From filmmakers Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling of THIS AIN’T NO MOUSE MUSIC!:
According to weather reports, we expected non-stop rain to greet us in Georgia and Alabama, but we met with just gray skies and pleasantly cool weather. We launched our Southern Circuit Tour for THIS AIN’T NO MOUSE MUSIC! after lunch in Atlanta with Teresa Hollingsworth at the appropriately folk art-filled restaurant R Thomas. The first stop of our Tour was just an hour away in the historic town of Madison. The screening was held in the beautiful and carefully preserved heritage grade school that now serves as the Madison-Cultural Center. We were particularly impressed with the theater. The Q & A needed no prompting, as people peppered us with questions after the film. Many of them stuck around for the reception after.
Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
Maureen at Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
Southern Circuit THIS AIN'T NO MOUSE MUSIC! Poster in Madison
Madison Theatre
Stop Two was Hapeville, GA, just an hour back down the road, a town whose economy serves the huge Atlanta airport nearby. The screening venue was a re-purposed charming white wooden church. A couple of local restaurants provided snacks and wine before the film. One woman walked in wearing an Arhoolie hoodie. A man told us he’d spent probably $1000 at Chris Strachwitz’ Down Home Music store back in El Cerrito, CA. By the end of the reception, the place was packed and required extra chairs to accommodate the very diverse audience. We were met afterwards by a standing ovation. Regulars kept saying it was the best film they’d seen and the first time they’d witnessed a standing ovation at one of their screenings. Needless to say we were delighted. A lot of people bought the DVD, as well. We got a downpour of rain that night, but it didn’t last too long.
Church in Hapeville
Audience at Hapeville
Audience members wearing Arhoolie hoodie
Hapeville audience members
Next day we drove four hours to the town of Sheffield, AL, right next door to both Tuscumbia, the birthplace of Helen Keller, and Muscle Shoals, the site of the legendary Fame and Muscle Shoals Sounds recording studios. We visited both before the screening at the beautifully restored Ritz Theater in downtown Sheffield. The hors d’hoevres at the reception were especially delicious. There was time to have good conversations with folks before the film. The BluRay looked particularly good on their nice big screen. The theater board members commented that even though some of their crowds have been small, the Southern Circuit Tour films have had a big impact on their audiences.
As a North Carolinian, I always feel pretty welcome in Georgia. In fact, my Southern Circuit tour screenings there this month allowed me to combine two of my greatest passions: film and food. As the director of “A Chef’s Life” on PBS, I had to make two extra stops for Georgia eats based on recommendations from Chef Vivian Howard (see photos on twitter @docusouth). But this trip was about showing Private Violence and engaging communities in conversation about a very complex societal problem - domestic violence. I was renewed and energized by the screenings in Madison and Hapeville, and both locales were warm and welcoming. For me, the unique part of these particular screening events was the bonus of seeing the domestic violence advocacy community come out and have a chance to share what they do with their community members. I think many people could go their whole life without even knowing that domestic violence advocates are out there fighting every day. I got to know this reality very well while making the film.
What also gets me every time I screen Private Violence is how engaged people are, especially once that light bulb goes off - that moment when they realize that the “Why didn’t she just leave?” mentality is not where to start unpacking this issue. And, when that happens, and people feel safe to ask questions, they want to know what they can do, how they can help, where we can go from here. They want to know how to volunteer in their local community. It’s not just batterers who need to change – it is our culture, our justice system. They want to hear perspective on why abusers aren’t held accountable (answer: because they CAN and DO get away with this). But I believe this can change. And I want others to believe that, and work towards it, as well. As one attendee said, “It was truly amazing to see Deanna transform in this film. It was hard to watch, but it is something we all need to watch. She became a victor.” Thank you, South Arts, for making these conversations possible and thanks to everyone who came out in Georgia.
I guess it could be depressing when an audience came up to you after a screening of your film, and told you that your film made him depressed. The stories of young people struggling to make it in showbiz was too close to home, he said. He was a college student studying filmmaking at West Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC) and the prospect of becoming a successful filmmaker was looking remote.
I quoted a line from the veteran musical director featured in my film - "Only those who really want this can survive" - and wished him good luck in figuring out the industry, and himself.
And then I was elated. I had done my job right, I thought, that I could move an American youth this way with a story about Chinese kids feeling the same stress in the faraway Beijing. What more could we ask for as filmmakers telling stories close to our hearts?
