The festival runs from Oct 2-5th. Along with some fine film, what really makes this fest stand out is the bands they bring, which, looking at there 2007 festival where pretty damn good.
The festival suits the film very well, with the main character being in a band and all, and well, also for the independent content, both form and story. HHM seem's to program cooler shit then some of the more mainstream and so called "INDEPENDENT" festivals. The fact that i am premiering a film with them might have something to do with my very subjective attitude, or i might in fact just be right....haha
I always assumed that festivals were around to give alternative and independent visions a platform and voice, but after many years doing this, i don't really trust that as truth, especially as far as the short form is concerned. But just like many things in life, the reality is different then the ideal.
But on a more positive note, this is also the place knock. knock. got its festival premiere before being picked up for distro.....
Anyways, when further details come out, like screening schedule, i'll let you know....
Plain Us gets its official festival world premiere in early October. Since the festival official release doesn't go out till next week, i wont tell you where yet. But we are all excited because its at a cool festival with lots of buzz and fresh, risk taking programmers.
Also, the whale trailer goes up by weeks end. Come back often to get the first peek. The shits been a process and one half, but what can i say, its coming all to an end. Well, the creative part at least. Now begins the journey that i don't really like(as much), the promotional and distribution part. If your a savvy new school distibutor, or a young savvy risk taking programmer, get at me for first dibs.
Well, i don't so much care about the young part, but if you're stuck in the 80's and program safe film festivals that have the same work rehashed year after year, in a program devoted to entertaining teenagers and the elderly all in one package, then i'm not your kid. I can however, still be you're friend on of hours.
The new Shanks and the Dreamers album, My Darling Dia comes out in Sept. Here is a couple images from the album art.
Also, we finally uploaded two new songs from the album, Hush and 777 on our myspace page so go and listen in. Yes, and even add us if your on that myspace thing too...
So, the film Micro from last year is going to be titled Absorbed, and if you read my last post, i am giving it away free. I will keep relaying why i am doing this, to give it a greater context(both social and personal), and i think that in the end, the conceptual gap between the works whale, "Plain Us" and Absorbed will hopefully mend.
At this time, i am of the mind that as artist, we have to be very reluctant to give away our work for free, especially now that the internet audience feels entitled to media without fee, but at the same time i am starting to see a diminishing quality of work being put fourth in the ultra indie community that has abandoned both singularly(which i don't mind so much and can be beneficial in the world of low budget DV/HD) and comprehensively (detrimental to the filmmaking community), concept, craft and art. The thing about the proliferation of DV in the nineties was that in the words of Jean Cocteau, "Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper", well its not pencil and paper, but damn near close, although Jean Cocteau might not have been thinking about how the internet and lack of scope was going to muddy his quote. Because we are on the subject, this was another gem from Cocteau, "Art is not a pastime but a priesthood", which echoes the commitment to the work that one does.
Unfortunately, quantity has taken over quality, art for commercial viability even in the lower echeln of no budget work. DV gave us the opputunity to experiement with form and ideas, sometimes, or mostly at the expense of craft but that was OK, it was a trade of. You don't talk about resolution when you watch the personal diary pixel vision works of the 80's, nor do you call into question the simple editing and VHS footage of Tarnation. But these days, both craft and concept go out the window and we are left with work that neither resembles Cassavetes nor wannabe Spielberg's. Its something more akin to the Hollywood Romantic Comedy, or shows like Flight of the Concords without any real social commentary. And without the truth that Cassavetes forced you to watch. In fact, Cassavetes name gets thrown out alot these days, but my god, if you compare 5 minutes of A Women Under the Influence or Husbands, you will understand what realism is, not pseudo naturalism. I am guilty of that myself, but i would never believe that my craft is at that level yet, nor is it trying to be, nor might it ever be. Lets just never compare these contemporary micro works to Cassavetes again, until it truly fucking deserves it OK. And lets face it, its not going to happen because talent doesn't develop that quickly. Now if Mike Leigh was given $3000 to make a feature film, he could pull something of.
Nevertheless, there has never been a Micro Budget movie that i have ever witnessed to carry that type of truth, maybe interesting but without the developed craft, nor as i stated concept. Those are two separatist ideas. I will not ask for craft if concept is compelling enough, if the argument really exists. In the 90's we had Dogme, but the new crop of internet filmmakers isn't shooting for that, isnt shooting for Breaking the Waves or The Celebration, but shooting work that resembles sitcoms, with people who are hipper then what you would be seeing on network TV. In a way, Absorbed has many elements of the trend i am argueing against, but at the same time, it knows what it is. Its critically looking at itself. I shot a movie to resemble a youtube journal, and what better way to express that, then give it away in the format that it was mimiking. It might be the first feature film to be made for the web, both in content and style. The work is also a self-reflexive reaction to what is availble without all the metaphors. Where as whale is a culturalist piece cloaked as character piece, Absorbed is a character piece cloaked as a culturalist piece.
