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

So here's my end of year gift to the readers of this blog & the indie film community in general - 9 minutes (9 for 2009 - get it? :) from my upcoming doc Indie Film Blogger Road Trip . Here's the official description of the content in this clip: "In this 9 minute segment from Sujewa Ekanayake's documentary Indie Film Blogger Road Trip we see: Anthony Kaufman talk about the moment when he knew he would "make it" as a professional film journalist, Sujewa Ekanayake introduce the documentary, and Tambay Obenson speak about the community that one becomes a part of by blogging and how that community and blogging has helped him develop his career as a filmmaker. Music by Kevin MacLeod. The full 95 minute documentary will be available at screenings and on DVD in 2009. For more information and news about the project please visit: http://indiefilmbloggersmovie.blogspot.com/ Indie Film Blogger Road Trip was produced, directed, videotaped, and edited by Sujewa Ekanay

From the MPR story: "Todd Sklar was meant to be in the MPR studios to talk about the four days of movies he's showing this weekend in the Twin Cities. Instead he was in a snowdrift somewhere outside Ames, Iowa, waiting for a tow truck. But that didn't stop him pitching "Box Elder," ('A movie about dudes being dudes" as the blurb says,) and the three other movies. Actually talking to Sklar is a little like entering into a scene from his film. Sklar, who wrote, produced and directed "Box Elder," also plays one of four central characters as they work, or rather don't work, their way through four years at the University of Missouri at Columbia. Talking on the phone it seems like Sklar didn't have to do much acting to get in character." Read the rest of the story here . Listen to Todd on MPR earlier today: - Sujewa

GreenCine Daily's David Hudson will be writing a blog called The Daily for IFC starting 1/1/09. Read all about it at IFC. com . Aaron Hillis will be taking David's place at GreenCine Daily. Congrats to both bloggers & both companies on the new development. - Sujewa

Regardless of my mixed reactions to most of Steven Soderbergh's movies, he is one of a handful of exciting, innovative, experimental (if you can use that word when talking about Hollywood movie makers), well known directors in America - so, for the sake of his career I'd like to see Che - Soderbergh's bio-epic about Ernesto "Che" Guevara - do well at the box office. But, speaking not as a person connected to the filmmaking world but purely as an audience member who is interested in history, world events, and the Cuban Revolution , I was disappointed by Che. Che is an entertaining movie about the rise & fall of a warrior - I enjoyed watching it. But the movie has very little - besides costumes and locations and some names - to do with important elements of the actual life of Che Guevara or the Cuban Revolution - because the work is largely devoid of context - it is as if someone made a movie about World War II by focusing on a World War II era German soldier -

Photo Copyright 2008 Sujewa Ekanayake * Bowery subway station, NYC - looking like a place out of a sci-fi movie.

Since I am brand new to living in NYC everything (well, lots of things at least) looks exciting, so I am taking a lot of photos & also shot some still camera videos while I was out & about the last couple of days, so here are a couple of items (even on lo-res such a photogenic city!): - Sujewa

Here's the trailer for it: