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

Of course by good I mean one that more or less feels the same way I do about the movie :) No, I read some of the other reviews that have come out & I was starting to wonder if those reviewers saw an entirely different movie. So I like this Village Voice review . Scroll down 1 post to see my review of Off the Black. The movie opens in NYC & LA today. Check it out. I liked the movie a lot. - Sujewa

What some people are saying about the film Automatons: "AUTOMATONS is a smart, thought-provoking tale equipped with the moody ambiance and intellectual integrity of a classic episode of THE OUTER LIMITS. That's high praise indeed."-- Steven Puchalski, SHOCK CINEMA "...this is one of the “must see” films you always hear about but never take the time to actually check out. Folks, check it out. AUTOMATONS is politically charged; a provocative and compelling Sci-Fi Thriller."-- Brian Harris, JOE HORROR.COM "The robot action is often much more riveting than similar scenes in movies with many times the budget and technical sophistication."-- Jay Seaver, UGO.COM "AUTOMATONS is a wonderfully made, socially conscious low budget film and I cannot recommend it enough."-- Brian Harris, JOE HORROR.COM "AUTOMATONS does what all good sci fi stories should."-- Adam Barnick, ENTERTAINMENT INSIDERS "The beautiful indie sci-fi film AUTOMATONS is

James Ponsoldt's debut feature Off the Black is a funny, unpredictable drama featuring perhaps one of the best performances of Nick Nolte's career. When I first heard about this movie & saw its theatrical poster & trailer & its indiewood credentials (selected by Sundance 06, distributed by THINKFilm) I was not automatically seized with epic enthusiasm for the project. However, the fact that this movie was produced by a veteran indie producer's company (Scott Macaulay's Forensic Films) made me want to look deeper into it. Forensic has produced several very interesting films, including Raising Victor Vargas, Gummo & Clean. So off I went to a special screening in Washington, DC last Sunday to see what Off the Black was all about. Here is the basic plot of the film: an aging, cranky, lonely auto junk yard worker/ part time high school baseball umpire (Nick Nolte) who drinks way too much & possibly is not in the best of health befriends a neglected teenag

Many deadlines for the Date Number One DVD have come & gone but this new one I am definitely going to do all I can to meet: the DVD ready for sale by December 13, 2006. So I am going to be doing less blogging for the next 6 - 7 days or so. Only essential stuff: Off the Black review tomorrow, & a post about Automatons - playing at the Pioneer starting 12/13 I believe, and whatever other essential stuff that comes up. DNO had its world premiere on May 13, 2006 so having the DVD ready by Dec. 13, exactly 7 months later, sounds like a well balanced idea to me. OK, back to work. - Sujewa

Go here to read it. It should be up here on the blog but I started working on that post a couple of days ago, so it appears after a few posts, below . Thanks! - Sujewa

It wasn't just light skinned Europeans & Americans & the like that saved the world from Germany, Italy & Japan; lots of other people were involved too (I know at least one of my relatives from Sri Lanka fought for the British in WW II, also thousands of Indians) but many films about THE WAR have not adequately celebrated the non-"white" contributions to securing victory in that epic conflict. So I am looking forward to watching the French film Days of Glory this weekend or next. Here is a synopsis from Films Distribution: "1943. They had never stepped foot on French soil but because France was at war, Saïd, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir enlisted in the French Army, along with 130,000 other “indigenous soldiers,” to liberate the “fatherland” from the Nazi enemy. These heroes that history forgot won battles in Italy, Provence and the Vosges before finding themselves alone to defend an Alsatian village against a German battalion." - Sujewa

The latest film to partake in the '06 self-distribution trend is David Lynch's Inland Empire, which opens in New York this week. Four Eyed Monsters and Mutual Appreciation can also be seen on screens this month. Go here to get some links for Inland Empire, including to an excellent review at the New York Times. Go here to get links to Four Eyed Monsters, Mutual Appreciation & other self-distributed films that I have been tracking this year. The Year of Self-Distribution or perhaps Year 1 of the New Self-Distribution Movement in American indie filmmaking is coming to a close with a lot of activity in both theatrical & DVD fronts. More on this soon. - Sujewa

NBC late night talk show host Conan O'Brien wants you to send him "amateur horny manatee pictures or stories". Check out the web site here . I thought my friend Amanda was the only one who was into watching giant sea mamals/people dressed as them in funny suits getting it on; I guess now she'll have a lot of company. - Sujewa