In Madison GA, much younger audiences watched the film. Fifth graders. They were into performing arts and couldn't stop talking about the film after the screening at the beautiful Madison-Morgan Cultural Center. They had a long road ahead of them, and their optimism was innocent, and pure.
In Hapeville, Georgia, the city held the screening at The Historic Christ Church Building & Carriage House. The atmosphere felt like a cozy community party. One audience said afterwards that The Road to Fame was his first time watching a subtitled film. Now he realized that he'd missed out on a lot of good foreign films.
The Southern Circuit Tour was an intense experience with lots of flying, driving and meeting different people from different states. But for an independent filmmaker, it was such a rare opportunity to see the beautiful land in the south, to meet curious and engaging audiences who embrace good storytelling regardless of differences in language, culture and geography. Many asked me during the tour when I could be back with my next film. I replied soon, hopefully soon.
We have a few updates from filmmaker Chris Eska, currently touring his film The Retrieval on the Southern Circuit:
Suwanee, Georgia
My tour began with a little taste of home since the City of Suwanee partners with the Texas theater chain The Movie Tavern, which serves real food while you enjoy the film. Toni Shrewsbury, Adam Edge, and Lynne DeWilde all greeted me at the swanky bar inside the theater, and their Suwanee hospitality woke me up from my non-stop travel daze. After the screening, the discussion was lively--every single person in the audience asked at least one question and we actually ran out of time! It was a perfect kick-off to the trip, and it has me excited for more.
Madison, Georgia
The trip from Suwanee to Madison went far beyond the suburbs of Atlanta into what reminded me of the rural South of my youth. I was compelled to stop more than once to take photos along the scenic back roads. Driving into Madison felt like coming home since I also grew up in a Texas town of about 5,000 people full of beautiful late 19th century homes and historical markers. The screening took place in the incredible Madison Morgan Cultural Center, which is a large converted school house from the 1890’s. Thanks to Rebecca Bonas for coordinating and to the African American Museum for sponsoring the reception! Over 50 people stayed for an extended Q&A that also delved deep into my previous works and what it means to be an indie filmmaker.
Hapeville, Georgia
It seemed like I was driving back into Atlanta, but Hapeville is a unique small town that just happens to be surrounded by the sprawl of the city. It was a beautiful spring day with blossoming trees and the city of Hapeville hosted an outdoor reception (complete with live music) that really brought out an impressive crowd—over 70 people including the mayor! The screening was on the grounds of a beautiful city park inside a renovated church from 1895, complete with intricate woodwork and real pews. This made me initially feel like a preacher droning on at the beginning of the post-film discussion, but once the floor was opened to questions, the audience became very engaged with curiosity and many thoughtful comments. It was a truly wonderful end to the Georgia leg of my tour, and I hope to come back soon.
Lake Charles, Louisiana
From the moment I stepped on the plane, it felt like I was entering another country. When I arrived in Lafayette and began driving to Lake Charles, southern Louisiana did not disappoint: Zydeco and swamp pop on the radio, endless marshes, French language, green as far as the eye can see, and joyous people. Before the screening, I stopped by the Downtown Crawfish Festival to hear some live Zydeco, see a crawfish eating contest, and get my picture taken with Miss Crawfish! The screening at Banners at McNeese was also a huge success, and I enjoyed hearing about local life and history in Lake Charles as much as the audience enjoyed hearing about filmmaking.
An update from filmmaker Jan Krawitz, touring her film Perfect Strangers on the Southern Circuit. This entry is from March 21 and 22, 2014.
I was a bit late arriving at the pre-screening reception held outside the restored church where the Perfect Strangers would be shown. A wrong turn landed me in the Atlanta airport and I felt a bit like Charlie on the MTA (an antiquated reference, I know...).
The road leading in to the airport was different than the one leading out so I ended up on yet another interstate headed in the wrong direction. Fortunately, when I arrived at the reception a half hour late, no one seemed to notice – or care—that I hadn't yet arrived. I was introduced by Charlotte -- the representative from Hapeville who attends the annual meeting hosted by South Arts at which the Southern Circuit hosts collectively decide which films they will screen that year. She told me that she is a big fan of Perfect Strangers and had done some outreach to local people who she thought might be particularly interested in the subject matter. As a result, there was a professor who teaches a course in biomedical ethics and several of her students in attendance.
