Follow the Leader in the Outer Banks

After a brief visit back to ETSU in Johnson City to say farewell to our hosts, I hit the road to Manteo, North Carolina – it's a couple of hours from the nearest airport in Norfolk, so why not drive the scenic highways? Even after a 10+ hour drive – including a 2-3 hour detour because of major repairs on the only bridge going over the Alligator River (see picture for the surprise that greeted me at its banks!) – I wasn't even doubting that decision. Open roads, a beautiful day and night, and some great pizza on the way at Pops in Chapel Hill only a mile from the highway. Both NPR stations and some great local music stations were always available – quite rare indeed for these United States. It had been a while since I'd heard “Dust in the Wind”...but for a while it seemed to be playing on repeat, which was fitting somehow as I breezed past scores of deer and was lucky enough to dodge every raccoon in my path.

Arriving in Manteo, even in the dead of night, I was struck by how charming it was. I met Fay from Dare County Arts Council, along with her husband, at their office when I arrived. They were kind enough to escort me to the accommodation they'd arranged for me...which gave me the privilege of waking up looking directly at the Atlantic (pictured)!

Our primary host Chris Sawin of the Arts Council met me the following morning, and we went to meet with an AP Government class at the local First Flight High School. It's named “First Flight” because it's right next to the famous hill from which the Wright Brothers first flew; looking at the inscription on the monument (pictured), I wondered what we had achieved more recently as a country through “dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith.” Chris's lovely sister Susan is the librarian at the school, and she met us at reception and took us where we needed to be. The students were all engaged (well, most of them, anyway) with the clips we showed, and during our discussion. Their favorite of the three characters was Ben, who they felt had great potential for future political leadership. We discussed what qualities he possesses that made them feel that way...along with what qualities none of the boys had that we also want to see in our leaders.

I spent the afternoon soaking up the local color and flavor (the yellowfin tuna steak sandwich at Tortuga's is awesome! – with thanks to Michelle, Christina and one of their fellow customers at “OBX Consign It” in nearby Nags Head for recommending it). In the evening, we screened FOLLOW THE LEADER at the Outer Banks Brewing Station, where filmgoers had the option of eating a delicious meal during the performance. I was reminded of our screening during the Republican National Convention – the film was the only one to premiere during both the 2012 RNC & DNC Conventions – at the Improv Comedy Club Theatre in Tampa, Florida. There, we had a similar dinner theater set-up, and both times we had fantastic sound, since both venues are often used for music performances. It's always nice to have 100% attention in a cinema, but it's interesting in a different way to experience the film with people in a setting more like most people see it – which, we filmmakers shouldn't kid ourselves, is either on DVD, online, or on TV. It's fascinating to see which moments hold up best, and what jokes read, in a setting where people are splitting their attention between FOLLOW THE LEADER and favorites like Shrimp and Grits...which was a terrific accompaniment for me!

After the screening we had another great Q&A – this is never a film to which people are shy to respond! And I had the pleasure of meeting more people from the local host committee including the talented silversmith Ginny, Tatum and her beau, Shelly, and Angie, who represents the Chamber of Commerce. I was touched that Susan from the high school came out with her three teen (and almost teen) boys, who all seemed to get a kick out of the film. A family vacationing from Mexico had seen some local advertising and sat right in front, along with their youngest member who fell asleep in his removable car-seat about ten minutes into the film. Following the public discussion, I spent some time with Chris and stalwart local supporters of the arts David and BJ Neal. Apart from his full-time work, David is a singer songwriter with a number of politically-themed songs to his credit. One recounts the many conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's assassination, and another details the story of Bradley Manning – I told him he should post his new music video on our Facebook page, and hope you'll go there to see if he did (and also “like” us while you're at it – it makes a difference!): www.facebook.com/followtheleaderfilm

Manteo, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills: you're all a delight filled with the friendliest of people, and before long I hope we can spend more than 36 hours together!

