Three More Stops for Girl Model

We're on our way to Auburn, AL to screen Girl Model at the Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts.    We've had 2 great screenings organized by Hapeville Association of Trade & Tourism (Hapeville, GA) and at Presbyterian College (Clinton, SC).  Check out the pics below.

Hapeville audience

Presbyterian College audience

Website: http://www.girlmodelthemovie.com

Facebook: girlmodelmovie

Twitter: @girlmodelmovie

The Journey of Production

Dramatic Road Shot

Gladys Wyant (The Arts Council), David Smith (Film Professor), 

Ashley Sabin (Director), and organizers of the screening

On Thursday The Arts Council of Gainesville, GA organized a screening of Girl Model at the University of North Georgia.  We introduced Girl Model on Valentine’s Day with the following caveat: “If you’re here tonight to see a romantic comedy, then you might want to leave now and go rent one.”

After the screening, David Smith, a professor from the Film Department at University of North Georgia moderated, a great Q&A that lasted about 45 minutes.  It’s always interesting to hear what an audience takes away from our films. This screening was no different.  One man asked, “So, when you make a documentary, you don’t know what the ending will be?” This question provoked a conversation about our process of filming events as they happen in real time with lived experiences. 

We begin our stories with a basic concept, whether it’s Mardi Gras beads, post-Katrina New Orleans, or models, and then follow an event, situation, or person outwards as it unfolds (see, www.carnivalesquefilms.com for our other films).  This mystery of the unknown is what draws us into the story.  We attempt to include this journey during the editing of the story, unfolding in similar ways that we – and our characters – experienced it.

Website: http://www.girlmodelthemovie.com

Facebook: girlmodelmovie

Twitter: @girlmodelmovie

Girl Model not a Documentary?

Painting credit: Southern Landscape, 1965, Oil on Canvas, Benny Andrews (1930-2006 Born in Plainview, Morgan County, Georgia; maintained studios in NYC, Litchfield, CT and Athens, GA; died in Brooklyn, NY

“Your film is not a documentary.”  This is the statement that I took away from the screening last night at the Morris Museum of Art.  This thought provoked me to ask the audience, “What is a documentary?”  The audience quickly chimed in and said, “dry, talking head, and thesis driven”.  If we analyze our film with that criteria then yes, Girl Model is not a documentary.  As a filmmaker however, I hesitate to fully agree with this statement.  I like the principles of documentary whereby we are documenting a reality and exploring that reality through visual narrative storytelling. 

Perhaps what needs to change is how documentary is represented in major media outlets.  I am hopeful that in the future, there will be a more diverse understanding of documentary storytelling.  This will only be possible with screening series like Southern Circuit, film festivals, and broadcasters who will take risks.  Prior to the screening, as I walked around the Morris Museum, I felt the paintings and sculptures were documenting a past, an emotional tone, and/or poetic human characteristics.  Yes indeed, the paintings were more like impressions of reality.  Perhaps by including documentary under a more artistic umbrella, the stereotype of the dry documentary will change.  Filmmakers need to challenge and encourage one another in order to deepen our visual palette.    

Website: http://www.girlmodelthemovie.com
Facebook: girlmodelmovie
Twitter: @girlmodelmovie

Meet Ashley Sabin and David Redmon

Welcome Ashley Sabin and David Redmon to the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers with their film, Girl Model! Ashley and David will begin their tour in Augusta, GA at the Morris Museum of Art. The screening will be Tuesday, February 12. Don't miss your chance to listen to Ashley and David talk about their work afterwards.

Girl Model will also be touring in the following communities:

Clemson, SC

Gainesville, GA

Hapeville, GA

Clinton, SC

Auburn, AL

Greenville, NC

Long Beach, MS

More about Ashley and David: David Redmon and Ashley Sabin have produced, directed, edited and photographed five feature documentaries: Mardi Gras: Made in China, Kamp Katrina, Intimidad, Invisible Girlfriend, and Girl Model. They have built a loyal following for their intimate and intricately crafted documentaries, won a variety of film festival awards, and have seen their work aired on television throughout the world. Redmon received his PhD in sociology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. He was a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University. Sabin received her BA in Art History from the Pratt Institute.

Recent Accolades for Upcoming Circuit Films:

A Matter of Taste is nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming. The News and Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented Monday, October 1, 2012. Best of luck to Sally Rowe and her team!

