I’ll be directing a short film in my hometown of Redlands early next year. Here are some still shots from our location in San Timoteo Canyon. Some of the story takes place in an old Pullman Rail Car, which sits on the property.
Billboard for Holy Ghost People:
Holy Ghost People will screen at the Napa Valley Film Festival November 15/16. Then on November 22nd the San Francisco Film Society is screening the film as the opening selection for the Cinema by the Bay series.
Holy Ghost People is in competition at the Indie Memphis Film Festival. This will be a homecoming of sorts for our film, which was shot on location at Camp Nakanawa in Crossville, Tennessee. When you’re in Tennessee for a month with a cast of 50+, you make a lot of new friends. Will be great to see some of their faces again.
I came across a short essay by Albert Camus on “the future of tragedy”. Some highlights:
…the forces confronting each other in a tragedy are equally legitimate, equally justified… tragedy is ambiguous
Melodrama can thus be summed up by saying: ‘Only one side is just and justifiable,’ while the perfect tragic formula would be: “All can be justified, no one just.’
Tragedy occurs when man, by pride (or even by stupidity, as in the case of Ajax) enters into conflict with the divine order, personified by a god or incarnated in society.
Tragedy is born between the light and the shade, and from the struggle between them.
The hero denies the order which strikes him down, and the divine order strikes because it is denied.
Camus has me thinking: in general, the plays I see that try to take on an issue or political theme ultimately fail to wrestle with two sides of the issue. Most playwrights I know are fantastically liberal people. Wild, crazy liberals. They write plays that confirm or default to – even if unintentionally – a general liberal, humanist mindset. Even when these writers think they are representing the opposing side, it’s usually not where the real energy of the play lies.
But endings are tough… they can expose us as writers for who we are and what we believe in. What I’m tired of – yet have a hard time avoiding myself – is a kind of Spielberg-sentimentality at the very end of a play or film. Some kind of vague, warm and squishy affirmation of some positive humanistic value. “Love redeems” – that kind of crap. How can we avoid this? When writing drama, go big and go dark, says Camus.
It’s frustrating when playwrights are left out of the larger, national conversation. We are usually looked to last to say something relevant about an issue (with few notable exceptions). In terms of writing political plays with real impact – that go beyond our expected audience – we might need to work harder to legitimize and justify our opposing forces, on the right or the left.
This might demand we become more of an observer than a participant in political life. An activist by day, a dramatist by night.
A little girl has decided to be a night owl tonight
She loves to have her back patted
so that’s what I’m doing
I think she is about to give it up And so am I
Good night all and God bless
Cheesy name, great site. It’s curated and smart. The search feature is good – especially if you’re after a certain genre.
Some favorites so far:
Sam French, an American filmmaker, fell in love with a beautiful woman and followed her to Kabul, where she was stationed at the British Embassy. He had no job, no understanding of the country, and imagined he would spend most of his time hunkered down under lock and key. In Kabul, he fell in love with the city and its people, their resilience and hope for something more. So he started a production company with the idea to make films that reflected the real Kabul. The films would also serve to connect young, ambitious Afghan filmmakers with professional mentors – and each other
French’s first film, the Buzkashi Boys, a half-hour short about a blacksmith’s son and a charismatic street urchin with dreams of a better life, was nominated for an Oscar in 2013. Here’s a pic of the two young stars of the film at this year’s Oscars (French helped raise over 12 grand to get the boys there):
Sam has since created a non-profit foundation called the Afghan Film Project formed to “tell uniquely Afghan Stories while building the capacity of Afghanistan’s film industry”.
The Buzkashi Boys can be downloaded on iTunes here.
The mission of the foundation is ethical and inspiring – and a model for putting art in action.
the messenger service
investing in residential property
the Afghanistan low carb
slow cooker
Ramadol
for dogs
used by humans
all may naturally induce
the magic number