October 2003

If you are a prospective filmmaker living (or at least shooting) in Maine, chances are you’re not exactly rolling in money as you try to fund your projects. Well, if you’re sick of eating your special breadless PB&J sandwiches three meals a day to get your movie off the ground, you might want to check out some of the grant opportunities that the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) has to offer.

Sometimes love just isn’t meant to be. This saying forms the background of Kyle Gilman’s short film "The Epic Tale of Kalesius and Clotho," featured in the upcoming Northampton Film Festival. Subtitled "A Meditation on the Impossibility of Romantic Love in a Rapidly Expanding Universe," Gilman’s film toys with narrative structure in a meta-fictional way; it tells of his attempts to bring to life a (fictional) Greek myth in a film within the film of the same name. He addresses the camera much of the time, sharing with us read more...

I’ve spent the last seven months wisecracking and waitressing as a principal cast member in "Overserved," the all-Beantown independent comedy about tending bar that strives to help reestablish this r-less Hub as a film hub once again. But I have a confession to make that not even Joe Gatto -- the writer, director, and star of "Overserved" -- knows: I have underestimated this film since my first audition.

John Sullivan leads an active professional life as the head of his own production company (Naked Emperor Productions) and an accomplished editor and cameraperson, but it was his boxing hobby that led him to Craig Wilson, Thailand, and his most successful film to date: "Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner)."

It sounds like the setup for a joke: What do you get when you cross a Winnebago, a Wal-Mart and a handful of retirees? The answer isn't a sidesplitting punchline, but rather the subject of filmmaker Doug Hawes-Davis's latest film, "This is Nowhere."

Quiet, softspoken, and rather shy of the press, one wouldn't peg Joan Kaufman as the driving force behind a film that required perilous journeys over exotic waters in rickety wooden boats, bearing witness to early morning police raids and arrests, and interviewing strangers about personal hardships in a foreign language. Her latest film was, however, just such an adventure. Shot on location in Venezuela and on the island of Curaçao, "Floating Market" delves into the complex history and cultural peculiarities of the world-famous symbol read more...

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For better or for worse, this moment in history, marked by its Internet Filters, Parental Advisory Stickers, channel blocking TV, and Patriot Act, may one day be remembered as an American age of security. The Free Expression Policy Project is drawing attention to another matter of national security, though its interest is not in prohibition. The goal of the New York-based think tank is to protect artistic freedom of expression from political attack, and prevent the use of money as a weapon to control state arts agencies.

The chance is high that if you are involved in New England’s film community, you have crossed paths with David Kleiler. David Kleiler is the founder and director of Local Sightings, a Boston-based consulting firm dedicated to all things cinema. Kleiler has been on the local scene for over 30 years, mixing his substantial knowledge of film with a penchant for the independent and the alternative to bring to the public’s attention the work of underexposed and underappreciated films and filmmakers.

Brownie Wise called up Earl Tupper one day out of the blue to chew him out about the marketing of his Tupperware line of plastic bowls. The year was 1951 and Brownie Wise had never met Earl Tupper. However, she could tell that the way Tupperware was being marketed was all wrong. Any product with a "burping seal" needed a more personal sales touch, she reckoned. So Wise had one bit of sage advice for Earl Tupper: "Home parties."