Girl Model filmmakers, Ashley Sabin and David Redmon, successfully raised funds via their Kickstarter campaign to begin a national educational tour with their film. See all the details here.

Eating Alabama won Top Grit Award at Indie Grits 2012. Congrats to filmmaker, Andrew Grace!

The Entertainers won the Audience Award at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Congrats to filmmaker, Michael Zimmer!

Small, Beautifully Moving Parts won an Audience Award for Best American Independent Film at the River Run Film Festival 2012. Congrats to filmmakers, Lisa Robinson and Annie Howell!

See all of these films and more on the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers this season 2012/2013 in different locations around the southeast. To see all the films and where they are screening go to the Southern Circuit webpages.

Mobile, AL

It’s been a deeply profound experience and a true honor to be part of the Southern Film Circuit. Ashley and I have met so many wonderful people who we’d otherwise not meet: projectionists, aspiring filmmakers, waiters and waitresses, clerks, and residents of the towns who enthusiastically show up to simply say “Thanks for showing your film!” Last night in Mobile, AL 150 people packed into the library to see Kamp Katrina. Charlie, curator and director of the event, eagerly greeted us with a smiling face and then thoughtfully introduced our film at 6:45pm (we arrived at 6:30pm, just in time for the introduction). During the film, Ashley and I left for a quick stroll down Dauphine St. and soon came across a small bookstore. Inside we met the owner and casually remarked how Mobile “looked like” New Orleans. The owner, obviously taken aback by our ignorance, kindly corrected us by explaining that Mobile was a city before New Orleans existed, and that New Orleans imitated Mobile’s architecture. I’ve read that the first Mardi Gras in the U.S. was celebrated in Mobile (and influenced by the French) back in the early 1800s, and then found its way to New Orleans. Recently, however, I read another book that provides evidence of the first Mardi Gras celebration existing in the 1700s in the area of Philadelphia (influenced by Caribbean culture). Either way, downtown Mobile is absolutely beautiful with its small coffee shops, local restaurants, and friendly people. We were only able to stay downtown for a few hours before we had to prepare for the next day’s screening in Baton Rouge.

Montgomery

DR 3-17-2008 During the editing of Kamp Katrina, Tim
Messler recommended that Ashley and I watch a
documentary titled Seventeen, a film made in Muncie,
Indiana for PBS that never actually premiered on TV
because of its controversial subject matter (nor was
it released - we were able to watch a bootleg copy in
NYC). Seventeen is the kind of film that I aspire to
make one day. After researching the filmmakers - Joel
DeMott and Jeff Kreines - I came across another
documentary they created titled Demon Lover Diary
(which I've never seen). Like Seventeen, Demon Lover
found its way into obscurity, never having a release
in the US for reasons unknown to me to this day. A few
months later, Jeff and Joel's name came up during a
film festival panel. Later that day I looked up their
names on google and found an article that explained
during the making of Demon Lover Diary, Ted Nugent
chased Joel and Jeff out of town at gunpoint, all
which was captured on film. The article ended by
saying that the couple had not made another film and
they were living somewhere outside of Montgomery, AL
inventing new cameras.

Jump ahead one year. Ashley and I are in Montgomery,
AL, getting ready to screen Kamp Katrina at the Capri
Theatre when Martin (formerly known as "Milton"), the programmer, was giving us a
tour of the town and mentioned Joel and Jeff in a
passing conversation. It turns out that Jeff and Joel
sometimes show up for screenings at the Capri. Low and
behold, two hours later a man with a greying beard
walks into the Capri and Martin (aka: Milton) leans over to me and
says, "That's Jeff." After the screening - which was
well attended by about 45-50 people - Jeff took three
hours of his time to sit and talk with us about his
years of filmmaking, the making of his and Joel's
films, and how they ended up in Montgomery. Indeed, it
was a major highlight of the Southern Film Circuit's
tour! Next, we're off to Mobile, AL for another
screening tonight.