On a more urgent note, whale has taken me around three years to complete, from its inception. To be honest, i have no idea how anyone will view it, whether they call it adolescent or brillant, nor if i where to be truly honest, do I really care. I do hope that people see it for more Kiarostami then XYZ filmmaking, but thats just my hope. Of course i would love an audience, but i cannot dictate that. I also don't have the desire to sit on myspace for 8 hours a day, adding people to view my film. But one thing is that regardless of some of the home made aesthitcs, or what some might loosely call lack of craft(i have other films you know, and an MFA), it was made out of my understanding of what DV micro budget filmmaking might have become. To me, its all craft, its all concept, and its all personal. But not my life. Ofterall, i'm not that self-absorbed that i might make it out to be, it might all look real, but is all fiction.
I am going to set up the blog or website this coming week for Absorbed. I calculate that it will be in 16 parts with the first part going up in late August or early Sept. I'm talking a break writing this while in the middle of finishing the sound for whale, which will be a completed, locked picture by August 18th.
Well, lots of talk about the state of Indie Films, MicroFilms, Indiewood etc, and most is just dismal news. I have a new film coming out “whale” that i’ve been working on for a very long time, last i checked, over two years. Since this was a trilogy of conception with two other pieces, one being Plain Us which is finished, and the other, “micro indulgence” a film i started a finished last year but dropped from releasing, i have now changed my mind because, well, nobody is being critical anymore and i feel that this is an addendum piece to what is happening these days.
The film was a fictional documentary about a character that was shooting a no-budget microfilm. It was told in a first person style.
Since we are inundated with this type of media, and most of the new crop of films offer very little critical insight, either social, political, or true representations of slice of lifes, i will offer a piece that is a stripped down version of the current crop of filmmaking without any hinderance of metaphors. What i’m trying to say is that most these films is just a camera turned on the self, absorbed with the self, but shot in traditional styles that look more like “Flight of the Concords” then “The Celebration”. “Micro Indulgence” takes the characters out, and what you are left is with one. A character i created, so absorbed with his goals, you might call him High Functioning Autistic. Totally self-absorbed much like web videos.
I’m going to cut the film, pieces at a time, live from week to week and offer it for free on youtube, myspace, facebook and any and all these corporate social networks. Also, probably on this site as well, along with its own website.
Since it was shot a year ago, its full of surprises for myself as well. I won’t know the official release of the first piece, but it will most likely happen after “whale” is complete. I am guessing in late August, or early Sept.
Ok, so people always ask where they can see or buy things i have created. Well, for one, Still Lover is currently being distributed by CrushedPlanet.com which is an online pay to play website with high quality, curated content. The company was founded by Joe and Harry Gantz of Taxi Cab Confessions, which was an amazing show at the time, and could be the first reality show to play on Cable? Maybe.
Anyways, go and take a look, and if you sign up you get two free views, then its pay to play, or subscription based. So this all means that you need to go and see the film Still Lover for the first time, or the third, but go and make me some money meng. Artist deserve to make that bling too....
Also, if you're into music, and can't wait for the new Shanks and the Dreamers album to drop on Sept 16th, 2008, you can cope our smooth, last years instrumental record, "A Day Late: Instrumentals for Illegal Aliens" over at itunes, or amazon, or cdbaby, and take it easy man.
Ok, so, the new news is that knock. knock. has been picked up for distro. So if you want to see that film, go harass the distributors Ouat! Media. For all international sales, please click here.
Plain Us has a "preview screening" on Friday, June 27th at Capital City Microcinema in Maryland. Its not its official preimere yet, but i don't have a date on when that will happen yet.
knock. knock. will also screen that night, along with a few other short films as part of "Hot Summer Night Shorts".
Here is the run down, from the CCM blog, "Seven new short films by directors from various parts of the U.S. of A being shown on a large/10 foot long screen, away from the summer heat in one of the coolest bookstores in Maryland, with some of the filmmakers in attendance. Lemonade will be served. Event programmed & presented by filmmaker & blogger Sujewa Ekanayake. Interesting times will be had; come join us.
In case you are reading for the first time, Plain Us is my newest film. What's it about, well, "Cy, a touring musician in an up and coming rock and roll band drops into the city he grew up. Thing is, life's not so easy, even when you're in a rock and roll band."
