Walker’s Bar in Riverside

2692 Post Street

6:00pm – 8:00pm

Open to everyone who participated in the 2010 Jacksonville 48 Hour Film Project. Come on out and party with the filmmakers.

And find out who are the nominees for the over 16 prize and award categories from this year’s competition.

The winners will be announced on July 10 at the Awards Show at the Florida Theatre.

Melissa Ross on Making “The 904″ from Natalie Halpern on Vimeo.

Chronicling the stories of people whose lives have forever been changed by the city’s violent crime epidemic like shop owner Brian Martin, who was shot in the stomach and has had multiple surgeries to repair the damage to his colon, it’s a difficult film to watch.

Mary Goodman talks about the murder of her young son, DeJuan Graham, as she holds an urn with his ashes—struggling still to come to terms with his death.

One of the most moving parts of the documentary is Jacksonville Jaguar Richard Collier’s address during the trial of the man who shot him 14 times, leaving him paralyzed and robbing him of his dream of playing football.

As a newcomer to Jacksonville (I moved here two years ago from DC, once the nation’s murder capital), it’s disturbing to know that we’ve been the murder capital of Florida for the last 10 years.

Jacksonville has so many wonderful things going for it: a great quality of life created by the warmth and inclusiveness of its residents, a burgeoning local arts scene, a fantastic symphony, two of the best high schools in the country, and such natural beauty with its marshes, beaches and the scenic St. Johns River forming the backdrop for some of the city’s most charming neighborhoods.

Why is violent crime so rampant?

Like in many other cities socio-economic factors, a racial divide and inequity in education for the city’s poorest play a role. Melissa Ross’ film does a great job of addressing those factors, along with the lack of reentry programs for offenders who serve their sentence only to be sentenced again by society. Instead of achieving rehabilitation through gainful employment and other activities, they become repeat offenders.

Despite the tragedy it documents, the film also has a powerful message of hope.

Melissa Ross on The Biggest Lesson of the Film from Natalie Halpern on Vimeo.

“The 904” was directed by Frank Goodin II and filmed and edited by Bernardo Santana III.  The filmmakers plan to screen the documentary throughout the community and submit it to film festivals around the country.

Click here to learn more about the making of the film and watch a trailer.

The lives of financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who’s just been accused of libel, and of computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, whose troubled past has landed her in jail, intersect as they investigate the disappearance of a wealthy businessman’s niece 40 years ago.

The Swedish film, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, is part murder mystery, part love story, and part exposé of a dysfunctional family.

Except for a few very violent scenes which were quite difficult to watch, I found myself fascinated by the two main characters’ search for redemption.

The investigation provides Blomkvist an opportunity to clear his name after being set-up by the corrupt tycoon he’s exposed.  For Lisbeth it’s a chance to do something positive with her life and learn to trust someone in a way that has left many emotional scars in her past.

By investigating what the leader of the Vanger family suspects was his niece’s murder, both characters discover how far they will go to seek justice, not only for disappeared Harriet Vanger, but also for the whole of society.

Perhaps I’m digging too deeply, but as I ponder the significance of Lisbeth’s dragon tattoo, seen only twice in the film, I can’t help but wonder if it’s a metaphor.

Does the dragon a represent the emotional demons she’s finally able to slay by solving the case and doing something for the greater good?

Go see the film and let me know what you think.  It’s showing exclusively at the Five Points Theatre for the next two weeks.

Join the Jacksonville Film Festival on Thursday, April 29, 7 p.m at MOCA for an exclusive Jacksonville screening of:

COLLAPSE
A documentary on Michael Ruppert, a police officer turned independent reporter who predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter, “From the Wilderness.”  Paul Cohen from the Torchlight Program at FSU and Red Hills Releasing will present the film.

Hometown Screening: “Secrets of the Mountain” Viewing Party
Friday, April 16, 8:00 p.m., Mudville Grill, 3105 Beach Blvd.

Come watch NBC’s premiere movie “Secrets of the Mountain” with the film’s writer Dante Amodeo of Jacksonville. It’s a family-friendly film and Dante calls it a cross between “The Waltons” and “National Treasure.”

For more information on the film, read The Florida Times-Union article about Dante and “Secrets of the Mountain”

Trailer for A Beautiful Belly from A Beautiful Belly on Vimeo.

Monday, April 19, 6-8pm – “A Beautiful Belly”
WJCT Studios

Filmmaker and Flagler College Alumnus Andrew Kenneth Gay will share his film that is in the finishing stages of Post Production.

When aspiring children’s entertainer Jason Ackart gets his long-time crush Danny pregnant on their first date, the two choose to make a life together as husband and wife. With the support of church friends and family, Danny and Jason do their best to start out on the right foot, but as the prospect of fatherhood looms, Jason begins to realize the toll it may take on his career aspirations. He begins to focus all his attention toward one last push to accomplish his dream of becoming an established children’s entertainer before the baby is born. As a result, Danny feels insecure and ignored by Jason and begins to question whether their fledgling marriage can survive.

Alienated from one another, Jason and Danny find themselves attracted to the attentions of other people. Jason meets Allison James, an intern at a local cable station who wants to develop a children’s show utilizing his talents, and Danny meets Nathan Long, a fine art photographer who goes out of his way to encourage Danny and build up her confidence. As these new friendships begin to hint at the possibility of romance, Jason and Danny must decide whether they are willing to risk the future of their family for the indulgence of a moment’s pleasure.

The Works in Progress FREE series is designed for all realms of filmmakers to share their project at any stage of production for general feedback from our local film community.

