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

What? US schools beat their students as a part of their disciplining process? Are we all of a sudden in like the 1830's? Did the country go through a time machine without me noticing it? Read the messed up news at Human Rights Watch . From the HRW article: "The report found that in the 13 southern states where corporal punishment is most prevalent, African-American students are punished at 1.4 times the rate that would be expected given their numbers in the student population, and African-American girls are 2.1 times more likely to be paddled than might be expected. There is no evidence that these students commit disciplinary infractions at disproportionate rates." And: "The report documents several cases in which children were beaten to the point of serious injury. Since educators who beat children have immunity under law from assault proceedings, parents who try to pursue justice for injured children encounter resistance from police, district attorneys, and

Or rather The Reeler Stu VanAirsdale trying to work on a recent weekday morning in Manhattan while I am taking photos of him & asking him questions for the blogger doc . Thanks for the patience Stu. - Sujewa

That's Indie Film Blogger Road Trip doc subject Anthony Kaufman hanging out at his balcony; with Manhattan in the background & Brooklyn below. - Sujewa

Interesting interview with author Richard Rodriguez at Scott London's site . From the interview: " London: Do you consider yourself more Mexican or more American? Rodriguez: In some ways I consider myself more Chinese, because I live in San Francisco, which is becoming a predominantly Asian city. I avoid falling into the black-and-white dialectic in which most of America still seems trapped. I have always recognized that, as an American, I am in relationship with other parts of the world; that I have to measure myself against the Pacific, against Asia. Having to think of myself in relationship to that horizon has liberated me from the black-and-white checkerboard. London: Do you think of yourself as an Indian? Rodriguez: Yes, although it was something I did not know about as a child. I had an Indian face, but I never saw it as Indian, in part because in America the Indian was dead. The Indian had been killed in cowboy movies, or was playing bingo in Oklahoma. Also, in my

What is the immobile video camera trying to tell me? Horrible cover, but funny video overall. Andy Warhol might have enjoyed this.

From Racialicious (thanks Stuff White People Do for the link): "I grew up trying to spot the otherness in whites—such as Janet on “Three’s Company” or the star of “Wonder Woman,” who, it turns out, is half-Mexican—because I was hungry to see myself represented in a medium in which my kind was mostly invisible. But that’s not the only reason I make such connections. On a subconscious level, I believe that I respond to white society’s rejection of blackness by projecting blackness onto whites. The rationale is that, if whites are part-black themselves, their racism doesn’t just amount to hatred of people of color but to a sort of self-hatred. In this way, it is easy to see how racism isn’t just damaging to its so-called targets but to society collectively." Read the rest here , interesting stuff. - Sujewa

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Check out the clip, buy or rent the DVD, nice little movie:

At Spout , check it out. Here is the intro: "Relaxed and genteel with a disarming smile and quick wit that strike you immediately upon meeting him, James Ponsoldt, the Athens, GA native who made a big impression at Sundance 06′ with his tragically underseen Nick Nolte high school baseball umpire drama Off The Black , is a well-rounded guy. He has a masters degree from Columbia, was the president of his class at Yale, edited the student paper, was a receiver on the varsity football team and reads modernist literature with regularity. Perhaps more importantly, the Filmmaker Magazine contributor and Sundance Institute Lynn Auerbach Screenwriting Fellow for his adaptation of Benjamin Percy’s Iraqi war short story Refresh, Refresh was also one of the founding members of Yale’s Porn n’ Chicken club , where students gathered to watch XXX films and eat fried chicken." Read the rest here . - Sujewa

From M. David Lee III: ""SLOW DOWN..." WE'RE READY TO SCREEN! Triple Sticks Productions, is proud to announce our feature film, “Slow Down… You’re Dating Too Fast!” will screen at the “2008 Washougal International Film Festival” August 21th – August 24rd on Saturday, August 23rd, between 10am-6pm. ( www.washougalfilmfest.org ) The film chronicles five adults trying to work and date in modern society. Instead of the tried and true approaches to dating, these brave souls look for love in a most unusual way… “Speed Dating.” “Slow Down… You’re Dating Too Fast!” is a comedy that will show you just what happens when you take a “different” approach to dating… this is NOT how your parents did it. “I think we have a phenomenal screening time! When you go to the theater to see the film, I think folks will walk away really smiling and laughing and that's what we had hoped would happen when we made the film. I can't wait until Saturday!" M. David Lee III Producer

Damn you Ellen (but congrats to the couple). - Sujewa

While I am off editing Indie Film Blogger Road Trip , check out blogs & sites of (& related to) the 14 bloggers featured in the doc: :: Anthony Kaufman - indieWIRE - Anthony Kaufman's blog - Village Voice * Stu VanAirsdale - Defamer - The Reeler * Melissa Silverstein - Women & Hollywood * Erica Ginsberg - Docs Interactive - Docs In Progress * Chuck Tryon - The Chutry Experiment - Newcritics - Fayetteville State University * Gabe Wardell - Gabe's Declaration of Principles - ATL 365 blog - Atlanta Film Festival * Paula Martinez - Paula's After Thoughts - ATL 365 blog - Atlanta Film Festival * Tambay Obenson - The Obenson Report - Beautiful Things * Noralil Ryan Fores - ShortEnd Magazine * Brandon Harris - Cinema Echo Chamber - Hammer to Nail - Filmmaker Magazine * Armando Valle - Horror 101 - Armando Valle * KJ Mohr - My World Bank Lunches - National Museum of Women in the Arts * Brian Geldin - The Film Panel Notetaker - Clincher Entertainment * Sujewa Ekanayake -

According to this New York Times article , a body of a dead Bigfoot has been found, and it is in a freezer somewhere near Atlanta. Read more at NYT . If this does turn out to be a real Bigfoot body, I am gonna have some bragging rights over someone for a long while to come (I've always thought that Bigfoot, aliens, undiscovered live dinosaurs left over from the dinosaur age were very much possibilities, while most of my friends do not believe that is the case). Of course deepest sympathies go out to the family of the dead Bigfoot. - Sujewa

From Human Rights Watch site : "(Tbilisi, August 15, 2008) – Human Rights Watch researchers have uncovered evidence that Russian aircraft dropped cluster bombs in populated areas in Georgia, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring dozens, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called upon Russia to immediately stop using cluster bombs, weapons so dangerous to civilians that more than 100 nations have agreed to ban their use. “Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers that most nations have agreed to outlaw,” said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. “Russia’s use of this weapon is not only deadly to civilians, but also an insult to international efforts to avoid a global humanitarian disaster of the kind caused by landmines.” " Read the rest of the article here . - Sujewa

Check out indieWIRE's profile of New Video Digital . - Sujewa