I just added a CLIPS page to the Wild Diner Films website, for Date Number One clips. The video clips get uploaded to YouTube & then I embed the HTML code thingy that YT gives into the clips page at my web site at wilddiner.com . So when you go to my site & go the the Clips page , you get to watch the video clips that I've uploaded to YT. Got it? :) In case you want to do the same with your movie/site/& YouTube, that's how I did it. Hmmm, maybe indie movie theaters should do this on their blogs & websites, to promote movies that they show, movies that may not have a huge publicity budget. Maybe some of them are doing that already. I still need to figure out how to add video clips to this blog. If anyone out there knows, let me know. Thanksalot! Go here to check out the Clips page at the web site for Date Number One . By the way, my YouTube clip has been viewed over 175 times so far, since 11/30 (w/ about 20-30 of those views coming from me). And I've receiv

When I grow up I want to be like Lance Weiler. His first self-distributed indie feature The Last Broadcast ( Wikipedia ), from the late 90's, has reportedly earned (gross) over 4 million dollars so far. His second self-distributed feature, this year's title Head Trauma , played in 17 cities this fall and is now available on DVD at stores nation & web wide. Here is an e-conversation I had with Weiler re: his work & DIY film: Sujewa: I think we are creating a new field of existence for indie filmmakers (or developing it further); the DIY field. Previously we had the indie field (make your movie independently & get it out with the help of Hollywood), and we had pure Hollywood (get Hollywood to finance & distribute the film, the filmmaker as director for hire). Now we have you, me & several other indie filmmakers such as the Mutual Appreciation team, the Four Eyed Monsters team, the Jumping Off Bridges team, & others - who are working on making the movies

The indie film website Fylmz interviewed me about my movie Date Number One & its self-distribution project. Check out the interview here . Here is a segment of the interview: " Q: Can you explain DIY filmmaking to me? Isn’t every film really a kind of DIY endeavor? * A: DIY is a term borrowed from punk rock. DIY refers to artists making work and distributing the work without the assistance of the mainstream production and distribution industry or other large corporate involvement. For indie film in the US, that means Hollywood or Indiewood. DIYness is only relevant, as far as I see, in cases where the filmmaker does not have a lot of money or is not already a part of Hollywood or Indiewood. If you have $200,000 to make and distribute an indie movie, at this point in time, it does not matter if you claim you are DIY or not, because the amount of money you have will make it easy for you to get the work done. On the other hand, a young filmmaker with no industry connections maki

James Ponsoldt is having a couple of years that most film school students dream of; his plan to make a low budget debut feature got improved upon with the addition of a famous actor (Nick Nolte) & a veteran indie producer (Scott Macaulay), & his film got selected to Sundance 06 & now the movie, Off the Black , will be opening theatrically thanks to the respected indie distributor THINKFilm. In spite of or just maybe even because of all the breaks, Off the Black is an excellent movie; fresh & unpredictable & a lot funnier than it looks in its promotional material - I will have a review of it here this week. I spent about 12 hours today (Sunday 12/3, starting with a 10:30 AM screening at The Avalon in DC that was attended by 300 - 400 people!) talking about, & first watching on screen, the world of Off the Black & the world of Ponsoldt. His quick rise to indie success has not been a 100% smooth ride & his current situation is not without frustrations, but

Hmmm, how did this happen? How is a filmmaker/blogger who writes mostly about no-budget, no star movies & self-distribution getting invited to attend a special screening of a THINKFilm distributed movie starring Nick Nolte? I guess it is part of the magic of bloggin'. Anyway, Off The Black sounds very interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing it & talking with the pic's director James Ponsoldt afterwards (he's supposed to be there tomorrow for a Q & A session). Ponsoldt is young & so far he sounds like a very cool dude (we've exchanged a couple of e-mails, and I read up on him on the web). Will have a review & notes on the whole going-to-see-a-movie-at-10 -AMish-on-Sunday-at-a-special-screening experience. Off The Black opens in LA & NYC on Fri 12/8. Here's my previous post about the movie, with links . Maybe they'll have free coffee there. If not, there is a cafe near the theater, I think. Anyway, I am going to bed early tonight.