The film stars Kindy Barr, Nadia Anwar, Art Toussi, Tom O'Connell, Kristen Penza and Josh Virnick, and i make a small cameo in it. It was shot on 35mm by Zamir Kokonozi.
Some small trickling of reviews are coming in, although i don't think much about it, its necessary.
Hollywood is Talking wrote a small review about the film, i'll paraphrase (more like copy and paste) the parts i like, "Mr. Motlagh is one to take events and experiences of his life and plane them into fiction that shoot for a reality that the rest of us can relate to. By and large, he hits more than he misses (Mumble Idiots-ah ehm) in that he stretches out little moments that might otherwise be tossed in the trash."
About Plain Us. "Plain Us..Rock..and..Roll. Mr. Motlagh ratchets it up a notch, mixing it up, batting it this way and that, getting to the heart of the matter. He plays a singer/leader of a rock band who has to come home again. Of course it hurts when there is a wife and daughter you rarely see..... filmmaking-wise, the short looks good. Color-Correction, framing, the elements are there. Kindy Barr dials in a good performance as the put-upon young Mom opposite Motlagh who is wildly photogenic in musician mode. He steals the frame in this capacity and is quiet believable on screen."
Also a review from DIY Filmmaker Sujewa blog, "shot on 35 MM (w/ the first scene or two on digital video), slice of life drama depicting a touring musician's visit to his home town. The musician - an indie rocker of course :) - (played by Motlagh) has a young daughter. Motlagh's character is not on good terms with his daughter's mother. The short is well acted (always impressive whenever I see low-budget indie directors work well with child actors), and well shot & overall well made; well directed, acted, photographed, edited and scored. Plain Us is definitely not a plot-driven piece, more a low-key observation of a few special moments, & also some dramatic moments, in the lives of three people."
Well, after one year of work in and out of the studio, the Shanks and the Dreamers first full length album, my darling Dia is officially finished, not released, but finished. We got the disk back from MasterDisk on Friday. Please bear with me because I have a few notes I'd like to make at this time.
First, Its very difficult in this day and age to do things that people can't seem to label quickly. For me, being a film director/writer, first and foremost, i have trouble when people discover that i make music. People seem to believe, right or wrong, that we are capable of being productive doing one thing only, because common wisdom is that you can't be good at everything. Well, you can you assholes. And that "good" part, its mostly relative when it comes to art. Forget that average middle of the road common wisdom that everyone tries to feed down your throat. Do what you have to do to survive, as far as I'm concerned, i make movies, i make music, and other shit just on my spare time.
Second, thanks to everyone who made this possible. The list is huge. But I'll just say a few. Art Toussi of course, my bandmate who went through this damn mountain climb with our crazy conflicting schedules. Detail(D.O.) for the vocal on Whitehouse, Steve Sherlock, Chris Henderson our former drummer, Mike Flowers, and Charlie M.
Third, this is not like the other album at all, not even a little. We are making music that we have always wanted to make. The first album was a solo instrumental album. This is not. I want this shit bumped in your ride.
Plain Us has a "preview screening" on June 26th 2008, as part of the lo-def screening series in Silverspring MD. Don't have much info yet, but will write a new post when i find out more on Tuesday or Wed.
Also, "My Darling Dia" the new and really first full length Shanks and the Dreamers album is now officially in NYC getting mastered. Art will pick it up when he travels over to Manhattan in a week or so. I can't sit in on the session because i gave myself a deadline to finish whale, and i'm sticking to the damn thing. But man, its tough when all you want to do is listen to some DUB, and cool the fuck out.
For my review of Plain Us, a new short film about a touring musician who visits his home town, go here. And now, the interview with Amir Motlagh, the director of Plain Us:
Sujewa: So let's start with some basic stuff; what lead you to pick the subject of a touring musician dealing with a domestic issue (visiting his young daughter, attempting to reconcile with his estranged former lover/the daughter's mother)?
Amir: Well, I feel that given my own circumstance as a person who plays in a band, blending this alter-reality is very interesting. I felt that I could give this world some personal realism but in a narrative, fictional type of way in which I play out issues that I wanted to write about. I have my own band, but obviously the circumstances in this film are made up. The character is make believe. I don't have the same issues and conflicts as this character, well, not entirely, but to the degree presented is a fabrication. It's post modern in a whimsical way, the idea of it, not the film. I also wanted to do another character piece, and try to get as deep as I could within my time constraints working in the short film form. But because its short, I could also really work much more on character then worry about plot. And these days, instinctively I think about having kids. I wouldn't mind it, but it's not so easy right?