 - Jonathan Goodman Levitt
@changeworxfilms

EATING ALABAMA, on the road...

I'm going to opt for a hastily put together photo-essay of my time traveling with the Southern Circuit rather than writing too much about my experience. I think the web is most dynamic as a visual medium and I tend to take lots of pictures when I'm traveling - especially when I'm traveling alone. Susan Sontag wrote in her book "On Photography" about this American inclination to photograph when we travel - many of us turn to photography as a way to continue the "work" we're leaving behind. We can't really be idle. Not even on vacation.

I wouldn't call the Southern Circuit a vacation, despite the wonderful screenings and the interesting locations and the (occasionally) good food. It's more like a rock and roll tour without the bandmates, without the groupies, without the gear. It's a lot of time in airports and rental cars and planes and motels. But it's an amazing way to share your film with an audience you might otherwise never have an opportunity to interact with. It's really a great program, and the audiences thus far have been spectacular and genuinely excited about my movie. Which is more than I could ask for, frankly...

DAY ONE & TWO: Departing for Savannah, GA. My tour was split up a bit - the first screening was a one night affair in Savannah, where I flew in just for the screening and then came back home. You'll notice in this photo that it's been digitally processed. This one, like many others here, has been processed through the photo-sharing service Instagram. I'm a little skeptical about my inclination to process photos this way - the over-saturation, the boosted contrast, the distressed edges. These are all techniques used to create an instant vintage affect which ramps up the nostalgia factor of the image. Nostalgia and vintage both imply age and durability - they communicate authenticity through their staying power. But this image was quickly snapped, processed digitally and distributed to my social network feeds without any process of reflection. So, what is its value other than an aesthetic one? If you're interested in what someone much smarter than me thinks about all this, check out this essay from The New Inquiry.

DAY ONE: Even Instagram photography benefits from good light - this is the marquee of the venue in Savannah as the sun is going down. Photographers and filmmakers talk about this time (and the hour of sunrise) as the "magic hour." When the sun is low in the sky, the shadows are elongated and the contrast is ramped up. It makes things easier to see. Or conceal. The screening itself was wonderful - the Lucas is a great theatre and there was a nice crowd, too. I spent the evening hanging out with my friend Jared who's a musician based in Savannah. He played accordion on the score for the film.

DAY TWO: On my way to the airport, I snapped this one. I love the live oaks in places like Savannah.

DAY THREE: Day three of the tour was separated by a few weeks from the trip to Savannah. First up was a drive from my home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to a small town called Winder, Georgia about an hour northeast of Atlanta. The film still hasn't played in Atlanta, so there were actually a handful of people who drove up to see the movie. My friend Lane, there on the left, drove over from Athens and I was fortunate to be able to spend the night with he and his wife Sarah. There in the middle is our friend Julia who drove up from Atlanta. But the winner of the farthest distanced traveled was an old college friend who drove three hours to see the film! It was a nice screening with a great Q&A moderated by a local filmmaker. Probably the most insightful questions I've gotten in a Q&A - thanks Christopher!

DAY THREE: On the way from Winder to Athens, Lane and I stopped in at an antique auction where he was bidding on some old woodworking tools. I saw this essay from around the 60s in a random box and took a picture.

DAY FOUR: After a great night with friends in Athens I drove through the fog and the rain to Johnson City, Tennessee for a screening that evening at Eastern Tennessee State University. I dropped in to an Environmental Studies class that afternoon and talked about filmmaking, the documentary genre and writing. Somehow, we ended up talking a lot about John McPhee and this interview I recently read with him from the Paris Review. The subject was the making of these sometimes complicated nonfiction narratives - namely, how do you assemble all the often disparate threads of your story to form a coherent whole?

DAY FOUR: When I remember, I like to take pictures of the audiences during Q&A or before the screening. It's always nice to share what it looks like from my perspective! The screening was packed out - I believe there were about 200 folks. It was a great and enthusiastic audience and I was glad to talk with a couple of local food advocates from the area. Thanks ETSU!