The screening was held in a small, recently restored church that had been moved to a sight in a local park. It was a lovely setting in which to watch the film. Now that I have sat through it three nights in a row, I find myself doing re-edits in my head, thinking about where a voiceover could be trimmed, a shot rearranged, etc. It’s always the case that the perspective of offered by distance and time, coupled with the experience of watching a film repeatedly with an audience creates post-decisional dissonance about some of my editing choices. But my film mentality will prevail – no more changes! The audience was again populated by older people (mainly in their sixties and seventies) and they found Ellie’s character quite appealing. I have felt a bit uneasy on this tour when she says her pejorative “Dick Cheney” line because I don’t want to offend people in the audience and I can’t make assumptions about their political persuasion… I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s screening at McNeese State University as it will help me understand how a younger audience responds to the film’s message and narrative.
March 22 Lake Charles, LA
I decided to take the scenic route to Lake Charles after flying in to the Lafayette airport this morning. Driving the backroads of Louisiana, I happened upon a local festival in Lake Arthur, replete with classic cars, Cajun food (all for free!), and a local band playing zydeco music. I wish I could have stayed longer but the circuitous route I had taken made me mindful of the time. I arrived in Lake Charles, checked into the hotel, and fortunately, checked my email before heading out. Perfect Strangers got local press, but not on its own merits: http://www.kplctv.com/story/25046382/msu-banners-film-presentation-cancelled-due-to-power-outage. The screening was cancelled due to a power outage at the University. Ever onward back to Lafayette for Monday’s screening…
The latest update from George Gage, touring his film Bidder 70 onthe Southern Circuit. I started out in Hapeville, GA, which is a cute little town. It is unbelievable that only a few miles out of Atlanta it’s almost seems like a throwback to the 1950’s. The venue was a cute little white church with a white steeple. I was met by a nice host, Allen O’Brien, who was very enthusiastic about having my film, Bidder 70 there. We had a good screening and a good crowd, and a very engaging Question and Answer session. All in all, my residency in Hapeville was very successful. Then I went on to McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was actually a small crowd. I was a little bit upset because at McNeese college, where the venue was, there’s an art program. Usually we get the local art students and social activist types attending the screenings, but I don’t think there were any students here, and I was disappointed. I just hope that young people and future generations start coming out to events like this and start coming out to movies because you can’t get the whole message by going on Facebook or streaming it online. When you have that one on one with the director or the protagonist of the film, I think you get so much more out of it. Again, the host, Ladonna McKnight was very nice.
Robert Redford wearing a Bidder 70 hat on the set of his 2012 film, The Company You Keep. Source: FlynetPictures.com
Something funny happened at this screening. I usually sell merchandise after the movie, including Bidder 70 hats, which Robert Redford made sort of famous by wearing it everywhere. This gentleman came up to me and I said asked how much it was to buy a hat. His wife said, "Oh he has so many hats!" and this gentleman agreed with her, and began to put the hat back on the merchandise table. But then, I just picked the hat back up put it right on his head and said, "Well now you have one more; that will be 20 dollars." And amazingly enough, he reached into his pocket and gave me the $20! I've learned that sometimes when the crowds are slim you have to push a little bit!
George Gage at the Movie Tavern
From Lake Charles, I then went on to the city of Suwanee, GA. The evening started out with a very nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse, with our host, Tony Shrewberry and Councilman Dan Foster. Dan took some really nice pictures of the theatre, which was called the Movie Tavern. The theatre is very interesting because it’s a dinner theatre, so people can sit at a table and watch the movie with a fresh cocktail and food as they enjoy the movie. Again, we had a nice crowd and a good Q&A session.
George Gage at the Movie Tavern
My next stop on the tour, in Alexandria, Louisiana was tough. The movie was screened at a giant venue. The theatre had 1,200 seats, and the audience was small. One member of the audience drove all the way up from New Orleans to see the movie! In fact, he’s going to be there again tonight to see the movie again! My next stop on tour, and where I’m reporting from now, Lafayette, Louisiana, has been great so far. I just had a radio interview at NPR (National Public Radio), which will hopefully reach out to the college students in the area. I really tried out to shout out to them. I said, “It’s really important that we get young people in the theatre. It’s important that young people get the message of Bidder 70 and the message of Timothy DeChristopher.” I've been very optimistic that we’ll have a nice crowd tonight that will include college students as well as what seems to be our average age group, which is people around age 55 or 60.