Intel, ClickStar & THINKFilm, along with Landmark Theaters, are getting this small film (a small film with a big star & a director & a decent budget by indiewood standards, but looks like a primarily one location, whole-story-in-one-day film; which are low budget indie staples) out to theaters & on to broadband download & DVD (DVD 2 weeks after theatrical). It's day & date release version 2.0 people (or, this is no Bubble, content wise). Also, due to stars Freeman & Paz Vega, this film could appeal slightly more to minority audiences; slightly more than most of the US indies or indiewood projects that do not have minority actors in lead roles (this is one of my on-going concerns, lack of ethnic diversity in US indie film, which also means less dollars for indie film related businesses 'cause the movies are not appealing to many of the segments of the US & world population - exactly the groups that could be served well from indie films). Check ou

Hey indie & DIY filmmakers, Indie-Pictures sounds interesting; a filmmaker founded distribution company with the ability to get DVDs into stores nationwide (through Ryko's distribution network, which I believe is now owned by Warner). Also, the company says their approach to indie film distribution is based on releasing the DVD first, building up a fan base for the title, and then taking a look at theatrical. They also share sales $s from DVDs with the filmmakers very fairly (50/50 usually, as far as I know). Go visit their site here , and e-mail them with your questions to find out more about possibly working with them on getting your film or DVD out.

Lally With Fugazi in 2001: From left, Brendan Canty, Guy Picciotto, Ian MacKaye(Photograph by Shawn Scallen) The City Paper cover story this week, and it is a very long article, is about the post- Fugazi life of Joe Lally. Fugazi are DIY rock giants, one of the best things to come out of Washington, DC. Check it out here . Also, inside CP, there is a review of the new album by ex-Fugazi member Ian MacKaye's new band The Evens. I was driving around DC tonight listning to In On The Kill Taker (one of the best albums of all time). Fugazi is on a very long break (& is perhaps finished, who knows), but Fugazi lives on CD & in memory. - Sujewa

Indie film publicity consultant Reid Rosefelt recalls working with Werner Herzog in this new post . I love reading specialty film history recollections - specially ones such as Rosefelt's that looks beyond just the biz facts & figures.

For all you NYC indie film fans who have not seen Four Eyed Monsters, this is you chance. After about 2 years of promoting & doing some screenings & podcasts, Arin & Susan are showing their movie at a week long run at Cinema Village . Here's the movie's website , it's got all kinds of neat stuff & info. Go join in on the excellent real indie festivities. - Sujewa

Fin-n-nally getting caught up on things; just uploaded my first real YouTube clip - a less than 2 minutes long segment from Date Number One 's Story 3: Start Over (it may be labeled wrong on the clip). In the clip a guy is trying to start all over with an ex-girlfriend. More & better quality YouTube clips are on the way, no doubt, as I figure out all the nifty details of making great web video files. In the meantime, here is the link to the clip , enjoy!

Just saw another recent Ed Burns movie - The Groomsmen. It is very good. Rent it or buy the DVD. A comedy-drama about getting married. It's late & I am sleepy, will write more about the flick tomorrow. TG is probably the best looking Burns film I've seen, and I've seen almost all of them. - Sujewa

Check out these Jonas Mekas DVDs available for purchase. Why not, right? If paintings can go for thousands of dollars I guess a DVD by certain filmmakers can go for a thousand dollars. Anyone who has bought one & wants to be interviewed about that experience on this blog, let me know. - Sujewa

Earlier this month I was worried about blogging too much & not making more movies. But I am no way ready to quit blogging & in '07 my main film project will be Date Number One distribution so I do not know how many new features I will be able to complete in '07; so, perhaps combining blogging & editing & shooting video & keeping a journal may be the way to go for me. So, I am going to try to post 365 video blog posts in '07. Each post will be a few seconds to 5 minutes long - they'll be everything from diary entry type posts to short films. Perhaps they will be posted on YouTube & also in this blog. I got the idea from Jonas Mekas - he will be posting 365 short films in '07. I've got a bunch of stuff to figure out - I have not posted a single video blog entry yet. But it should be fun. Making & releasing a feature takes a long time - short video blog posts will keep me involved with filmmaking on a daily basis - actual writing, shooti

It's got a Hollywood star (Nick Nolte) & is not a self-distributed D.I.Y. movie, but still low budget perhaps, but most importantly, it looks like a good movie (regardless of where it falls in the indie index) - at least the trailer does. Check out the trailer here , will have more info. on this movie soon. Here is the MySpace page for the movie, with all the release info. And of course the blog . I believe it is being written by the director. Also, Off the Black was selected for Sundance 06 & it is a debut feature (as far as I know, again, will have more soon). - Sujewa

