It's a wrap -- 'How to Make Movies at Home'

From Morgan Nichols:

My time on the Southern Tour has been over for a few weeks, and I still can't get it out of my mind!  I fell in love with so many cities and campuses (and, frankly, people) that I don't know what to do with it all.  I think the best part was all the time I got to spend talking with young people and teaching workshops.  It was really incredible to see this generation in action.  They're surely the Southern Circuit filmmakers of tomorrow.  I have such great respect and admiration for Teresa and Patty and all the coordinators who make this possible.  Such a crazy thing to try and pull off, and it worked perfectly from beginning to end!

Morgan Nichols & 'How to Make Movies at Home' -- On Screen & in the Classroom

From Morgan Nichols

One thing that's easy:  connecting with the warm-hearted people at the colleges and universities on the Southern Circuit.

One thing that's hard:  finding a Blu-Ray scratch repair kit on the back roads of South Carolina.

Yeah, I can't tell you how it happened but we only got one projection out of the spanking-new Blue-Ray disk before it was fatally scratched.  Luckily, if there's one thing I know about cinema it's that a good story is far more important than High Definition!  So far these audiences have been engaged and engrossed (or so they tell me) and that's 

more important than having a few extra pixels in the frame.  

The workshops I've been teaching have also been a hit.  

At ETSU we spent two and a half hours doing a lighting workshop in their great tv studio.  Just a few students but a whole lot of craft - we ended up going beyond lighting and talking about lens and framing as well.  By the end, each student took a turn setting up a shot that would use light and camera placement to depict a specific kind of character.  Then we went to Quizno's and debated the Coen brothers and which was the best Batman movie.  Awesome.

At Auburn, thirty students attended a class where I gave a presentation on the unique form of directorless improvisational filmmaking (called lo-film) that I've been developing over the last decade+.  The lecture culminated in a brainstorming session where we collectively devised a whole film idea that we could shoot in the beautiful museum we were in.  It was bonkers, but great fun!

At Clemson I presented that same lo-film talk in a one-on-one conversation with professor Sarah Lauro, which we taped for future use.  Sarah was one of several fantastic hosts I've encountered, and we used every minute of our time talking about the political implications of zombie films, which Wes Anderson films were our faves (mine's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  You heard me.) and about a million other things.

At Presbyterian I taught 25 students the basic vocabulary of film, and then they broke into groups and made one-shot movies with iPads.  Watching the super-short films was a hoot, and we all wished we'd had a little more time.

At each school the Q&A's have been fun.  Here's a taste of what happened when I pass the FlipCam around the audience:

  http://vimeo.com/74414384

Fall, Film and Football - 2013-2014 Southern Circuit Filmmakers on the Road

Summer is over for all practical purposes, folks. I’m not complaining. Fall ushers in cooler temps (well, not necessarily in the South), our beloved college football and a new season of Southern Circuit! Hard to believe this is the eighth season the Circuit has been a part of South Arts programming. Time flies when you have the privilege of partnering with outstanding filmmakers to present their latest films and working with great screening partners in 23 communities. 

For the 2013-2014 Circuit we have 135 films scheduled (that’s a whole lotta screenings). As is the Circuit tradition (and we are nothing without tradition in the South) filmmakers will be participating in Q&A sessions after their screenings. We encourage audience members to participate – and stick around for after-screening socializing (yet another great Southern tradition) at screening venue-sponsored receptions (sort of like tailgating indoors). Now you're wondering, 'Where do I see these fabulous films?' Fear not, the complete schedule is available on the South Arts website.

We’re kicking (ok, a football reference) the season off with three terrific filmmakers and their remarkable work! Enough of my rambling, it’s time to learn about our September tour. Huddle up, film team!

Morgan Nichols’ brings his feature film, How to Make Movies at Home, to the Circuit. Prepare yourself for a great story, a schooling in film studies and a darn good time.


Morgan’s first feature, Jesus Freak, premiered at The Los Angeles Film Festival in 2003, and won the Milagro Award - Best Southwest Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival. The Little Death followed in 2006, premiering as the closing night gala film at the Atlanta Film Festival and going on to garner awards for best actor, best actress, best screenplay and best cinematography as it traveled the festival circuit. In addition to independent filmmaking, Morgan has worked for various subsidiaries of Viacom, Warner Bros. and Disney. He holds an MFA in Cinema from The University of Southern California and a BA in Theater Arts from Brandeis University.

www.HowToMakeMoviesAtHome.com

Matt Anderson brings his visually stunning documentary, Fall and Winter, to our audiences. A film festival favorite, you’ll leave the screening inspired with a renewed faith in our planet and some determined residents. 

Matt is a Canadian filmmaker. After growing up on a small island off the coast of Vancouver he attended Vancouver Film School and subsequently moved to New York to pursue filmmaking. He has directed countless commercials, music videos and short documentaries. After years of collaboration with a variety of artists and companies he was inspired to his first feature doc. This began a five year journey to make Fall and Winter.

www.fallwintermovie.com

Documentary filmmaker Joe York shares his latest film, Pride and Joy. You’ll learn about the importance of Southern food and community in this beautiful travel log of stories, tastes and tradition (yes that word, again). 

 

Joe was born and raised in Glencoe, Alabama. In 1999 he received a degree in Anthropology from Auburn University, worked as an archaeologist for a few years and then moved to Oxford, Mississippi, in 2001 to pursue a Masters degree in Southern Studies. After focusing so hard on his academic pursuits that it took him four years to complete a two year course of study, York began working at the University of Mississippi's Media & Documentary Projects where he is now a Senior Producer of Documentary Projects. Over the eight years that he has worked at the University York has produced over three dozen short films in association with the Southern Foodways Alliance, a non-profit organization at UM focused on documenting and preserving southern food culture, and directed several feature-length documentaries including Mississippi Innocence and Pride & Joy. 

http://prideandjoythemovie.wordpress.com/