DAY FOUR: Saw this smokestack and had to take a picture. This was in route to the screening near Asheville, NC.

DAY FIVE: From Johnson City, TN to the Outer Banks via Charlotte. When I arrived in Kill Devil Hills (where I stayed and where I screened the film and, yes, the actual name of the place), I went on a short walk to the beach. The Atlantic always seems too cold for me, no matter where or when I visit. I was raised on the bathwater warm Gulf of Mexico and it's the only beach I can call home... I grabbed dinner at a local diner and sat at the bar waiting for my food. I struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to me who was a detective from Charlotte, NC. He asked about what I do and I told him about the film and he launched into his own story of losing his family's farm. I'm always surprised at how universal my family's story of leaving the farm is to many Americans. He wanted to talk about filmmaking, but I was far more interested to hear about what he does for a living - especially when he told me that he and his partner were in the area because they were attending a two day workshop on serial killers being held at the local Nags Head police department (yes, the actual name of the city is Nags Head). 

DAY SIX: I'm not going to lie, day six was epic. Starting at 9am I went and spoke to a high school English class. This is their library - that monument out the window commemorates the spot of the first flight of the Wright Brothers. The high school, aptly enough, is called "First Flight High School." The students were great and had some questions about food and farming and filmmaking, but I steered us toward a conversation about the South. Namely, are the Outer Banks the South? Why or why not? It was an interesting conversation. I then went to speak to another class at the local alternative high school. There, many of the students' families were involved in the food industry - either through commercial fishing operations or through the hospitality and service industry. Then it was back to First Flight for another two classes where we talked about food and filmmaking and social media.

DAY SIX: After the schoolday I had a small window to go visit the Wright Brothers National Monument and see the spot where they took their first few test flights. Being a bit obsessed with the past and with the way in which we remember (or misremember) our own history, I'm always intrigued to see these locations. My father-in-law is a pilot and has a real affinity for the history of air travel which has become something of an interest of mine too. I wasn't able to absorb the whole museum, but I looked at the exhibits and walked around their test flight monuments.

DAY SIX: This sentence from Orville struck me as a really interesting way of putting it: "Isn't it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so that we could discover them!"

DAY SIX: My time at the Wright Brothers field was cut short because I had to Skype with my class at the University of Alabama. Just because I'm away from the classroom doesn't mean I didn't teach! Here they all are - hard at work on their own documentary projects. It was my first time doing a class session like this and, while it certainly wasn't ideal, I was pleasantly surprised with how it worked!

DAY SIX: The screening venue was in a very cool place called the Outer Banks Brewing Station. During the screening, I had a wonderful chat with the owner about local foodways, natural childbirth and our contemporary cultural zeitgeist for the handmade and handcrafted. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of conversations with strangers... Check out all that the OBB is doing to support sustainability!

DAY SIX: My very first screening in a bar! It was a delight - great audience, great Q&A. Thanks Outer Banks!

DAY SEVEN: Heading out to the airport I took one more short walk on the beach. 

NEXT UP...I'm headed out to the final four dates of the tour in a couple of days. Check back for another dispatch soon!

Also, don't forget to like "Eating Alabama" on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and, if nothing else, sign up for our mailing list at the website! 

Jeb brings Bag It to the Outer Banks

by Jeb Berrier:

Jeb Berrier in the Outer Banks, NC

My next stop on the Southern Circuit was Manteo, NC, home of the famous Lost Colony of 1583. I say famous, but I had never heard the story, shame on me because it’s a good one, and something we all should know. Manteo was a Croatan Indian chief that befriended the English explorers who landed at Roanoke Island in 1584. This pre-dates Jamestown by more than 20 years. Manteo traveled to England several times where he learned the language, was appointed Lord of Roanoke, and returned in 1590 with the English to find the entire colony gone, without an explanation. The mystery has never been solved. I can’t believe this was the first time I’d heard this story, or maybe I had and like so many things learned in school, it had faded into my 40 something brain. The other bit of history that is right across the water from Manteo is Kitty Hawk, site of the Wright Brothers’ fist flight. I actually stayed right on the beach in the Orville and Wilbur Wright Days Inn. Pretty awesome, and pretty windy, which is part of the reason they picked it for their flight. 

