Ryan White - Auburn

After my jaunt to New Orleans, I ended my portion of the Circuit at a screening at Auburn University’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art. My grandfather was trained down here during WWII to operate the radio on his battleship. We went to the drugstore where they served lemonade to him in the 1940’s, and where they still serve lemonade today.

The movie screened in a beautiful, modern auditorium with great sound and a blu-ray projector. Sometimes it’s nice to see the film play exactly the way you intended it to sound and hear. The crowd was a lot of college students and kids, so there was a lot of energy in the room. A wonderful way to wrap up my portion of the screenings – my co-director Gwendolyn has the final three covered!

Thanks to all the AMAZING hospitality of my Southern Circuit venues and hosts - and to the flawless organization of South Arts. I enjoyed every minute (minus the sickness.)

Ryan White - Orangeburg

When I asked how to get to Orangeburg, SC from Augusta, a guy with a handlebar moustache told me to take the country roads instead of I-20. I think when a guy with a handlebar moustache tells you to do something, you do it. So I did it. And I regretted that philosophy three minutes later when I got stopped at a railroad crossing for the Longest. Train. Ever. I didn’t know how long these country roads would take, so I was stressed about how late it might make me. But once it passed, it was all smooth sailing after that. I passed lots of cotton fields and churches, and the radios played sermons so I listened to that. I passed through Beech Island where James Brown lived.

I arrived in Orangeburg and went to the IP Steinbeck Museum on South Carolina State University’s campus. There I met the museum’s staff, who have to be one of the nicest staffs ever in the history of staffs. When I asked where the screening would be, someone said, “In the planetarium.” I ducked around the corner and checked it out. So cool! The movie played on the curved ceiling where the stars normally play. Definitely the most unique venue we’ve ever (and probably will ever) play.

During the screening the head of the museum, Ellen Zisholtz, gave me a tour of the exhibits. They’re currently putting one together on Jim Crow and the Holocaust which looks amazing – apparently historically black colleges were some of the only places to hire Jewish professors who fled Europe during the Holocaust. Then Ellen took me to the museum vaults and surprised me with their previous exhibit, which is now in mechanized stacked shelves: James Brown’s wardrobe. When he died a few years ago his family donated his wardrobe to the museum, so there were just rows and rows of mink fur coats and bedazzled sombreros.

SCSU has some great students who stuck around after the screening to ask questions and chit chat during a taco reception. This museum is a really warm place, so I recommend going out of your way to find it if you’re passing through SC.

Meet Gwendolyn Oxenham

Gwendolyn Oxenham's first screening will be hosted by the Tupelo Film Commission Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 6:30 PM. Gwendolyn is the director of Pelada.

Gwendolyn Oxenham received her M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame, where she won the Nicholas Sparks Prize. A 2004 graduate of Duke University's programs in English and Documentary Studies, she directed Essence Game and DWS, two short films centered on identity in sports. At sixteen, Oxenham was the youngest Division I athlete in the history of the NCAA. A Duke captain, she made two All-ACC teams. She also played professionally for Santos FC in Brazil in 2005.

Ryan White - Madison and Augusta

I made the drive from Hapeville, GA to Madison, GA in about two hours. Madison sprung out of nowhere – a beautiful town with a courthouse square and red brick buildings low to the ground. I got there early so ate chopped beef and turnip greens at the “Ye Olde Colonial House,” a converted old bank vault. Afterward I drove down tree-lined Main Street until I found the Cultural Center. It was a towering dark burgundy building with massive sculptures in the front yard. Turns out it’s a converted schoolhouse built in 1895. The screening room was the actual school auditorium, originally preserved from 1895 –with a wooden balcony, wooden shutters, wooden floor, wooden ceiling, and about 300 wooden seats kept since 1895. It made for amazing acoustics for the film. This crowd had a lot of soccer players – many local coaches apparently ended practice so their teams could come. I met one 16 year-old player who had already seen Pelada three times and told me it was the “best movie ever made.” I thanked him and asked, “Better than Citizen Kane?” But he didn’t know what that was and said “Yes,” and I realized I am not funny to teenagers.

