Ross McElwee & Grace Coddington take the STF stage

• by Raphaela Neihausen, February 07, 2010

Last week, STF sold out two nights in a row for unforgettable films and conversations. On Tuesday was A NIGHT WITH ROSS MCELWEE, featuring the acclaimed director of SHERMAN’S MARCH presenting two early short works CHARLEEN (1977) and BACKYARD (1984) that are rarely screened. McElwee described how both films were shot around the same time while he was still a graduate student at MIT, where the faculty included Ricky Leacock and Ed Pincus. In CHARLEEN, McElwee introduces the title character who would later appear in SHERMAN’S MARCH, TIME INDEFINITE and SIX O’CLOCK NEWS, exhibiting a knack for making poetry out of everyday life. In CHARLEEN, McElwee takes a traditional observational approach without his voice over commentary that became characteristic of his work. His transition to that style came in BACKYARD where he looks at his southern family and their longtime house workers, introducing his own voice as a guide. The Film Panel Notetaker blog has a full report of McElwee’s conversation here. STF host Thom Powers began the night with a tribute to the film editor Karen Schmeer who was killed in a car accident on the previous Friday.  (Photos courtesy of Joshua Weinstein)

On Wednesday, STF hosted a special screening of THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, followed by a conversation with director R.J. Cutler and Vogue creative director Grace Coddington. The audience was arguably the most fashionable looking STF audience ever. Coddington described her initial reluctance to get involved with the film. In order to woo her, Cutler gave her copies of A PERFECT CANDIDATE (that he directed) and MY ARCHITECT (shot by his DP Bob Richman). “I never did watch those,” said Coddington. See coverage on New York Magazine’s blog.  (Photos courtesy of EJ)

A NIGHT WITH ROSS McELWEE:

Ross McElwee and Thom Powers during the Q&A.

Filmmaker Donal Mosher (OCTOBER COUNTRY) with a friend.

Filmmakers Hugo Perez and Francisco Bello.

Filmmaker David Redmon gets his Ross McElwee DVD autographed by the man himself.

FIlmmakers Nina Davenport (PARALLEL LINES, OPERATION FILMMAKER), Ross McElwee, Lucia Small (THE AXE IN THE ATTIC) and Joshua Seftel.

Filmmakers Doug Block (51 BIRCH STREET) and Michel Negroponte (I’M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE).

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE:

Thom Powers with Vogue creative director Grace Coddington.

Director R.J. Cutler with Grace Coddington.

Comments