I was picked up and brought to the screening by my host, Chris Sawin, who works for the Dare County Arts Council in Manteo. We went to their brand new building, actually their brand new building is about 100 years old. It’s the old courthouse that they have taken over and have turned into an arts center. Art galleries on the whole first floor, featuring painting, photography, sculpture, and my favorite, an old cigarette machine which has been retro fitted to dispense art. For real, it’s full of cigarette sized art pieces that you can buy for $5. A good use of a beautiful old machine, and how fitting for North Carolina. The upstairs was the old courtroom, which is being turned into a live performance venue. The courtroom was also the setting for an episode of Matlock, which many of the town’s people were in. Andy was an Outer Banks resident .

After the tour we headed over to the theater and screened Bag It to a small but enthusiastic crowd. Just so you know, this was Election Night, and there was a big storm happening, so we were grateful for any crowd at all. I was told that some of the towns on the Outer Banks have actually ‘Bagged It’ already and instituted a plastic bag ban in the large supermarkets. Needless to say, another great Q and A with a group of appreciative and inquiring folks.

Next day was a biggie with three high school classes and a lunch. I was taken to Manteo and First Flight High Schools by Richard, who had run the local alternative school for 30 years before his recent retirement. We started with Miss Shimi’s (apologies to her for not knowing her full name, she goes by Shimi) class who had been asked to name things they use every day that are made of plastic. Thank goodness for Shimi! She’s a great teacher who really asked these kids to think and participate, which they did.

It’s always fun to see kids that age think about a life without single use disposable plastics. They have never known anything different, but at the same time they are often quicker than adults to see the problems with some of our more wasteful and destructive ways, and to be open minded about ways to help make things better.

Next, after a meeting with some of the environmental club we headed over to First in Flight High School for Katie Neller’s advanced science class. These were kids who had done a variety of AP environmental science, chemistry, and physics classes. After discussing the issue of bottled water (one poor girl had brought a water to class and took some playful ribbing from the other kids) we came up with a possible exercise of carrying their water around school for one day in something other than plastic. Mason jars, spaghetti sauce jars, or anything that was not single use plastic. At first they shuddered at the thought of the un-coolness factor, a legit fear for any high school student, but after being offered extra credit by the teacher, they all seemed to get excited about it. What better way to open a dialogue about why we don’t need to be drinking tap water shipped from Fiji in a throw away bottle, than to wear a mason jar around school on your belt. Might even become a fad. J Ms Neller also wants to get the kids out in the field doing research on plastic to plankton ratios in their ocean water.

Lunch was at a delicious fish place called Tortuga’s Lie, with some members of the Arts Council and two local filmmakers, one of whome, Corey Godwin, had just won an award at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in Monterrey, CA. One of Bag It’s prouder moments was when we took home the grand prize at Blue Ocean in 2010. Almost everyone at lunch was a member of Surfrider, a nationwide group devoted to protecting the oceans and beaches. Corey’s film was about the stranding of sea animals on beaches, why it happens and who are the people who save them. The film looks great, albeit a little upsetting. They don’t know why marine strandings happen when they do, but in many cases the animal has ingested, guess what………….wait for it……….,you got it, plastic, and it goes on shore to die. These stories are all connected and make me glad to know that there are people all over the world who care and who are working to make a difference.

Other things I got to see: The new public pier built to access some of the best fishing in the world on the Outer Banks, a beach that was re-sanded to fight erosion at a cost of 30 million dollars, they’re hoping it works, a lot of waves and beautifully rugged beach, and finally my pillow.

Farewell Manteo, next stop Miramar, FL.