[Update from the following day] - Well I did get some people to the screening in Lafayette because of the interview on NPR. There were quite a few mature people there that heard the interview and were inspired to come see the film. But again, no young people came, even though Lafayette is the city that the University of Louisiana is in. On a brighter note, there were a lot of members there from the Sierra Club. During the Q&A not only were the Sierra Club members very actively participating in questions about Timothy DeChristopher’s actions and Bidder 70 and everything else, they also got a discussion going of some of the local issues here in Lafayette, about some issues important to Louisiana and the Sierra Club. It was an inspiring, mature “round table” type discussion. The venue itself in Lafayette was an old historic building with excellent projection equipment. The surrounding area was really interesting! The buildings were like little museum pieces! The building where we actually held the screening was a really cool venue. Hope you find this report interesting and that something exciting will happen tonight in Madison!
The latest update from John Beck, currently touring his film Harvest:
I went from one 1895 architectural treasure to another, going from the Madison Morgan Cultural Center to Hapeville's restored 19th century Christ Church Building.
Amid the hustle and bustle of Atlanta, with trains running through town, bordering highways and planes flying in and out of the airport only 5 min away, Hapeville is a tiny, easily overlooked treasure.
Big thanks to Allie O'Brien and the gang with the City of Hapeville who choreographed every detail from the top-hatted piano player to the wine and Volare appetizers reception.
My favorite comment came from Mayor Allan Hallman who described the tourist grape camp shown in the film as "It sounds like something a redneck would do, convincing those people to pay $2000 to pick grapes!"
I also enjoyed talking to a woman who had picked peaches in Georgia and perfectly related to the grape pickers in the film.
The next night, at McNeese State in Lake Charles. La, we were up against a football game the same night, but a devoted following still came out to see the film at the beautiful Shearman Arts Center - offering what was by far best projection & sound on this trip so far. It probably helps that Bill, the projectionist makes his own wine and beer (and even ferments satsumas & grapefruit!).
Banners series organizers Patricia Prudhomme and LaDonna McKnight ordered a case of the prize-winning Foppiano petite syrah for the reception.
I've been doing trivia wine giveaways during the Q&A's. One of the questions involves the burly black-bearded winemaker Paul Foppiano and his resemblance to former Giants pitcher Brian Wilson. The McNeese St. history professor who got it right let me on a little trivia of his own - Wilson played college ball nearby at LSU.
Tonight I'm screening in the living history museum at Vermilionville in Lafayette. Come on out ya'll!
From Kenny Dalsheimer: The final leg of my Georgia tour took me to the City of Hapeville. Ilearned from city leaders that Hapeville is its own, independent city,not a suburb of Atlanta; and there is an interesting history about howthe city took shape sandwiched between the ever expanding Atlanta, amassive International airport and neighboring counties. It was a beautiful evening with a reception featuring a a jazz vocal trio. Although my time was short, I did hear about some of the arts initiatives taking root in the city, each of which will enrich civic life and provide another route to economic development. Another Hapeville fact - Chick-fil-A’s first restaurant is located right in the center of town.
The screening venue, an 1894 church, has an interesting history of being moved twice within the city limits. It’s the oldest church structure standing in Hapeville and is a wonderful, intimate venue for a film screening.
The town was dressed up with several Southern Circuit Announcements...
Hapeville is, according to friends who live in Atlanta, where the airport is... Dear friends in Atlanta, please drive a little south west and find out how much more is there! A tiny town with some new cute cafes and restaurants, as well as historical buildings and a thriving community who made it out to a Saturday night screening!
Tech Check in the (former) church.
This cute little town was an excellent place to screen STRONG! The screening was preceded with a reception with life food and delicious local catering. The screening was well attended by a contingent of Southern Circuit fans as well as youth and some athletes- And – quite an honor to me and the film – introduced by Hapeville's own Mayor Hallman.
The city building where the screening took place is actually a refurbished church – built in the late 1800s, and carefully restored to its original architectural glory. Although the building no longer serves as a church, it was odd and interesting experience to see the audience seated in actual pews and to conduct a Q&A from the "pulpit," so to speak.
Mayor Hallman introduces the event...
The audience was very interested to know about Cheryl's local activities – and to realize that Mary Todd now rolls through the streets of nearby Atlanta or Cheryl works at Savannah College of Art and Design. I encouraged them to look out for her when they are in her neighborhood.