Days 2 & 3

It's been a whirlwind of activity in the last few days on the Southern Film Circuit. We're currently in the Common Ground coffee shop, taking a moment to write from Beaufort, SC, one of the most beautiful and romantic Southern cities we've visited so far! The entire historic district is laced with colorful three story homes surrounded by Spanish Moss in a picturesque quality that would make any DIY movie look like a million bucks. Our screening last night was PACKED - the largest audience so far (and everyone stayed for the Q&A). Every venue has been well attended by inquisitive and understanding people who patiently sit through Kamp Katrina and then asked direct, honest questions afterwards. This morning Ashley and I had a delicious breakfast (blueberry pancakes with coffee) and then took a 3 hour stroll alongside the sandy beach with our camera in hand, capturing brown pelicans diving into the ocean to catch fish. We also found a few people to interview and they eagerly shared stories about shark teeth and David Lynch; we hope to include this footage in our upcoming film.

If you ever have a chance to visit Columbia, SC, be CERTAIN to find the Nickelodeon Theatre and visit LARRY HEMBREE. How shall I describe Larry? Perhaps I shouldn't. He's the most outgoing, blunt, energetic, friendly and exuberant person I've met in the last 10 years. After almost attacking Ashley and I with friendliness, he then asked us a million questions, made us feel at home, gave us a walking tour of Columbia, brought us to a bar (and paid for EVERYTHING after greeting almost everyone who entered) and then invited us into his home and let us sleep in his extra bedroom. He woke us up early in the morning, prepared coffee and directions, and then set up another screening before we left. Yes, Larry is the kind of person who defines a town's mood and in a way that makes someone never forget their experiences. Plus, his theater is one of the most intimate spaces we've visited (similar to the Rag Tag Theater in Columbia, MO). However, the Nickelodeon is about to shut down and reopen a few blocks down in a newly renovated 1940s building with two screens and a $5 million dollar renovation! I'd like to keep writing about our experiences in Columbia and Larry's gregariousness, but the coffee shop is closing in just a few minutes and we need to leave before they turn off the internet. More to come soon!

Athens, Georgia

Right now Ashley and I are in Athens, GA as part of the Southern Film Circuit. Tomorrow we drive to Columbia, SC. Last night, however, we left Austin at 1:00am (after telling Joel Heller Happy Birthday) and drove all night to Mansfield where we dozed into a 45 minute nap before waking up in a rushed daze to catch an early morning flight to Atlanta. We rented a car in Atlanta and then drove to Athens where Kamp Katrina is screening at the Georgia Museum of Art! [note: we JUST completed the Q&A with a fabulous audience who were both disturbed and intrigued by what was in the film (and what was left out). It was one of the most honest Q&A's so far]. We are delighted that Allen chose to program Kamp Katrina as part of the screening series and can’t think of another tour that we’d rather be part of. Thankfully, the Southern Film Circuit has stepped in to fill a needed gap in community involvement by providing a film series that focuses on storytelling as opposed to putting forth a political agenda or reinforcing a particular ideology. It’s also beyond our belief that Kamp Katrina is still finding locations in which to screen, colleges are programming our film(s), and teachers are using it in their classes.

All of the above mentioned events seemingly come out of nowhere. For instance, my claim of catching an “early flight to Atlanta” and “renting a car and droving to Athens” are a bit misleading. Hardworking people who care about the function of the organization they work for set up those events, of course. All the car rentals, tours, food, and flights were arranged ahead of time. Therefore, I think it’s realistic to describe me and Ashley as “dependent” filmmakers as opposed to “independent” filmmakers. In truth, no one does it alone. We (and other filmmakers) are dependent on organizations to secure screening venues, people who raise money to show Kamp Katrina (and our other films), fly us in for a workshop or Q&A, donate their time and energy for feedback, provide finishing, startup funds, or stipends, create and audience, and offer a much needed social and psychological support network for everyone involved in the complicated world of documentary storytelling.

The Southern Film Circuit provides all of the above functions and much, much more for filmmakers and audiences. Please check out their organization and welcome a filmmaker (or film) into your hometown, or volunteer a local venue to screen a documentary or two. Inviting people over to watch documentaries or sponsoring a screening in your hometown or neighborhood is a fantastic way to become engaged.

Getting Ready

Tomorrow morning Ashley and I leave for a 10 day trip in the southern US to show Kamp Katrina! Right now we're in Austin, TX at the SXSW Film Festival preparing to screen our third documentary feature titled Intimidad. More updates soon regarding Kamp Katrina, the visits to various cities, and how people respond to our film. Feel free to email us with questions: mgmadeinchina@yahoo.com or ashley.sabin@gmail.com