Up and down the Atlantic seaboard with An Encounter with Simone Weil

Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Savannah, Georgia

Last Wednesday, we had the honor of showing "An Encounter with Simone Weil" at the beautiful Lucas Theatre for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia. Restored in 2000, it was on the verge of being demolished when a group of local residents came together and raised the funds for its restoration. They did a remarkable job.

A glimpse of the cinema

At the reception afterward, I had some great conversations with a remarkably diverse group of audience members. A few were tourists who'd just wandered in off the street curious about this "Simone Weil", and now they wanted to run out and buy her books. One man, an historic map maker, had come all the way from Columbia, SC (2 1/2 hours away), because he'd recently discovered Weil and wanted to learn more.

The following day found me at the Miramar Cultural Center in Miramar, a suburb of Miami, Florida. Not a large crowd, but a beautiful venue and very friendly hosts. After the screening, Joyce Maddox gave me a tour of the area, which included the largest senior citizens community in the world. Century City boasts 7,000 residents with their own shops, health facility, and movie theater.

Friday, I flew up to Norfolk, VA, and drove down the coast to North Carolina's Outer Banks. The screening was in the historic town of Manteo. Dare County Arts Council hosted my visit, headed by their energetic leader, Chris Sawin. The Q &A covered both Simone Weil and the themes of mental illness that run through the film. Often the latter don't get openly discussed, so I was very pleased people were bringing them up and sharing experiences of their own. One couple had driven from Raleigh, NC (3 hours), which may be the record so far.

Me and my host, Dare County Arts Council's Chris Sawin

Saturday, I had my first day off and was able to relax by the sea. The whole area's rich with history––from the land pirates who used to lure in unsuspecting ships, to a restored Elizabethan ship, and the Wright Brothers Memorial (picture below).

Kites aloft above the first-in-flight memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC

Plus I discovered a new fish species I'd never heard of. Contrary to its moniker, it's supposed to be yummy!

Karen, of Joe Papp, has full day of screenings in Dare County, North Carolina

The Outer Banks, NC -- 9/12/12
By Karen Thorsen

Up 7 AM, just enough time for a quick walk on the beach, watching pelicans dive for breakfast at sunrise, then my own breakfast (make-your-own Belgian waffle, compliments of Day’s Inn) before heading off for a full day of activities with Richard Martin, the President of the Arts Council Board and a most excellent tour guide.
· Stop #1: back on Roanoke Island, the amazing Elizabethan Gardens – a 12-acre jewel of 16th-century plantings, sunken gardens, fountains and statuary, even an authentically-thatched gazebo, all on water’s edge, in honor of the first English colony on American soil.
· Stop #2: an hour-and-a-half class with theater students at Manteo High School, an exhilarating back-and-forth with the next generation of filmmaker/thespians.
· Stop #3: a visit to a Nautical Consignment Shop in Nag’s Head: half-museum, half-thrift shop – and more inspiration for my son’s college dorm room.
· Stop #4: local seafood at a fisherman’s grill in Kill Devil Hills (we were joined by Chris Sawin, Executive Director of the Dare County Arts Council).
· Stop #5: another high school theater class, this time at the First Flight High School in Kitty Hawk – and this time with a projector so that I could mix commentary with clips of the film.
· Stop #6: return to the Day’s Inn for a quick nap and Email catch-up, then prep for the evening reception and screening.
· Stop #7: a gala reception back at the Manteo Court House, for friends of the Dare County Arts Council.
· Stop #8: the screening of Joe Papp In Five Acts on yet a third smaller island, a state-funded property called Festival Park: the site of a History Center/Museum, an outdoor amphitheater, scattered picnic grounds and two, count ‘em, two movie theaters, all with spectacular views of the water. We did our best to fill the smaller theater, not an easy task in off-season – but those who came loved the film and after a lively Q&A, I finally bid warm goodbyes to all my new Outer Banks friends and headed back to Kill Devil Hills … and bed.

What a great day!

