May 2004

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May... summer begins, allergies persist, and mothers are called. It’s also the kickoff of the big summer blockbuster season.

The teenage heroine of Josh Seftel’s new film, Kee Malesky, is a future librarian who has already mastered her cataloguing skills. If she were filing her videotapes as she does her teen magazines she would need to file "Breaking the Mold" first as a Fiction Film - Young Adults, with a cross-reference to Satire - Popular Culture and yet another to Toxic Mold - Health Dangers. The film is all these things as well as being the first foray into narrative film for Seftel, who is well known for his documentaries, read more...

This month at the Boston Underground Film Festival, Bostonians on hand to view the trailer for a film entitled "Dog Eat Dog" may recognize familiar faces, settings and issues. Alice Stone, the writer/director of "Dog Eat Dog," said the idea for the film came from her experiences living in the South End.

"I get inspired by everyday life," Stone said. "There’s plenty of tension and humor on a single T-ride to find the kernel of a story."

After the soul-wrenching experience of shooting "Goodnight Joseph Parker" and three hell-raising years of lawsuits and post-production, Dennis Brooks vows never to direct a film again. For our sake, let’s hope he changes his mind: "Goodnight Joseph Parker" is a brilliant gem of American independent filmmaking and promises to be a highlight of this year’s Independent Film Festival of Boston.

Filmmaker Amanda Micheli could be a "female power icon" herself; besides being a member of the USA National Champion women’s rugby team, she’s a creative force to be reckoned with. Her debut documentary film "Just for the Ride" garnered international attention, earning her such awards as the 1996 Student Documentary Academy Award, the 1996 International Documentary Association Award, and a documentary award from our very own New England Film and Video Film Festival.

Israelis shake hands with Palestinians. Indians sit next to Pakistanis. Afghans meet Americans. It may seem like an impossible dream, but the organization Seeds of Peace has been fostering just that for over 10 years. Teenagers from across the world attend their summer camp in Maine to learn the tools of tolerance and coexistence, to break the cycles of stereotypes and violence in their own lives, and to collaborate and to cooperate in finding a path to friendship.

To some, it’s one of those terms that we hear bandied about, like some magical ingredient that might be just the thing needed for a film, like a drop of catalyst that makes the whole cloudy solution become clear. Sound design is one of those terms that came into heavy use in the go-go ‘80s, when the title of sound designer was something a lot of sound editors and mixers started applying to their job descriptions in an effort to seem more creative and cutting edge than the shop down the street. But what is it, really?

Without much time or money, 44 teams of filmmakers embarked upon a dizzyingly busy weekend of writing, shooting, editing, and even singing after the 48 Hour Film Project’s (48 HFP) Friday night "kick-off" ceremony on the April 2.  
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"Goldfish Memory"