photo by Katie Trainor
(35 days left 'til Orphans 6)
Last night's "Best of the Orphan Film Symposium" screening was a treat. Lots of good buzz during and after. Being a fast-paced clip-fest we had to show mostly video, but the IFCC crew made them all look their best. Thom Powers kept the show flowing from the stage.
As you can see from the line-up (yesterday's blog post) there was variety. Ariella Ben-Dov of the Madcat Women's International Film Festival was there and we talked about Helen Hill's film. Ariella was part of a great tribute/lovefest for Helen's work when they screened at the REDCAT theater in Los Angles.
Documentary filmmaker Anthony Gonzalez told me how much he liked the H. Lee Waters film of Kannapolis, NC, and wants to see more.
Josh Marston (who directed the great MARIA FULL OF GRACE) said a light went on as he watched the Waters film as well as the itinerant filmmaker Melton Barker's masterpiece (ahem) shot in Childress, Texas.
At the Minetta Tavern after, David Leitner (producer of FOR ALL MANKIND) shared some revelations about the NASA archive of Apollo films.
Which reminds me that there was a great moment after the clip from TEENAGE COSMONAUTS. Laurie Anderson came up to talk about her work as NASA artist-in-residence. She began by noting that she had in fact visited the Gagarin Cosmonaut School seen in the Soviet film. (No one trains there now, she said... except a Japanese rock star who wants to go into outer space.)
At the Minetta afterwards, best overhead bit of converstion: "Lou Reed said he liked that home movie, OUR DAY."
Good to hear.