Read an interesting Time magazine story (thanks to ex-housemate Allison's subscription :) while doing some late night eatin' & writin' at IHOP Wheaton (seems well lit cheap diner/old timey eatery like places i can relax & write it, i can't imagine writing at a Starbucks or even at Tryst in Adams-Morgan); a story about an aging (42) indie rocker (from Mr. T Experience) writing a book with a teen protagonist at the urging of a fan in the publishing biz & then Will Ferrell & co. buying the rights to make the movie. The book is called King Dork, & the main character in it "rails against "the cult of Catcher in the Rye" ", so I read in Time, sounds interesting - here is the link. - Sujewa

Here's the link to an interview I did last year with filmmaker Amir Motlagh. It's about Date Number One & self-distribution. Not much has changed in how I do things from then to now, except perhaps for the film fest thing - at that point I was planning on submitting to fests & then later on I re-thought that approach, since relying on fests would get in the way of my DIY distro magic. Anyway, possibly a good read for DIY minded filmmakers; check it out here . - Sujewa

Read all about it here , with photos. Great blog entry Mike Tully. - Sujewa

What's the point of reading a blog if you can't comment on it? Well, I guess you can learn some interesting stuff - but one of the best/most interesting & sometimes very entertaining aspects of the blog world is the comments - for me (and I think for a lot of other people). The blog Cinecultist , however, feels differently. Cinecultist celebrates the fact that they don't allow comments and is picking on a director who dares to comment on a review published in indieWIRE. Check it out here . So, again, comments = good, no comments = not that good, bit dull. (I do however like the Edward Hopper image on the Cinecultist blog, another topic for another time; blog design). Also, by allowing comments the blog owner is creating room for a community of readers to form around the blog. Makes the blog more interesting. - Sujewa

I haven't read it yet but I am looking forward to it (Krisner's thorough list of web sites where video producers can make money is awesome). Here is a little bit of the description of the book, from e-tailer lulu.com's site : The Future of Web Video: Opportunities for Producers, Entrepreneurs, Media Companies and Advertisers by Scott Kirsner "... “The Future of Web Video” details twelve tectonic shifts reshaping the entertainment landscape. It includes interviews with senior execs from Brightcove, Revver, TiVo, Verizon, and Ogilvy & Mather, as well as Web video pioneers like Judson Laipply ("Evolution of Dance"), Fritz Grobe ("Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos"), and Gregg Spiridellis (“This Land”). Full of up-to-date stats, original interviews, and valuable case studies, “The Future of Web Video” also contains charts covering: > Sites that help video producers earn money > Online viewership habits > Devices that bring Web video to the TV &g

Anyone who is into what this Indiewood studio is up to can go check out their blog here: http://foxsearchlight.blogspot.com/ . - Sujewa

Date Number One will screen in Kensington, MD on March 15, 2007, at the Kensington Row Bookshop/a Capital City Microcinema screening. More info. & links closer to the date. DNO DVDs will be on sale at a booth (& there maybe other promo activities happening, also perhaps other DNO merch) at the Day of the Book festival in Kensington, MD (one of the newest & most popular literary events in the DC area) on April, 22, 2007. More on that event coming soon. - Sujewa

Lance Weiler talks with Alex Afterman of the DVD label Heretic Films. Here is the intro from Lance's post at The Workbook Project : "Today’s guest is Alex Afterman of Heretic Films. In our conversation Alex breaks down how the DVD side of the business works and what filmmakers can do to best prepare themselves to reach retail and rental outlets." Go here to download the conversation.

Check out the DV Guru post here . Thanks Brian! - Sujewa

The Date Number One self-distribution project is about to enter its 9th month. This is a 24 month long project (at least, well, for the initial release, and I am sure it will be an eternal/life long PT project after that, which is fine by me), and so far things are going pretty well. I should have the DVDs available for sale in early December, and then more screenings in '07 & in '08. In 2006 several other filmmakers also engaged in DIY distribution: Lance Weiler, Kelley Baker, Kat Candler, Andrew Bujalski, etc. At the end of this year I will have a thorough post on the '06 DIY distribution activities. For now, here is a post with many relevant links. Here's the post, from October 2005, that announced my plan to explore DIY distribution using Date Number One (and so far no major changes in how I view the future): The New US Indie Film Frontier: D.I.Y. Distribution (Originally published in Watch This Movie blog on Monday, October 24, 2005) Making Distro Low Budget I

