MILKING THE RHINO barnstorms AL, GA and SC (again)

Well have I been the delinquent blogger!. I’ll try to make small amends quickly..

When we last left our hero he was driving headlong into Ida. I think I hit her right around the Alabama border. Fortunately she’d tapered off to a standard-issue deluge. Only side effects were some stressful driving and some Southern weather worse than that in Chicago. Allen, next time on the circuit I’m going back to March!

Auburn was a treat and a half. Hardly any time to see the town. But the beautiful, intimate screening room at the new-ish art museum had some of the best acoustics (and pretty nice image too) of anyplace I’ve ever screened. When audio and image are this good, I get to remember all the blood, sweat and tears that went into preserving every bit of technical juice we could during finishing (Thank you Liz Kaar!!!!) Many of those details are lost at so many screenings, but when they’re there, it’s easy to feel that all the pain was worth it. The audience was super engaged and engaging; and when the long-running Q&A bumped up against the limits of the poor security guard who’d been there since 7am, a woman in the crowd invited us to her home nearby for a post-screening soiree. Fed me dinner and whisky too! I could get accustomed to this southern hospitality thing. My bad for not thinking of taking out my camera, or I’d share my new-found friends.

Backtracked the next day (through post-Ida again) to Augusta, GA. The grand Imperial Theatre, which opened in early 1900s with Charlie Chaplin, hosted the next show. My theory about the inverse ratio of room size to crowd size was borne out here: by far the biggest theater and the smallest crowd. Still, very enjoyable thanks to Rick Pukis (a former Chicagoan who teaches at Augusta State Univ) for bringing some of his film production students. Plus the BIG screen and BIG sound is always fun.

Which brings me to Thursday night’s unique event at the art museum/planetarium at South Carolina State. First (and last) time I’ve ever seen my film projected on a planetarium ceiling. Gave me a bit of a neckache but the novelty was certainly worth it. Here’s where my room size/crowd theory collapsed. It was a small room, but mostly filled with students from this historically black college. It’s been one of my constant complains with RHINO screenings, that we made a film about Africa but we’re drawing relatively few African Americans to come see it at state-side screenings. So this stop on the tour was gratifying. The discussion was great. And afterwards another real treat: museum director Ellen Zisholtz took us on a tour of exhibits AND the archive. Got to see not only James Brown’s clothing, but recent donations of some amazing African artifacts, Plus a collection of original Polaroids that Andy Warhol took as studies for his celebrity portrait prints. What an amazing job that Ellen, Harriet Hilton, and the rest of the staff are doing at this very cool place.

Me with IP Stanback Museum & Planetarium director, Ellen Zisholz

Spent part of the off-day today yesterday hiking in the Congaree National Park, to flex the legs and add some nature to my culture.

I feel like a horse smelling the barn. Just two shows to go, and I’m looking forward (I hope) to the warmth of Florida. Tonight: Jacksonville, tomorrow, further south to Stuart.

Also, HELLO to Joshua Weinstein with whom I can see I’m now sharing the blog. I saw your film at DocReview in Warsaw, Joshua. Welcome to the tour!

Over and out

-David Simpson

orangeburg (in progress)

I'm sitting down the hall from the Planetarium at South Carolina State, which is where they're presently projecting my films. It's a pretty interesting place to have the stuff shown--everyone's reclined at a 45 degree angle staring up at the ceiling--and I almost wish I was in there with them. (The fact that I'm showing my films about 40 times in two months though is a pretty compelling reason to keep me out of there.) My hosts here have been really accommodating so far & someone (or several people) have conspired to fill the room to capacity. I was so disoriented by the giant planetarium projector in the middle of the room that I didn't get a read for the crowd, so I'm curious to see how the Q&A goes. I'll fill you in when I next get a chance to post, but I don't know when that'll be, because I've got a plane to catch in the a.m. & will be racing back to Columbia tonight to spend a little more time with friends there. (I seem to be using the verb "racing" a lot lately.)

I'm not entirely sure that I've figured out my accommodations for the remaining stops on my tour, so I may start adding an "adopt a filmmaker" spiel to my intro if I can't find a last-minute hotel room. (All the venues actually sent me info ahead of time, but I've just been so busy that I haven't confirmed the reservations yet. Hope that's not a problem...)

Time for me to sign some posters. (Really.)
R.

