STF Fall Season closing night goes head-to-head with Obama

• by Raphaela Neihausen, December 02, 2009

The STF Fall Season came to a close with a sneak preview of the profound film about American veterans of the Iraq war HOW TO FOLD A FLAG. The filmmakers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein, who showed their previous film THE PRISONER OR: HOW I PLANNED TO KILL TONY BLAIR at STF in 2007, were joined for the Q&A by Jon Powers, one of the soldiers featured in FLAG, who ran for Congress in upstate New York last year. Today, Powers works for the Truman Project, a policy center on national security in Washington, DC. He noted the symbolism of the night’s STF show taking place at the same time President Obama was declaring his intention to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Powers said he hoped the film would make audiences better understand the consequences of what soldiers endure.

The audience was populated with many STF alumni including Margaret Brown (ORDER OF MYTHS), David Schisgall (VERY YOUNG GIRLS), Nina Davenport (OPERATION FILMMAKER), Lucia Small (THE AXE IN THE ATTIC), Andrew Rossi (A TABLE IN HEAVEN), Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard (filmmakers behind THE GLASS HOUSE) as well as Oscar nominee Carl Deal (TROUBLE THE WATER), who all had high praise for Tucker and Epperlein in discussions after the film.

David Koh of Arthouse Films with Dan Braun of Submarine Entertainment.

Director David Schisgall (VERY YOUNG GIRLS) chatting with director of HOW TO FOLD A FLAG Michael Tucker.

L to R: Ingrid Kopp of Shooting People, editor Jean Tsien (SHUT UP & SING, PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, BIGGEST CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD) and Pamela Cohn of Still In Motion.

Andrew Mer, VP of Content Partnership at SnagFilms with Matt Dentler, head of Marketing and Programming at Cinetic Media.

Adella Ladjevardi, Grants Manager of Cinereach with director Adam Zucker (GREENSBORO: CLOSER TO THE TRUTH).

STF executive director Raphaela Neihausen with producer Melissa Hibbard of Fictionville Studio.

Yoni Brook (co-director of BRONX PRINCESS and director of A SON’S SACRIFICE) earns the award for “Most Battered STF Season Pass”.

Related Film/Screening:
HOW TO FOLD A FLAG by Michael Tucker, Petra Epperlein

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Stuntwomen at STF

• by Thom Powers, November 26, 2009

Director Amanda Micheli gave STF goers a special treat during the Q&A on Tuesday by phoning up the stunt woman-turned actress Zoe Bell. In Micheli’s film DOUBLE DARE, she follows the New Zealand native Bell in her early days as the stunt double for Lucy Lawless in XENA, then transitioning to a career in Hollywood under the mentorship of Jeannie Epper (best known for her stunts in WONDER WOMAN). Micheli reached Bell on the west coast and put her on speaker phone to participate in the Q&A. Recently, Bell has been transitioning to more acting roles, appearing in Quentin Tarantino’s GRINDHOUSE, Drew Barrymore’s WHIP IT!, and a new film with Wesley Snipes that just finished production. As part of this new phase of her career, Bell has been put in the unexpected position of having to use a stunt double, as she explained, to satisfy the “insurance” concerns of producers.

(Photos courtesy of Joshua Z Weinstein )

The looming Thanksgiving holiday didn’t deter a crowd filling up the IFC Center’s Theater 2.

After the screening at 99 Below, Micheli poses with her fellow Harvard film alum Nina Davenport and offspring Jasper Davenport. Micheli makes a brief appearance in Davenport’s first-person doc ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID. Jasper is expected to steal the scenes in Davenport’s next project.

Several STF alum (left to right) Frank Keraudren (director, THE LAST CIGARETTE), Sara Alize Cross (producer, THE ORDER OF MYTHS), and Jesse Moss (FULL BATTLE RATTLE), hanging out (with a mystery woman) at 99 Below.

The women of Arts Engine Jolene Pinder (left) and Angela Tucker (right) bookend Yoni Brook (director, BRONX PRINCESS) and another mystery woman. STF is full of mysterious women.

Related Film/Screening:
DOUBLE DARE by Amanda Micheli

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BIG RIVER MAN & More December Specials @ STF

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 22, 2009

The day after STF concludes its Fall Season, we’ll return on Wednesday, Dec 2 with the Sundance sensation BIG RIVER MAN, an Amazonian epic that plays like a cross between Borat and Fitzcarraldo. It will be the first of three December specials serving as appetizers to the STF Winter Season. The other events include a screening of the cinema verite classic A MARRIED COUPLE, as a tribute to filmmaker Allan King who died earlier this year; and a sneak preview of I’M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE, the latest work by Michel Negroponte, fresh from its debut at Sheffield Docfest. Act now to buy a STF Winter Season pass to attend all three December specials, plus the regular 10 STF shows every Tuesday from January 12 to March 16. That’s a total of 13 films - plus 2 free Docurama DVDs - for the early bird discount price of $95. That price will rise to $110 in January. You can get the early bird price by clicking through to the tickets page for any December special. Don’t let the winter blues get you down. Join us at STF for inspiring films and great conversations.

Distribution Case Study: OBJECTIFIED

• by Thom Powers, November 20, 2009

Gary Hustwit, the director of HELVETICA, kindly visited my NYU class on Thursday to dispense his wisdom about self-distribution. This topic has a rising interest in the film world. But few people have as much real world experience as Hustwit. Next week, PBS’ Independent Lens will show his latest work OBJECTIFIED in an hour-long version (shorter than the theatrical release).

Here are some highlights from his class talk:

* Nine months before the theatrical release of HELVETICA, Hustwit began blogging about the film as a way to gain interest. A small mention on the graphic designer website typophile.com drove the first visitors to helveticafilm.com and eventually Hustwit had collected thousands of email addresses from visitors. He began selling Helvetica posters and t-shirts, grossing $75,000 on merchandise before the film was even released. “The audience wants to see the film as much as you do,” said Hustwit. By selling merchandise, “you make it easy for them to help you.”

STF’s night of Iranian radicals: BASSIDJI

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 20, 2009

Last Tuesday night, STF hosted a sneak-preview of Mehran Tamadon’s BASSIDJI, fresh from its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.  Although Tamadon was unable to join us from France, Hamid Rahmanian (director of THE GLASS HOUSE and coincidentally a doppelganger for Tamadon) had spent the previous few days skyping with the French director and was able to answer all the STF audience’s questions.  A very timely film, BASSIDJI explores the ideology behind the Iranian militias who cracked down on reformists this past summer.

Iranian filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian (BE LIKE OTHERS) with her mommy.

Adella Ladjevardi of Cinereach (second from the left) rallied a group of fellow Iranian women (including Anna Mirandi - far left) and one lucky guy to attend the screening.

Co-director of THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND Bill Siegel with Iranian filmmaker Hamid Rahmanian (THE GLASS HOUSE).

Related Film/Screening:
IRAN: IMAGES FROM THE UPRISING (aka BASSIDJI) by Mehran Tamadon

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