I don't want to take away your "figuring it out" experience, so, until you see The Fountain, don't read this post. Now, for the people who have seen the movie, here's my take on the plot; let me know what you think: I think that Story 1 - the one about Spain & the Conquistador, never happened in the real world of the film - it is merely a story created by Izzy - the female lead character in Story 2 - the one with the doctor & the monkey. It, Story 1, is also a symbolic story - a tale - that hints at what will happen to the real person - Tom in Story 2, as he continues with his quest for immortality. Story 3, the space story set in the future, is a continuation of Story 2. The male lead is the same male, Tom, from Story 2. The tatooing that he started in the modern time, our time, after Izzy's death, continued for hundreds of years & by the time we get to the space story, the dude is covered in tattoos. Also, the two stories being the tale of one ch

Brian, The Film Panel Notetaker, came down to my part of the world for the Thanksgiving weekend & I introduced him & his cool writer friend Sarah (sp?) to some delicious Vietnamese food in Wheaton, MD. Much quality fun was had. Brian posted a photo of me that he took this weekend at my dayjob - the bookstore - over at his blog, check it out here .

L-R: Dele Williams & Jennifer Blakemore from Story 2: A Romantic Dinner For 3, John Stabb Schroeder & Jewel Greenberg from Story 1: Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, Dele Williams from Story 2, small DNO promo image featuring ninja, Christine D. Lee from Story 4: Air Quotes Woman. All from Date Number One . Images Copyright 2006 Sujewa Ekanayake/Wild Diner Films

Get the early warning here . The robot war movie Automatons will play at the Pioneer Theater, NYC starting 12/13. I'll have a review, & some pics maybe, here soon. Will humanity survive? We'll know soon. Here's the synopsis of the flick from the Pioneer Theater's site : " Somewhere in the distant future, The Girl is alone. She is the last of her people, the others having died in a generations-long war that she continues to fight with the assistance of a group of antiquated robot helpers and soldiers. Her only connection to her long-dead people is a collection of recorded journal entries made by the scientist who cared for her as a baby. His is the only friendly human face she’s ever seen. The regular transmissions from her enemy leader are always filled with threats and taunts. The girl responds to these invasions by attack of her own, carried out by her mechanical soldiers on the contaminated surface where no human can survive. Men started this war. The mac

Independent film = in the United States a movie made outside of Hollywood or Indiewood (divisions of Hollywood companies that deal with low budget movies) or without the assistance of large corporate or institutional support, a movie made for a very low budget (if you have a lot of money to spend on your film, the fact that it is made outside of Hollywood or Indiewood is largely irrelevant), a movie made by a person or a team of people unknown to/previously not well employed by Hollywood or Indiewood & a movie featuring actors unknown to/previously not well employed by Hollywood or Indiewood. What is a low budget in late 2006? The independent film Dance Party, USA was reportedly made for $3,000. My independent movie Date Number One was made for under $10,000. I would say around $50,000 or less for a digital video originated movie and around $200,000 or less for a film made using 16 MM motion picture film are low budgets for this point in time. Is there an independent film aesthetic

Ed Burns & Kevin Smith, though close to me in age, are part of a different generation of filmmakers - they are of the "make your breakout feature on 16 MM, get picked up by Holly/Indie Wood, get famous/start career" generation - members of perhaps the first & the last generation - The 90's Indie Filmmaker Generation - of American film artists to get their careers started the way I described above. Because, as Burns says in the Looking For Kitty commentary, those days are over; distributors are telling him that the specialty film business of the 90's is no more. Check out this Q & A with Burns re: The Groomsmen (still have not seen that, looking forward to it), he talks a bit about the changing financing & distribution landscape that he finds himself in: http://chronicridicule.blogspot.com/2006/07/edward-burns-groomsmen-q.html Here is a relevant segment of the Q & A (re: The Groomsmen of course, & re: having Brittany Murphy in the movie): "

It's a low key drama-comedy so it is best to approach this movie by Ed Burns with modest expectations. Looking For kitty does deliver in the end, after a few unexpected twists and turns. The movie is about two men searching for a missing woman, at least that is the thin plot; inside that we get to see many warm snapshots of people grappling with the inevitable truth, slow changes in a new direction, and the streets of New York City bathed in the winter sun. This movie is unlike all of the other Burns movies I have seen (I believe I have seen them all except for The Groomsmen). Like a sip of fresh coffee on a cold day, Looking For Kitty is good & is recommended. The DVD is available now from THINKFilm . I stumbled upon a copy at my local Blockbuster Video yesterday, so it is probably everywhere now. - Sujewa

The following is an excerpt from a recent interview I did with Aaron Katz, the director of the indie drama Dance Party, USA. We got off the topic of his film & started talking about race & the indie film scene for a bit. Here is that portion of the interview: " Sujewa: It was cool hanging out with Stacy Schoolfield, a producer of the currently self-distributed flick Jumping Off Bridges, last night in Silver Spring, MD. We talked for a moment about the apparent low number of women & minorities in key positions in indie film production & distribution. I think the numbers are going up, but with the DV revolution I expected them to go up much quicker - since the cost of entry is now low & films can be made with just 1-5 or so crew members & very little equipment. Why do you think at the moment it seems like US indie film is mostly a liberal "white" male thing (not that there is anything wrong with that)? The indie film scene does not seem as dive

There is of course the non-indie film stuff that I am very thankful for; consisting mainly of being alive, good health & the special people in my life. And now here's the list of indie film stuff that I am thankful for this year: - getting Date Number One finished with the help of a whole lot of people - getting the 12 screenings of DNO done this year, again a lot of people helped with that one, u know who u are - Chuck Tryon's review of DNO after the World Premiere screening in May, very thankful for that, it was way better than what I expected - all the other positive reviews of DNO from this year, very very thankful for those; from Hollywood Is Talking blog, GreenCine Daily & Amir Motlagh & a big thanks to anyone who is not covered by the above items but helped me with my indie film stuff this year. indie film maybe independent of hollywood, but it is very dependent on a lot of cool people, at least that is the case in my experience - so thanks thanks thanks a l

Eight Men Out is an excellent movie. And when I first saw it & then liked it; read about it, it was difficult for me to believe an independent filmmaker had made that movie 'cause at that point (early 90's), to me indie filmmakers meant folks like Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley & Gus Van Sant - w/ a slightly rougher, more off-beat style & take on life than the very polished & kind of classic Eight Men Out style & view. Eight Men Out's director John Sayles' career goes back further then that of my early 90's indie filmmaker heros, and now web surfers can read all about it at what appears to be the official John Sayles site . The other link find of the day was the Emerging Pictures blog . I got the John Sayles site link from the EP blog. Thanks Filmmaker Magazine's blog for the EP blog link. Now we just need the official Jim Jarmusch website or the official Jim Jarmusch blog :) Then all will be nearly perfect on the web regarding the presence of cla

I don't recall reading reviews of this flick or seeing any sign of a theatrical release. I don't know if the movie is good, but it's ED BURNS, shouldn't a film by him get a theatrical release; given that he's made several movies, some very good, & was one of the stars of Saving Private Ryan (i bring that up only to point out that Burns is not an unknown in the film biz - not a huge risk to put out a flick starring him & made by him to theaters i think)? I saw Kitty on DVD at Blockbuster today, rented it, am about to watch it. Ed, if you read this, get in touch, let's do an interview re: the fate of Kitty. Why did it not get released theatrically? And what's with The Groomsmen not getting a wide(er) theatrical release - even a wider indie level theatrical release? I don't think it came to DC. And I only saw very little press & publicity for that flick. Something weird is going on. - Sujewa

Aaron Katz is the director of the well reviewed ultra low budget indie drama Dance Party, USA (check out my review here , I enjoyed the flick). The movie recently started playing at the Pioneer Theater in New York City. I was able to ask Katz a few questions recently about his film work and some related topics during this e-mail interview: Sujewa: Hey Aaron, I liked Dance Party, USA a lot. Since other recent interviews ( GreenCine Daily's links for the movie ) have talked a lot about the movie, I'll start off with a question about the movie that you just finished: Quiet City - what's that about? Aaron: Quiet City is about a couple strangers, Charlie and Jamie, who meet and hang out in Brooklyn over the course of 24 hours. Jamie's supposed to be meeting her friend, but the friend never shows so she just keeps hanging out with Charlie. I'm excited about it. Cris and Erin, the two leads, were amazing to work with. They were both totally open. Sujewa: And on to DPUSA