload, let us know, use the comments field below. Of course it goes without saying: don't use the tools to violate copyright, just to upload your own stuff/stuff you created or stuff you own the distribution rights to. Thanks! - Sujewa

I'll write more about this later today, but for now, check out this very long interview I did with DV Guru.com re: Date Number One & self-distribution. Lots to read, thanks Brian! - Sujewa

It's always fun to read about my film Date Number One in my favorite film blog GreenCine Daily . Here's what GCD said on Sun 10/15 about filmmaker Amir Motlagh's review of DNO: " Amir Motlagh on Date Number One : "The film is very specific to its location, and its quirks and ticks represent the feelings and moods of the particular area, which I find almost exclusively missing from Hollywood films... There is only a positive through line in this film, and that is rare to see, especially when dealing with characters in their late to early thirties." " Read Amir's entire review of DNO here. To see the GreenCine Daily mention of Amir's review, go here & scroll down 'till you see a pic from The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Thanks GreenCine Daily. Thanks Amir. - Sujewa

DATE NUMBER ONE http://www.wilddiner.com/ a comedy about several first dates a movie by sujewa ekanayake Saturday November 4, 8 PM WAREHOUSE Screening Room 1017-21 7th St., NW Washington, DC 20001 202-783-3933 directions $6 :: :: a benefit event for We Are Family, a DC non-profit that assists the elderly : " Small interfaith nonprofit We Are Family reaches out to the seniors of the North Capitol Street and Shaw neighborhoods. We bring advocacy, services, and companionship into the homes of the elderly, while helping to build friendships across boundaries like race, class, religion, age, culture, and sexual orientation. Most of our work is done by volunteers, coordinated by staffperson Mark Andersen who has nearly two decades of serving seniors in the North Capitol and Shaw neighborhoods." For WAF info, contact Mark Andersen: wearefamilydc@aol.com Film's Description: "Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 115 minute movie is made up o

Ultra indie filmmaker & self distributor Kelley Baker , who completed several US tours with his movies over the last few years, is on MySpace. Here is the introduction from his page : " About me: I am probably best known for working with other people. I was the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sant's feature films including, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, GOOD WILL HUNTING, and FINDING FORRESTER. I designed the sound on Todd Haynes feature film, FAR FROM HEAVEN, with Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore. I was the picture editor/sound designer on Will Vintons The Adventures of Mark Twain, and Meet The Raisins for CBS. I have also Written and Directed 3 features, (Birddog, The Gas Cafe, and Kicking Bird), 8 short films and a few documentaries. My films have been shown all over the world in film festivals and have aired on PBS, The Learning Channel, Canadian and Austrailian Television. I tour the US twice a year showing my movies and teaching filmmaking workshops. check out www.angryfilmm

the amount of the check is not the important thing - although, for a low/no budget DIY filmmaker & distributor w/ a day job like myself it is a pleasant amount, no, the important thing at this point is that the item exists - as an indicator of the possible potential of success in a very risky, foolishly risky even, business (indie film) - one which i am approaching through a still relatively unusual method (low/no-budget d.i.y. production & distribution). so what's all this about? i received a check from the pioneer theater in nyc today, for my share of ticket sales from the 8/31 screening of date number one. this of course is not the first time i made some money (cash coming my way, not necessarily a profit) through showing a film, and this is not even the first time i made some money from showing date number one, but the pioneer booking was specially important because: 1) it was the pioneer theater - one of the best venues for real indie films in the US, & it's i