Karen has authentic Outer Banks experience

The Outer Banks, NC -- 9/11/12
by Karen Thorsen

Up at 4:30AM (again!) to catch my NYC flight to Norfolk, VA. Got my rental car (NOT a Ford Focus, thank you) and enjoyed a two-hour drive south through coastal farmlands to North Carolina’s fabled Outer Banks – a trip which took over three hours because of stops along the way. What got my attention? Farm stands (great peaches!), thrift shops (feeding the nautical theme of my son’s college dorm room), the site of the Wright Brothers’ historical First Flight (now a national park in Kitty Hawk), and Sooey’s BBQ in Kill Devil Hills (pulled pork. ribs, collard greens, baked beans and the best hush puppies I’ve ever had) – more than I could eat and highly recommended!

4PM: I finally checked into the Wilbur and Orville Wright Day’s Inn right on the beach, also in Kill Devil Hills. Built in 1941, this was the first hotel built on the Outer Banks – and although it’s part of a national chain in name, all of its original character is still intact: a façade that must have been shockingly ‘moderne’ in the forties, a soaring white wingspan of a roof with a front porch full of old wooden rockers facing the sunset, a doorsill made of old driftwood and a wood-paneled lobby full of sofas surrounding a fireplace. Out back, the hallway leads straight to a path through the dunes and a beach that won’t quit, perfect for an off-season walk where the only companions are seagulls and a few lone fisherman, casting for red drum and stripers.

Pretty sweet. And, as if that isn’t enough, I’m here as the guest of the Dare County Arts Council and ‘friends of the Arts Council’s Board,’ the generous owners of the Day’s Inn itself – which means that I get to save a little of my South Arts per diem, always important to a struggling filmmaker!



As for the rest of my day, after a walk through the waves and a nap by the pool, I drove further south across yet another long bridge to Roanoke Island and the historic town of Manteo: Dare county seat and the home of the Dare County Arts Council. This group is truly impressive! Founded back in the seventies, they talked the town into letting them take over the abandoned 1904 Dare County Courthouse – just in time for Hurricane Irene – and, despite all the flood damage, they’ve just finished turning their first floor onto a multi-room art gallery. Among their many activities, they host art openings every ‘First Friday’; by next year, the upstairs courtroom will be turned into a much-needed arts workshop / performance space. In the meantime, they’re fundraising – so I spent my evening with a roomful of Arts Council Board Members, enjoying good conversation and wine while we all helped stuff envelopes for their fall fundraising drive.

"you don't know what i got" Visits Manteo North Carolina

  Manteo, North Carolina.  This was the perfect spot to end my tour.   It was a wonderful beach with  weather to match.  With only my shadow to keep me company, I headed out to explore.  I found great inspiration in the site of the first flight of Wilbur and Orville Wright.  To see that famous airstrip was fascinating and so familiar.   The photograph of the Wright brothers first flight is so engrained on my memory, I felt if I had been there before.

The little town of Manteo was a step into history and the Roanoke Island Festival Park provided a great opportunity to screen my film.  We showed to a small but interested crowd that asked great questions.

It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day and tour!

Ahead of Time in Manteo, NC

Laura Martier, Director of the Dare County Arts Council was lovely enough to invite me to an art opening the evening before my screening and it was a wonderful opportunity to meet the wonderful community of Kitty Hawk, NC. I met so many people who were talented, warm and inclusive.

The day of my screening was cold, windy and overcast so I wasn't able to enjoy the beach, unfortunately. Instead, I headed to Manteo,  and went to the Elizabethan Gardens. These gardens were built in the 1950s to commemorate the first colony in the New World, which arrived in the 1500's from England. I don't remember ever learning about The Lost Colony of Roanoke, as it is called, and I enjoyed the short film. The expedition was organized and financed by Sir Walter Raleigh. 

Fascinating story!

The screening was packed and everyone stayed for the Q&A. The questions were great and it was a stimulating evening!

-Zeva Oelbaum