Charade

My newest film Charade will have three screenings along the west coast in late May. The premiere will be at Seattle International Film Festival on May 23rd, and will be the only one I can attend. A couple days later on May 25th it will screen at both Other Cinema in San Francisco, and EFF Portland.
Charade is based on themes and uses manipulated footage of the original 1963 film with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. It's a film about identity, trust & lies. I've heard many stories about people who have lied about their past, changed their names and created new lives for themselves. The reasons for this behavior intrigues me, and was the starting point of making this film.

Belgrade Update

Well my fundraising on Indiegogo worked and I'm going to Belgrade in September. If you saw this post and contributed to my campaign thank you so much, you'll be hearing from me. I now get to spend my time doing research.

Help Send Filmmaker to Belgrade for New Film

I have been given a wonderful opportunity to travel to Belgrade Serbia for a filmmaking artist in residency this year. This opportunity came out of the blue, a film festival award given to nine international filmmakers, an opportunity to make a new film with their technical help at my disposal, and room and board for a month. What they won’t cover is my traveling cost, so I’m starting a funddrive via Indiegogo to raise some travel money. This drive is important, because without help I won’t be able to except my award. So please look at my site, check out my perks, and know every donation receives my undying gratitude for helping to send me off on an amazing adventure!

Link to funddrive

Notes on Charade

My latest film Charade is based on themes and incorporates manipulated footage from the original 1963 film with Cary Grant and Audry Hepburn. Normally when I make a film I don’t publicly talk about the research that goes into it’s creation. But this time I’m experimenting  sharing my thought processes. My goal in this film was to explore the themes of identity and deception. Here’s part of my original proposal:

I’m interested in the core themes of the original film, identity and deception. The film is full of people who are not who they say they are, including the actors themselves. I’ve heard many stories of people who have changed their names, lied about their past and created new identities. The reasons for this kind of deception intrigues me and is why I want to make this film.

Another way of phrasing my curiosity is asking the question why do people lie? Below is a sample of my thought process.

Why do people lie?

Lies are at the center of the original film. No one is who they say they are. The hero of the film changes his identity though out the film. The heroine doen’t know who to trust. The question is asked “Why do people lie?”  The answer given is “ Usually there’s something they want and feel the truth won’t get it for them.” This is a very pragmatic answer. It’s a very good answer, and works for many situations, but if you consider that everyone in the film are actors and not who is who they say they are, then you’re saying that acting is lying, and this answer is no longer sufficient. So why do people act becomes part of the question why do people lie.  Lying becomes an even more complicated issue. Lying becomes part of the creative process.

In the middle of these questions are issues of truth and identity. An actor might tell you they take on a role, because they have some understanding of that character. In the safety  of the pretend world of acting they can explore the outer limits of their own identity. So the question they would ask is what is truth, and what is true about themselves. The lie of acting would then be a test of what is true about their own identity.

So considering these issues I have a theory. People lie because it sets them free. The simple answer is it sets them free of the truth. But truth and identity are complicated, and can’t be channeled into good and bad behavior. People reinvent themselves on a daily basis. Identity is never stagnant. Some people may change their names and invent a new life for themselves. They may do it for deceptive reasons. They may do it for personal gain, a lie created to get ahead in the world, or then again it might be testing the boundaries of what is true about themselves.

Belgrade Artist in Residence

My news for 2013 is that I've been offered an artist in residence in Belgrade. This residency is through Alternative Film Festival and the Academic Film Center. where my film The Swimmer screened earlier this month. I am excited of the prospect of creating a project for this opportunity. You will hear more about this in the coming months.  I will also be setting up a funding campaign to help with travel expenses. In the mean time if you are interested in supporting my project, I have some digital drawings for sale on the menu link- RE:store. This is a site I created to help with the general cost of making films. Support is always welcome and I'd like to offer artwork in exchange.

Erasable Cities Online

Like most filmmakers I'm hesitant to post films online. I'm afraid it might be seen as a substitute for the experience of a cinema. But one of the advantages of being online is multiple viewings, and in this case the text by Italo Calvino should be listened to repeatedly. And the readings by Jack Bennett as Marco Polo and Stan Shields as Kublai Khan are wonderful, as well as the brilliant score by Jason Staczek.

And if you're in Portland this week the film will screen for the second time at NW Filmmaker's Festival Thurs night at 7pm.

 

Erasable Cities: https://vimeo.com/41462098

Charade

I am currently finishing up my latest film and will be ready to start sending it out to festivals next week. I still like the above photo as a promotional still, but below is an actual still from the film. It is based on and uses manipulated footage from the 1963 film of the same name with Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn about a man who is constantly changing his identity.