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.