Dear Programmers,
THE FILM COLLABORATIVE (TFC) is excited to announce that HOW TO START YOUR OWN COUNTRY will be screening In Competition at the 2010 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.
What makes a country a country? What makes a state a state? A nation a nation? And what’s to stop you from starting your own!?…Directed by acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Jody Shapiro, HOW TO START YOUR OWN COUNTRY, which held its World Premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival earlier this fall, takes us on a globe-hopping search for an answer to these fundamental but little understood questions, in a hilarious and thought-provoking examination of micro-nations — tiny states seldom recognized by better-known, more conventionally established countries around the world.
| Title | HOW TO START YOUR OWN COUNTRY |
| Director | Jody Shapiro |
| Producers | Jody Shapiro, Phyllis Laing |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Running Time | 72 mins |
Screenings |
Wed, Nov 17 |
17:45 (5:45 pm) |
Tuschinski 5 |
|
| Fri., Nov 19 | 23:30 (11:30 pm) | Munt 13 | director in attendance | |
| Sun., Nov 21 | 10:45 am | Munt 9 | director in attendance | |
| Sat., Nov 27 | 12:15 pm | Tuschinski 6 |
Logline |
A hilarious and thought-provoking examination of micro-nations— tiny states seldom recognized by better-known, more conventionally established countries around the world. |
Official Website |
www.howtostartyourowncountry.com |
| Festivals |  |
Come see TFC’s founder and co-executive director Orly Ravid at the IDFA industry panel Navigating the Muddy Waters of New Media Opportunities on Tue., Nov. 23. She will be in Amsterdam 11/20 - 23 and welcomes inquiries regarding HOW TO START YOUR OWN COUNTRY.
email: orly@thefilmcollaborative.org
mobile: +1 (323) 610-8128
THE FILM COLLABORATIVE is also offering the following documentaries for Festival distribution:
A SMALL ACT • FLORENT • THE ADULTS IN THE ROOM • FOREVER’S GONNA START TONIGHT
Screeners: available now; please email us.
A Small Act
ABOUT THE FILM:
When Holocaust survivor Hilde Back sponsored a young, rural Kenyan student, she thought nothing of it. She certainly never expected to hear from him, but years later she does. Now a Harvard graduate and a Human Rights Lawyer for the United Nations, Chris Mburu decides to find the stranger that changed his life. Inspired by her generosity, he starts a scholarship program of his own and names it for his former benefactor.
The top students in Mukubu primary school are in the exact same situation as Chris once was. They are bright, but can’t afford to pay school fees. With the creation of Chris’ fund, these students have new hope. But the program is small; how many will qualify for a scholarship?
Using a strong narrative, the film interweaves seemingly separate lives into a cohesive whole. With clarity and grace, A SMALL ACT bears witness to the ripple effect a single action can create.
2010 | USA | 88 min.
DIRECTOR: Jennifer Arnold
WRITER: Jennifer Arnold
PRODUCERS: Patti Lee, Jeffrey Soros, Jennifer Arnold
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Patti Lee
TERRITORIES: The World
EXHIBITION FORMATS: HDCAM, DIGIBETA, DVD
FESTIVALS: 2010 Sundance Film Festival, 2010 Edinburgh Film Festival, 2010 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, 2010 Hot Docs
view trailer:
download:
Florent:
Queen of the Meat Market
ABOUT THE FILM:
Featuring Julianne Moore, Isaac Mizrahi, Michael Musto, Joey Arias, Diane Von Furstenbeurg, Sherry Vine and other famous (and infamous) denizens of the night, FLORENT: QUEEN OF THE MEAT MARKET is the story of “Florent,” the legendary all-night eatery in New York City's Meat Packing District.
For 23 years, Florent was prime stomping ground for a surprising mix of A-list celebrities, tourists, families and club kids, and it played an important role in LGBT activism and culture. This wildly entertaining documentary chronicles the history and final days of this outrageous icon!
2010 | USA | 89 min.
DIRECTOR: David Sigal
PRODUCERS: David Sigal, Trevor Laurence, Laura Van Schendel
CINEMATOGRAPHY: David Sigal
TERRITORIES: The World
FESTIVALS: 2010 NYC Food Film Festival, Outfest 2010
EXHIBITION FORMATS: HDCAM, DIGIBETA, DVD
view trailer:
download:
The Adults in the Room
ABOUT THE FILM:
In 1995, Andy Blubaugh—then a curious and lonely fifteen-year-old—began a sexual relationship with Peter, a successful, deeply closeted man who was nearly twice his age. In 2010, Andy now a filmmaker and teacher, revisited this complex relationship in a hybrid documentary film and how it informed his own sense of boundaries with his teenage students. The film combines re-enactments of their troubled romance through the recollections of a now wiser Andy and interviews with relationship columnist Dan Savage, educators and social workers to explore this thorny issue of adolescent sexuality and the relationships that make us who we are.
2010 | USA | 73 min.
DIRECTOR: Andy Blubaugh
WRITER: Andy Blubaugh
PRODUCERS: Erin Donovan, Phoebe Owens
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Anna Farrell, Jon Beanlands
TERRITORIES: THE WORLD
FESTIVALS: Outfest 2010, Frameline 34, Sarasota, Ashland
EXHIBITION FORMATS: HDCAM, Digibeta, DVD
view trailer:
download:
Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight
ABOUT THE FILM:
Chronicling the remarkable experiences of Vicki Marlane, a drag performer still strutting it onstage in her seventies, Vicki takes us on the ride of her life — from roller-skating cross dressed in her youth, to hoochie-coochie girl carnival sideshows and romantic road trips. We hitchhike through the adventures that led to her being San Francisco’s “Toast of the Town” in the early ’70s, and Vicki even shares her tips of the trade acquired from decades of drag experience at hot-spot venues including Aunt Charlie’s in the Tenderloin District. Directed by Michelle Lawler, and produced by archivist Kim Klausner (Choosing Children) and Emmy Award-winning Susan Stryker (Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria, Frameline30) this film is a loving tribute to a living legend.
2009 | USA | 54 min.
DIRECTOR: Michelle Lawler
PRODUCERS: Kim Klausner, Susan Stryker
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Mark Arellano
TERRITORIES: THE WORLD
FESTIVALS: Outfest 2010 (Jury Prize Winner)
EXHIBITION FORMATS: DIGIBETA, BETASP, DVD
view trailer:
download: