 
|
|
|
NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER!
American filmmaker Jon Jost, attending the 61st Venice International Film Festival with his most recent feature, Homecoming in the Cinema Digitale competition, announced the upcoming production of a new film, a documentary essay which will deal with the "kidnapping" of his daughter, Clara Jost, on November 2, 2000, by her mother, Portuguese film director Teresa Villaverde.According to the press release: "Clara Jost was illegally taken from Italy by Teresa Villaverde... and has since been held in Portugal.... Following the advice of the US Consulate General and of his lawyer in Portugal, Mr. Jost went through the legal procedures in Portugal only to find that the entire system was utterly corrupted, and that legality, in any meaningful sense, simply does not exist in that country. Following an illegal ruling by the Portuguese Appeals Court (Tribunal do Relacoes) in October, 2001, Mr. Jost commenced an Internet exposure of the corruption of Portugal's Judiciary, its Attorney General, and finally of its President, all of whom are involved in this case. In June, 2002, in response to this internet-based effort, the Portuguese newspaper, O Independente, published an article on the matter, ending with the statement that, 'The writer of these e-mails does not know that corruption is a Portuguese illness seldom mentioned and never investigated.'
"The as-yet untitled work is being made with BulletProof Film, of Chicago, IL, and with the collaboration of ... 26-4... an organization for Portuguese parents who have had to deal with the juvenile court systems of that country, which have chronically shown themselves to be corrupted and to operate in illegal manners, most frequently adversely to fathers."
Additional information about the case, and about Josts's forthcoming documentary -- which he hopes to complete in time for next year's Venice Film Festival -- can be found on his Web site.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 9/2/2004 04:33:38 PM Comments (0)
SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
Renowned puppeteer Basil Twist's aquatic extravaganza Symphonie Fantastique became an overnight sensation when it debuted in a 500-gallon water tank at the 78-seat HERE Arts Center in Soho in 1998. One-of-a-kind entertainment, the show combines the magic of puppetry with the powerful suggestions of dance, film and art, set to the five movements of Hector Berlioz's hour-long 19th-century classic composition. Out of view of the audience, five puppeteers swirl fabrics and feathers, glitter and vinyl, plastic, dyes, bubbles, fishing lures and flashlights through the water tank to create an utterly original work that is alternately funny, romantic, joyful, haunting and whimsical.
Beginning September 17, Symphonie Fantastique returns to New York as the inaugural production of the new Dodger Stages on West 50th St. The revival will feature a 1,000-gallon water tank.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 8/30/2004 05:45:23 PM Comments (0)
Following in the footsteps of Richard Linklater, whose sequel to Before Sunrise was a hit with critics and audiences this summer, the Associated Press reports that Kevin Smith "has begun work on a sequel to Clerks, his homemade indie classic from 1994.
"That $27,000 movie, shot at night in a store where Smith worked, chronicled the adventures of Dante and Randal, two guys who talk about life, death, sex and movies while working at neighboring stores.
"The sequel, [to be called The Passion of the Clerks], picks up 10 years later.
" 'It's about what happens when that lazy, 20-something malaise lasts into your 30s. Those dudes are kind of still mired, not in that same exact situation, but in a place where it's time to actually grow up and do something more than just sit around and dissect pop culture and talk about sex,' Smith said during an interview at his Hollywood office."
"A new 10th anniversary DVD of Clerks debuts September 7, and Smith said working on that three-disc set inspired him to write about what became of those characters." The three-disc 10th-anniversary DVD release of Clerks, titled Clerks X, will be released by the Miramax Collectors Series. It will include the original theatrical version of the film, an extended Sundance Film Festival (news - Web sites) cut and a new documentary.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 8/30/2004 04:51:15 PM Comments (0)
Director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo), visual/FX/storyboard artist Brahm Revel (Wendigo, "Californication") and producer/director James Felix McKenney (The Off Season, Cannabalistic!), have released "What Are You Voting For?", a free informational 32-page comic book "profiling the life and crimes of the Bush administration." "While we want to share this work with friends and like-minded folks," Fessenden said, "we didn't do it to get a pat on the back, we really want to make a difference by presenting the issues in a digestible format like a comic book. Our goal is to get it to the swing states this fall. So we're looking into ways to distribute it. Any ideas would welcome."
Contact Fessenden at larry@glasseyepix.com
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 8/30/2004 01:44:39 PM Comments (0)
Beginning September 23, The Museum of Modern Art presents three evenings of dialogue with leading music and media innovators.
Laurie Anderson, Michel Gondry and Brian Eno will discuss how the fields of music and moving image production overlap. According to the MoMA press release: "The common element uniting these artists is their musical backgrounds -- Anderson as a solo performer, Gondry as a drummer and director of music videos, Eno as a pioneer of electronic music -- allied with their subsequent careers in the visual and moving-image arts. While cross-pollination between other artistic media, such as painting, sculpture, drawing, and printmaking, has long been acknowledged and examined, Anderson, Gondry and Eno's careers have utilized elements from their musical backgrounds and works to create hybrid projects -- installations, feature films, performance pieces -- that have developed the frontiers of media art."
Anderson will be interviewed by writer/actor Wallace Shawn on September 23 at 7:00 p.m.; Gondry by journalist and film programmer Ed Halter, on September 30 at 7:00 p.m.; and Eno by director Todd Haynes on October 7 at 7:00 p.m.
The series will take place at CUNY Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34th St. Tickets are $15, $10 for MoMA members; $8 for students with ID. Tickets can purchased at the MoMAVistor Center at the MoMA Design Store, 44 W. 53rd St. and at the CUNY Graduate Center box office.
Commemorating its 75th anniversary, The Museum of Modern Art will re-open its newly renovated building on West 53rd Street on November 20, 2004.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 8/30/2004 01:04:46 PM Comments (0)
back to top
home page | subscribe | merchandise | history | order form | advertise | contact
archives | links | search
© 2004 Filmmaker: The Magazine of Independent Film