Waffles & the Batmobile in Tupelo!

I was on the road yesterday with photographer Jayson Carpenter and we decided to spend our day off in Memphis, Tennessee. Awesome. We went down to the Cooper Young neighborhood and met some great people -- we had a cocktail and went dancing at a bar called Beauty Shop.

Today, Tupelo. First stop: Waffle House. I was skeptical of Waffle House, but I was wrong. It was excellent -- I put down a Grand Slam Breakfast and Jayson ate a Grand Slam with a side of biscuits and gravy.

 

After Waffle House, we found a cool car.

In the evening, we had a great screening in downtown Tupelo. We met the arts commissioners and talked about Tupelo's efforts to foster a creative economy.

The agenda for tomorrow: stop by Elvis' birthplace, cross Robert Johnson's crossroads, and get down to Baton Rouge for another showing. Bottom line: successful day.

South Arts staffer attends inaugural Southern Circuit screening in Suwanee, GA

Last week I attended the first inaugural Southern Circuit screening for the city of Suwanee at their beautiful screening venue, The Movie Tavern, in Suwanee, Georgia. This was not only the first Circuit screening for this community, but they also kicked off the tour for filmmaker Christopher Rufo and his film, Age of Champions.

A buzz was in the air as we all settled in to the plush seats of The Movie Tavern. I was more comfortable than I would have been in my own living room! As the film began, the crowd quickly warmed up to the warm-hearted comedy and memorable characters. Laughter peeled through the room during one scene as Senior Olympics Gold Medalist, Bradford Tatum, reminded his wife to include handsome among his many attributes. In short, everyone had a great time.

After the film, everyone hung around to hear from the filmmaker. Director, Christopher Rufo, talked about where the characters are now and his own experiences and thoughts as a filmmaker. We were all very relieved to hear that Earl finally won his gold medal. We also discovered that there was a fellow senior athlete among us who had competed in basketball against one of the film's subjects, The Tigerettes of Baton Rouge. She reported that they are indeed as tough, if not more so, than the film portrays. Her presence prompted Rufo to remind the audience that while the film's subjects are extraordinary, there are many such extraordinary senior athletes living in communities all over the United States.

Finally, as the crowd filed out to head home or to join Rufo at a reception that followed the screening, this arts agency staffer felt glad that such a wonderful film and filmmaker would be continuing on to many communities to share the laughter and the joy that I had experienced tonight.

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

Another day, another Southern Circuit screening. But this one in Gallatin, Tennesee had a twist. I was off at a conference in Pittsburgh, so Age of Champions photographer and co-producer Jayson Carpenter took over for the Q&A. Here's Jayson (ladies, he's single):

Upon his arrival, he was presented with an Age of Champions cake. Seriously. Check it out in the photo:

If that's not cool, I don't know what is. (It's definitely cool.) You can check out Jayson's work at www.jaysoncarpenter.com.

As for me, I've spent a lot of time in airports the last two days: Atlanta (twice), Minneapolis, DC, Pittsburgh (twice), Montgomery, and Nashville (twice). I'm ready to hit the road. Luckily, I've got a week of events where the only mode of transportation will be pure Mississippi and Louisiana highway.

You've Got to Hank It

There is a part of me that gets little love on the Left Coast of California -- Christopher Rufo, country music fan. In fact, in the Bay Area, there isn't even a single country station on the radio.

So I've been pretty spoiled here in Montgomery, Alabama, which has a solid selection of country music radio stations. Plus, I was able to make the pilgrimage to one of country's holiest sites: the grave of Hank Williams.

My faithful tour guide was the director of the Capri Theater, Martin McCaffery. Martin was kind enough to take time out of his day to show me Hank's grave, the Hank Williams Museum (they've got the car where he took those pills!), Martin Luther King Jr.'s church, and the State Capitol.

Quite a fun trip, especially with Martin's irreverent take on the politics of Alabama. He had me laughing with his stories about going up against the mayor, governor, and state Supreme Court justices while working for the Alabama ACLU.

The show last night was great -- beautiful theater, enthusiastic crowd, and the AARP was a huge help promoting the event.

I'll leave you with a picture that's a kind of Wheel of Fortune puzzle. Like to buy a vowel?

Age of Champions in Madison, GA

Hi y'all!

Christopher Rufo here, director of Age of Champions. We had a great showing last night in Madison, Georgia, a beautiful town of 3,700 just outside Atlanta. Madison is famous for its gorgeous pre-Civil War houses -- I was told that General Sherman spared the town on his eponymous march. Pretty cool.

As you can see in the photo, the venue was an amazing old schoolhouse that is now an arts and culture center. It's such a wonderful feeling to show the film and give a presentation in a building like this one. You've got to bring your A game. 

Luckily, we had a great crowd -- including local arts commissioners -- and a great discussion. One attendee brought her young boys to the showing and they both enjoyed the film, which is always fun. It's something I try to remind people: Age of Champions is really for the whole family. Everybody has parents or grandparents and can relate to the characters in the film. 

This morning, I made the drive to Montgomery, Alabama. A funny thing happened picking up my rental car. I explained to the young man at the counter that I was touring the Southeast presenting a film and he asked: "So, are you the 1%?" 

Not quite, but I'm feeling pretty lucky to be making documentaries and sharing them with people around the country. 

Meet Christopher Rufo

Welcome Christopher Rufo to the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers! Chris' film Age of Champions will start it's tour in Suwanee, GA on September 17. This is a great film that will lift anyone's end of summer blues. To view the trailer, learn more about the film, and get the complete Southern Circuit tour schedule visit the Age of Champions profile page on the Southern Circuit website.

Chris and his film, Age of Champions will also be visiting:

Madison, GA | Montgomery, AL | Gallatin, TN 

Tupelo, MS | Baton Rouge, LA | Charleston, SC

More about Chris:

Rufo is the Creative Director of the Documentary Foundation and has directed three films for PBS—Roughing It, Diamond in the Dunes, and Age of Champions. Rufo graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and speaks Italian, Spanish, and Chinese.

Behind-the-Scenes with Age of Champions

Check out this great clip of behind-the-scenes action and commentary from the filmmakers of, Age of Champions. This film is one of our kick-off films for the 2012/2013 season of the Southern Circuit Tour. To find a screening near you, visit the Southern Circuit website!

Age of Champions Behind-the-Scenes from Documentary Foundation on Vimeo.