Sujewa: Having kids is probably easier than shooting some indie movies. What were the technical challenges encountered in making Plain Us? Was it as easy to work with 35MM as it was with digital (same amount of prep & set up, w/ just a different type of capture media in the camera or did everything have to be done differently than when using digital in order to accommodate the use of 35MM film?)?
Amir: Well, really there wasn't. Time I think is the only real burden when it comes to shooting on this type of budget. Oh, and shooting in a tiny room with two 35mm cameras is a bit tricky, specially when its about 90 degrees in the room. This isn't the first time I shot on 35mm so, other then set up time, it's just a damn camera. The medium is just one part of what it is you are actually doing, which is, filmmaking. But I worked again with the same cinematographer as knock. knock., Zamir Kokonozi, who is always a pleasure to work with. He is very patient and talented.
Sujewa: I saw that you used digital for a couple of scenes - the opening scenes where the main character is performing & is on the road with his band. Did this come out of the fact that these scenes were added later to the film/not originally planned & thus were easier to capture on digital or was it because you wanted to have a low-budget tour documentary type feel or even fan footage type feel to those scenes?
Amir: No, those were always planned. It's mostly about how it feels. It's intended to be a video diary of the character on the road for lets say, a DVD release when his new record comes out, right. It's the three stages of conceptual realism I was after. That intro is how many of us view the world on YouTube these days.
Sujewa: I guess this wouldn't be a DIY Filmmaker interview if we did not touch on some issues related to "race", specially if the film warrants it :) So, here's a question: even though there was little dialogue in Plain Us, you chose to have the lead character mention, perhaps jokingly, perhaps seriously, that his band was not getting enough press because he was "brown". In your personal experience, has this been the case - have you felt that media was ignoring your music work because your band was lead by a non-"white" person/you? Or have you observed this happening to other bands that are fronted by non-"white" performers?
Amir: Ha, you had to take it there. The issue of race is a small through line within the film. But there are other character issues as well. It's a small piece of a living, breathing character. I don't buy that argument about race holding someone down anymore, at least as it pertains to me, and even if it did, I refuse to get into that debate because it's just a hindrance and an excuse. So, with that said, you would have to address that question to Cyrus, the character in the movie. Maybe he was joking, but maybe he is hung up on things.
Sujewa: Tell us about your future plans for Plain Us; distribution wise, etc., and when we can expect to see the couple of feature films that you have been working on for the past year or so.
Amir: Well, what can we do but first try the festivals? It's a short film, so that's were it goes first. I am certain that a new DVD compilation of my works will come out soon and it will include this, but until then, if you are interested, please talk to your local fest programmer and get this damn film screened. The trailer is up, and if you are a reviewer, curator or programmer, contact me and I will send out a screener. I have a feature film (it was titled Whale and it might still be) that I will release in a month or two at the most. It's part of a broader work palette, with Plain Us being its distant cousin. Other that that, My Darling Dia, the Shanks and the Dreamers new album drops in the Summer, and I'm working on a new feature script.
To update on the most recent happenings in life, knock. knock. has been acquired by Toronto based distribution company Ouat! Media for an exclusive worldwide deal. I can now hand over the duty of getting the damn thing seen to someone else.
In other news, Shanks and the Dreamers album is officially ready to be sent out for mastering. I think i posted on this before, but alas, we went in and mixed some more. But this time, its for real. It includes 11 tracks with names like, WhiteHouse, 405, Hush and Popsicles. Nothing too pretentious, just short and sweet mutherfuckin titles.
We are sending it out to a NY Mastering House, since ART is rolling through NY in a few weeks and were getting good vibes from a couple dudes out there but...... there are a couple solid choices in LA as well, so nothing is finalized as to who will do the honors, but the field has been weeded out.
So, my new film Plain Us is finished and i 'm ready for both the love and the hate. I wrote and directed the piece. It was shot by cinematographer Zamir Kokonozi on 35mm, who also shot my last film knock knock.
The film also features songs on the upcoming full length Shanks and the Dreamers album, My Darling Dia.
Here is a short synopsis: "Cy, a touring musician in an up and coming band drops into the town he grew up in":
In my next few post i'll get more in depth with the process, and conception of the piece.
Here is a trailer for knock. knock. posted on youtube. The film was finished in mid 07 and was a collaboration with Chris Manz, cinematography by Zamir Kokonozi and edited by my main man Rick Curnutt, who i'm helping right at this minute finish his new film. For heads up, my new film Plain Us is finished. In the next post i'll give the goods, but for now, enjoy this.
So, for some reason my worpress is showing posts from one year ago instead of the most current. It might have something to do with my damn host who shall remain nameless unless things get resolved.
But on a more positive note, i have many good things to share in the most shortest of times. Just wait.
