September 2001

In the itineraries for many vacationers, New Hampshire traditionally serves as a stop on the fall foliage tour around New England. However, this September, film lovers and artisans alike will have a new reason to visit the Granite State -- the New Hampshire Film Expo.

So you're thinking about making films in Hollywood but you're not sure what you're up against, eh? Well hold onto your hat, because NewEnglandFilm.com is taking you on a trip to the other side, the West Coast, that is. This new series, On the Other Side, will introduce you to New England filmmakers who are working in the movie business on the West Coast. We'll follow their successes and their failures, and demystify a dream that is summed up in one word, Hollywood.

"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." Mark Twain

Now suppose you wanted to create a stunning video sequence with falling dollar bills in front of a moonlit sea getting zapped by lightning, and you were neither an idiot or a member of Congress. What to do?

Cambodian refugees in this country are somewhat of an enigma to most Americans. Few are aware of the devastation caused by the Cambodian holocaust during the 1970’s Khmer Rouge uprising. In part, this is the power of Jocelyn Glatzer’s film, "Flute in the Storm."

The story documents internationally acclaimed human rights activist Arn Chorn Pond -- his amazing feat of escaping death several times; his courage to live on despite the pain; and his attempts to revive Cambodia’s dying musical heritage.

Film Festivals

The Boston Film Festival will take place September 7 - 16, 2001, in Boston, Massachusetts. Now in its 17th year, the Boston Film Festival has become one of the events that launch the fall film season. This year, 50 feature films will have their debut in Boston during a 10-day period. Visit www.bostonfilmfestival.org for more information.

"I think people are ready for a story about a blind woman who’s raising a family or having a career or both," says Diane Starin, the focus of documentarian David Sutherland’s 1993 film "Out of Sight." "What I wonder is if they’re ready for a blind woman who’s in her thirties living with a man who’s in his sixties, in a relationship that deals with alcohol and infidelity. In other words, I don’t know if America is ready for a blind girl who isn’t a goody two-shoes." Indeed, Diane hardly fits read more...

Frederick Wiseman may be America's most consistent filmmaker. Over the past 34 years, he's directed nearly one film a year documenting different aspects of life in America, and each film has unfailingly earned critical acclaim and respect. Critic Phillip Lopate has called this prolific and much lauded filmmaker "the greatest American filmmaker of the last 30 years" in a January 2000 New York Times article. 

A script exists only in the writer’s imagination until it is materialized as a series of ink splotches on paper. These dabbles evoking far away places and exciting actions are all happy and nice until someone presents another piece of paper with ink splotches on it -- the budget.

Speaking to him on the phone, John Carley doesn’t seem to realize how difficult it should be to run a film festival. Perhaps this is because the Greenwich, CT native, with self-admittedly little experience in movies, has founded what promises to be a truly enjoyable 4-day festival, right in his home town, and all with seemingly relative ease.