I met about ten women who all work at the cultural center or volunteer there, and they couldn’t have been nicer. They also had a huge spread of cookies and desserts for a reception afterward, which only made them seem nicer. I’ve realized how hard these organizations have worked to turn out crowds in their town for our films, and it’s overwhelming. We know how hard it is to get people to come to see your movie regardless of reviews or festival accolades, so I have utmost respect for these people who are able to turn out large crowds in small towns. The reception was really fun – I met three government workers (two work for USAID and one works for the embassy in Mali) who told me that if only we had known them before we filmed, we would have had a place to stay anywhere we visited. Too bad we didn’t meet them before our trip to Cairo, where all wanted to/almost did die in our abandoned apartment. Thanks to Dina and Patricia and everyone else in Madison who made this screening so special.

From Madison I headed to Augusta, GA, home of the Masters. The screening was held at the Morris Museum of Art, alongside the river in downtown Augusta. It’s the first museum dedicated to artists of the American South, and has over 5,000 pieces. The screening was small – but sometimes small audiences can be the most passionate. Before the screening began I heard one couple ask an older woman, “So are you a soccer fan?” She said she was not, and when they explained the reasoning for their question – that the movie was about soccer – she said, “I thought it was about women’s issues.” I wanted to pipe in and say gender issues are a large part of the film, “Don’t leave!,” but then it would have been obvious I was eavesdropping, so I just stayed quiet. Luckily she did not leave and she smiled a lot during the movie, so I think she was appeased.

Thanks to David Tucker and Nicole McLeod for the great hospitality.

On to South Carolina and Louisiana tomorrow…

Ryan White - ECU and Hapeville, GA

Two wonderful Pelada screenings so far…

As a graduate of Duke I’d heard a lot about ECU but I’d never actually made the two-hour trek out to Greenville, NC. I’m glad I have now – it was a beautiful little college town and the drive out there I only passed a handful of cars. So nice to be out of LA and back in NC. I miss the trees and the accents.

The screening was fantastic – a self-anointed "super-senior" film student named Morgan introduced me and she couldn’t have been lovelier. The crowd was about 150 which was awesome - Michael Crane had done an amazing job getting the word out to the ECU community and also greater Greenville. The film department took me out afterwards for a couple drinks – wonderful people. If anyone is looking into undergrad courses in film and communications, I recommend ECU – these guys are passionate about their students. One professor told me he never makes it to graduation because he cries too hard on the drive there – we need more teachers like this.

I made the drive back to Durham and then a flight down to Atlanta’s airport. Hapeville is a little town right next to Atlanta’s airport. It used to hold a Ford factory, and now it’s also headquarters for Wachovia and Delta. The population is 65,000 during the day – and 6,000 at night. The town was gorgeous – I grew up in Atlanta so it made a little nostalgic for that old school Southern aesthetic.

We went to a reception beforehand at the town’s train depot. The Mayor (!) introduced me, and I got to meet a very interesting crowd of people. One guy, Ellis, has been collecting 16mm films and TV shows for the past 40 years that he takes around to local nursing homes for free screenings. Another was the local pastor and her grandson was one of the child actors in Cheaper by the Dozen. I am a closeted fan of Cheaper by the Dozen (Cheaper 2 was also good, but not as good. Maybe that’s because I saw it on airplane though.) I made her tell me Bonnie Hunt is as nice as she looks, which she is (duh). I also told her I was recently on a plane w/ Hillary Duff, and I’m pretty sure she’s the only person that’s ever cared about that story.

The screening was one of the most unique venues we’ve had yet in the 50 or so public screenings we’ve had of Pelada. It was in a Methodist church. Like the actual church – people sat in the pews and the movie played on screens that normally play the hymnal lyrics. My Q&A was on an altar. I LOVED this screening. At least half of the audience was over the age of 65 – besides my affinity for senior citizens, it’s my favorite test for Pelada when we have an older crowd watching a film about soccer. I was a little nervous about what the reaction would be, but I was thrilled when it was over. The Q&A lasted longer than ever, and I received more hugs after a screening than I think I ever have.

If you’re in Georgia, go to Hapeville… Charlotte Rentz (the perfect combination of southern sophistication and friendliness) is working hard to put this place on the map, and it’s well worth the visit.

Meet Ryan White

Ryan White's first screening on the Southern Circuit Tour will be hosted by East Carolina University October 7, 2010 at 8:00PM. Ryan is the producer of Pelada.


Ryan White has worked as associate producer for eight-time Emmy winner Sherry Jones. He is a graduate of Duke University's programs in Documentary Studies, Film & Video and Literature. His screen credits include Capitol Crimes, a 90-minute documentary untangling the web of money and corruption surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and Country Boys, a profile following two boys from rural Kentucky through their high school years.