Location:
WJCT Studios
100 Festival Park Ave

Producers and Cinemania invite you to see Sean Bean’s new indie film. It’s not a thriller. It’s not action. It’s neo noir satire. It’s a “genre” film gone rogue. A law abiding couple finds a briefcase stuffed with cash and decides to keep it. When the owner (Sean Bean) finds them, they’ve spent a lot of the money. He moves in with them until they replace every last cent, even if it means they must tap into their dark sides to pay it back.

Tuesday, April 6, 5 Points Theatre. 6:30 p.m.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m.. FREE ADMISSION. Invite your friends.

It’s part of who we are.  What we aspire to.  What we talk about with our friends.

It’s a big part of pop culture…. and it’s fascinating.  Why else would a show about a Madison Avenue ad agency is the 60s have made such a splash?

But unlike “Mad Men”, the documentary “Art & Copy” doesn’t use advertising as a backdrop to explore the social and gender dynamics of one of the most revolutionary decades in history, it shows us how advertising created a revolution through a series of historic campaigns and helps us understand the inspiration behind their creators.

Campaigns We’ll Never Forget

Nike’s “Just Do It” did much more than sell running shoes, it inspired people to lose weight, change careers, find love, and, ultimately, purse their goals and dreams.

Pretty powerful.

But even more amazing to me was learning that such an aspirational, carpe diem campaign, originated from a story about a death row inmate being executed.  Its headline “Go Do It.”

And what about the “Got Milk?” campaign?  I remember flipping through Glamour and other magazines and seeing ads of some of my favorite celebrities with milk mustaches.  Simple. Brilliant. Memorable… and the genesis of a slew of other pop culture slogans on everything from t-shirts to bumper stickers.

Though I found Doug Pray’s behind-the-scenes look at how these campaigns were conceived interesting, the storyteller in me enjoyed learning about the creative motivation behind these advertising hall of famers even more—and understanding how the personal lives of the likes of Mary Wells and George Lois influenced their work.

They Almost Never Aired

I think of advertising as risk-taking, bold, perhaps, at times, controversial. Yet so many of the creatives who were hired to grab our attention by either entertaining or shocking us had to fight hard to get corporate America and their own agencies to buy into their innovative campaigns.

Not surprisingly many of them almost never made it onto the airwaves.

But despite those behind-the-scenes battles between left-brained executives and right-brained creatives, popular culture was forever changed by these campaigns.

And while copywriters and creatives no longer conceive of ads without even speaking to each other, one thing that’s remained a constant in advertising is that its success, its power comes from emotional impact.

If you want to move somebody to do something, you have to connect with them.

That’s the essence of advertising and the core of filmmaking.

“Just Do It” “Got Milk?” We all remember these tag lines and the brilliant campaigns they were part of.

Directed by Doug Pray, the documentary “Art & Copy,” captures the stories of the creative minds behind these campaigns. People like George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden and others who profoundly impacted pop culture and revolutionized advertising.

AIGA and AAF Jacksonville present a one-time screening of this film which, as Pray says, “is about the innate human urge to express oneself creatively.”

I’m so excited to see this film and learn about what inspired some of the industry’s greatest creative minds.

Tuesday, March 30th. 6:30 pm
Five Points Theatre
Tickets: $5 AIGA/AAF members. $5 students. $10 non-members
Portion of ticket sale proceeds will benefit Feeding America

For more information visit the film’s official website.

Playing at the 5 Points Theatre through March 24.

Who was WWI’s most successful flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron? Was he a cold-hearted killing machine, enamored with the thrill of shooting down hundreds of men during aerial combat?

“The best part is the chase, the fight, the hunt.”

Or was he a man intent on serving his country proudly who becomes deeply affected by the brutality and pointlessness of war?

“We just need an excuse for what we do, because without it we would know who we really are? ” von Richtofen exclaims.

In Nikolai Muellerschoen’s portrait of the man so revered across Germany and used by the government to rally the people and the troops behind what was an unwinnable war, the Red Baron is both.

The Man Behind the Legend

The film begins with some impressive aerial dogfights, as we’re introduced to the young, arrogant, handsome pilot.

Already I’m thinking, “Oh no, not another story about a cocky war hero who’s a ladies’ man.”

But as the film progresses and many of the Baron’s fellow flyers get killed, we see another side to the leader of Fighter Squadron Jasta 11 who became a poster boy for the German war effort.

When his close friend, a Jewish pilot Friedrich Sternberg is killed in combat, von Richthofen is devastated by grief and secludes himself for several days.

I felt empathy for this very young fighter pilot who begins to understand that war is not a game but a cruel endeavor that costs lives—the lives of people we deeply care about.

I was drawn to his humanity, his frailty.

When he gets the news that another good friend of his, Lieutenant Werner Voss, has been shot down, the Baron’s perception of what it means to be a fighter pilot forever changes, and he tries to convince the government to surrender in light of the war’s futility.

The Truth about War

Von Richthofen himself is injured in a dogfight and nursed back to good health by nurse Kate Otersdorf with whom he falls in love. She tries to get him to accept a post directing the war’s strategy so he will be out of harm’s way. But the Baron decides to continue flying out of respect for his men.

We’ve turned the world into a damn slaughterhouse and I’m already too big a part of it. They use my photograph to give hope where there is none. They use my name to feign immortality whereas the reality is annihilation. You said it yourself, the men dying out there have no choice. I have and I cannot order men into battle. I can, perhaps, lead them, help them, die with them, but I will not betray them or keep the truth from them by remaining the immortal god that Berlin wants me to be.

Though “The Red Baron” could have delved deeper in von Richthofen’s character, I was moved by the film’s portrayal of a war hero conflicted by the grim reality of combat.