Jan Krawitz - Lafayette and Alexandria

The latest updates from filmmaker Jan Krawitz, who recently completed touring her film Perfect Strangers on the Southern Circuit.

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March 24, Lafayette, LA

Today's screening was held at The Vermilionville Living History & Folk Life Park. Erin Stickney first took me to the local NPR station situated at the University of Louisiana for an interview on a local talk show. The host, Judith Meriwether, asked provocative questions about the film and my approach to documentary in general. The setting for the screening that evening was in a lovely museum where a number of historical buildings had been restored in a plein air setting. The screening was in a performance space and jambalaya had been prepared by the chef from the on-site café. Although the audience had only six people, we had a substantive conversation following the screening. There were two nurses in attendance who had a lot to offer and one woman talked about her husband who had donated his organs posthumously. As always, I took away more insights about the issues following as well as suggestions about outreach to “health ministries” within Southern churches.

March 25, Alexandria, LA
It was lovely to be off the interstate and invited by a local couple, Nicole and David Holcombe, to stay in their home. They have hosted filmmakers on the Southern Circuit for about five years and I truly enjoyed meeting them, seeing their wonderful house filled with eclectic art, and having an incredible home-cooked meal!  We rushed off to the local performing arts center – a grand, 10-year old building. Matt Henry introduced the film to a very small crowd.  But again, the conversation afterwards had its own rewards. Present in the audience was a nephrologist who has worked with kidney patients for years and sits on the board of LOPA (Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency) so he proffered some interesting opinions. His wife and I chatted before the screening and, based on the film's description, she shared her incredulity about that someone would voluntary choose to donate a kidney to a perfect stranger. After the screening, she had moderated her skepticism and appreciated how Ellie's (my subject) actions were consistent with her worldview and approach to life. I had a wonderful night in the restful environment of the Holcombe's home before flying back to San Francisco the following day. So the whirlwind tour has come to a close and I truly appreciated the opportunity to be present with the film in such diverse locations. I often think of putting a film out in the world as akin to a “tree falling in the forest." Most of the time, I don't really know if it is heard – but the Southern Circuit allowed me to engage with audiences who approached the film with an open mind and generously shared their responses with me.

Jan Krawitz - New Iberia, LA

The latest update from filmmaker Jan Krawitz, touring her film Perfect Strangers on the Southern Circuit:

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I decided to a different route back to the Lafayette area for my Monday night screening. Sunday was a day off and I had planned to explore the Creole Nature Trail that encompasses several national wildlife refuges within the southwest corner of the state.

Driving at a leisurely pace, I would stop for excursions along the various boardwalks that traverse sections of the area. But when I awoke on Sunday morning, the area was shrouded in fog with severely limited visibility so a change of plans was in order. The day was unseasonably cool and I drove through several dramatic rainstorms en route to Avery Island which is about 20 miles south of Lafayette. Fortunately, I arrived on the privately-owned island (home of the McIlhenny Tabasco Factory) after the rain had stopped and the day had transformed into a balmy, overcast one. After a brief tour of the factory (the assembly lines are in operation only Monday thru Thursday), I explored the Jungle Gardens which are maintained and operated by the family business.  This 170-acre garden offers a three-mile loop through natural marshes, man-made lagoons, beautifully landscaped areas, and a nesting area for egrets.

Since I had the time, I decided to leave the car behind and explore the trail on foot. As the SUV’s barreled past, I had the luxury of veering off the gravel road, and seeing things that would remain unnoticed at 25 miles an hour. I've included a photo….

Jan Krawitz - Hapeville, GA & Lake Charles, LA

An update from filmmaker Jan Krawitz, touring her film Perfect Strangers on the Southern Circuit. This entry is from March 21 and 22, 2014.

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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.

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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…

Jan Krawitz - Madison, GA

An update from filmmaker Jan Krawitz, touring her film Perfect Strangers on the Southern Circuit. This entry is from March 20, 2014.

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Madison is a beautiful town with a number of homes that pre-date the Civil War. I spent most of the day at the local high school where I visited two film appreciation classes. In consultation with the teacher, I decided to show my film Big Enough as its focus on dwarfs provides a great point of departure for a discussion about ostracism and difference. A few of the kids asked most of the questions about the film but I later heard from the teacher that they were quite voluble the next day – and that it provoked a lively dialogue once I was no longer present. In any case, it was a good opportunity to interact with a different population than the older set who typically attends the evening screenings. I ended the classes by showing the the trailer for Perfect Strangers. Rebecca Bonas, the Program Director at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center distributed free tickets to the students.

After the high school visits, I made my way to Bonar Hall, a magnificent home that passed through the generations to the current owners, Alexander Newton and Betsy Wagenhauser. Alex showed me around the spectacular grounds and gardens, part of which he is restoring to their original design. They had invited me to stay overnight in a small dwelling behind the main house – a building that housed the original kitchen when the home was first built. It was a unique experience to spend the night there and a genuine example of Southern hospitality at its best.

The screening at the cultural center was well attended and the audience posed some challenging questions. One viewer shared his ambivalence about a particular scene with Ellie --  he felt like he shouldn't be there (as a viewer) but simultaneously wanted to be there longer… I used his observation as a springboard for a discussion about documentary ethics, the tacit contract between filmmaker and subject, and my own sense of responsibility to my subjects and their stories. In this audience, there again were several people who were drawn by the subject matter. One woman volunteered that her daughter was having surgery the following day – donating a kidney to a co-worker. After a lengthy question-answer period, we moved to an adjacent room in the beautiful Madison-Morgan Cultural Center – a restored building that was originally the local schoolhouse – where we continued the dialogue more informally. The evening ended back at Alex and Betsy’s home where, together with their neighbor who had also attended the film, we continued the conversation.

Jan Krawitz - Suwanee, GA

The latest update from Jan Krawitz, touring her film Perfect Strangers on the Southern Circuit:

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I began my Southern Circuit tour on Monday, March 17. I've flown tens of thousands of miles in my life, but had an amazing moment of synchronicity as I boarded my plane in San Francisco to begin the tour. As everyone staggered down the aisles with their luggage, the captain made an announcement: he implored us to settle (especially) quickly because we were on a tight schedule and had to get in the air immediately. The plane was carrying a heart for transplant in Georgia so time was of the essence! Since my film, Perfect Strangers, is about an altruistic kidney donor who decides to find someone in need of a kidney, I marveled at this coincidence and felt that the transplant (and secondarily, my circuit tour) would have a successful outcome.

I am thrilled to be invited to a Southern Circuit tour for a second time. In 2005, I screened Big Enough (my documentary about dwarfs), to attentive audiences in the Carolinas, Mississippi, and Alabama. This time, I will be travelling through Georgia and Louisiana and I welcome the opportunity to do community-based screenings in mid-sized towns. The first screening in Suwanee, Georgia was such a great event that I can only hope the next five will sustain the momentum. My host, Toni Shrewsbury (Department of Economic and Community Development in Suwanee) and Alex Edge (Downtown and Business Development Manager) met me for dinner before the screening. Our conversation was primarily focused on the film as they had so many questions about the issues it raised. I was amazed at all of the details they had retained from the film and joked that they must have watched it only the day before (which wasn't the case)…

The screening was held at a place called the Movie Tavern. Someone had the brilliant idea to repurpose a former Publix supermarket and turn it into a beautifully designed multi-screen movie theater. Perfect Strangers screened in optimal conditions (food ordered at your comfortable seat and impeccable projection) to an audience of about 40 people who almost filled the intimate theater space. Following the film, Alex led with a few questions to get the ball rolling, but the baton quickly passed to the audience. They were curious about how Ellie (the film’s main subject) and I connected, what were her motivations, how she feels about what she did several years out, etc. About midway through the robust discussion, my host Toni asked if anyone in the audience had a personal relationship to the subject matter. It was a daring question and I appreciated her asking it. Sure enough, several individuals shared their stories including one woman who received her brother’s kidney 26 years ago and is doing great … and a second woman (whose husband had already asked several questions) who is on dialysis and has been on the wait list for a kidney for three years. There was a nice balance of questions between those focused on the issues raised by Perfect Strangers and those focused on the filmmaking choices. We cut off the conversation after 45 minutes of discussion when the theater personnel came in and asked us to vacate for the next screening. Ever onward to Madison, Georgia…..