Steven Ross - Day 5

I leave Clemson and head to the center of the state to Columbia, SC. As I approach Columbia, the state capital, I get a little hungry and prompted by many billboards, I stop for barbeque at the well-advertised Maurice's Bar BQ. After placing my order at the counter - it is a big barn of a restaurant - I take note of a display case and books for sale. Unwittingly, I have landed in the establishment, part of a major chain, of one Maurice Bessinger. In West Columbia, he opened his flagship Piggie Park restaurant, the headquarters of Maurice's Gourmet Barbeque, in 1953. Outside that restaurant, along with an enormous sign proclaiming Maurice's has the "world best barbeque," there's a big Confederate flag, biblical quotes and a sign proclaiming Buchanan for President. Go inside and you'll find conservative political and religious tracts, including one claiming blacks were blessed to have been brought to America in slavery. And I thought shopping at WalMarts was politically incorrect.

In the evening, my films will screen at the Nickolodeon Theater, Columbia's sole art cinema house. Small and comfortable, it sits a few hundred yards from the Capital Building. Some may recall the controversy a few years back when the Confederate Flag was ordered off of the top that building. I am met by Larry Hembree who has been running the Nickelodeon since 1979. Our time together is short as he is off to catch a flight to New York where a friend/filmmaker is premiering his new film of the legendary Brother Theodore, a monologuist and comedian known for rambling, stream of consciousness dialogues which he called "stand up tragedy." Larry leaves me in good hands, his new assistant, Andy Smith.

I meet Andy across the street at the local hot spot restaurant, Hunters and Gatherers. I discover that Andy got his M.A. in Film Studies at UCLA several years ago. Eschewing the offer to continue in UCLA's Ph.D program, he, a South Carolinean, decided to return home. What a great spirit he has. After being the primary assistant in the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor (he just lost by a mere 3000 votes - not bad in this neck of the "red" woods), he has signed on to be part of the new Nickelodeon. This non-profit local gem of an enterprise has been fighting the fight to bring interesting films for a long time. And now, they have received state funding to move the theater into bigger and better digs on the other side of the Capital. There will be two screens and the potential for really growing the film culture in Columbia is there. This year, Andy is launching a new film festival at the Nickelodeon, the IndyGrits festival. My guess is that in five years, Columbia will have a small, but special name as an independent film venue.

At the screening, there is a brother and sister who had spent a substantial part of their childhood growing up in Monrovia. Their parents were doing missionary work and had been part of a radio station, ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa). ELWA was a major source of independent and balanced news for all segments of the population before being bombed by President Doe in early July 1990. This station was also a training center for most of Liberia's prominent broadcasters. I am no longer surprised by who you might meet on the road when you show your film.

After the screening, Andy and I go for a beer. We walk by the Capital, past the large statue of Strom Thurmond, and have a final beer together.

Off to Beaufort on the coast.

SR

100% Humidity

100% Humidity. That's today's weather report here in Beaufort, SC. I'm feeling wilted and parched and it's only 9am. Which is why I am in the local air-conditioned library to revive before getting a look at the outer islands.

http://www.penncenter.com
[The Penn Center - the site of one of the country's first schools for freed slaves and one of the most significant African American historical and cultural institutions in existence today.]

Last night's screening at Technical College of the Low Country had okay attendance, although the large auditorium was not as full as expected, given all the advance press. Of all the host organizations on the tour, The Arts Council of Beaufort County has done the most aggressive job of getting word out to local publications. The film was featured in several local papers (with my picture no less), and a followup story will appear later. There's even a display here at the library with The Southern Circuit films prominently featured. But it was a Friday night, and "Learning to Swallow" is not exactly the first choice for a date flick.

That said, the audience questions were terrific. One man, who I believe is married to a board member and got dragged along to the screening, mentioned he was pleasantly surprised at how much he was engaged by the film. "I didn't fall asleep" he said with a sly grin. Thank you for that sir!

Earlier in the day, 100 students from Bluffton High School grilled me about what it is like to be a filmmaker -- how much it costs, what was it like documenting a friend's descent, and what kind of camera did I use? I love talking with high school students because they're always so bold in their question-asking. An astonishing three of them were already thinking about attending my alma mater Columbia College in Chicago. One kid had already raised $8600 for a narrative feature! I nearly asked him to produce my next film.

Yesterday's drive from Columbia to Beaufort was a bit disturbing unfortunately. I passed through Branchville SC where they were setting up some sort of train festival. But it appeared to be more of a Confederate flag celebration. They were freakin' everywhere. One vendor even had baby "one-sies" emblazoned with Confederate flags. Ick. I was further distressed when I tried to save a lost beagle running down a desolate stretch of Highway 21. I turned around and went back to get him, but he bolted into the thick woods. I called and waited, but he never came back. Later today I will drive the same highway back to Orangeburg. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for him.