Films

The documentary RELEASED will have its world premiere on Friday, May 10th, 2013 at New York’s QUAD Cinema. Directed by Philip Messina, RELEASED introduces three men and one woman, Vilma Ortiz Donovan, Kenneth Harrigan, Casimiro Torres and Angel Ramos, each a convicted felon, who, attempt to overcome a past and defy the grim statistic that two out of every three prisoners released in the United States today will be back in prison within three years. 

As described by the filmmakers:

Casimiro Torres, grew up in Hell’s Kitchen. “As a kid, I was forced to fight my brother until one of us was bloody — I was bet on like a dog.” Fatherless, with an alcoholic mother he was placed in juvenile facilities where he was abused by a sadistic and sexually deviant staff. Casimiro started using drugs at age 10, becoming a hardened crack-head criminal–burglaries, armed robberies, whatever it took. He was arrested sixty-seven times and did sixteen years in prison.

Vilma Ortiz, a vibrantly intelligent woman from a solid Puerto Rican family, became addicted to cocaine and eventually dealt drugs becoming one of the few women to break into this malicious fraternity where her “status” gave her the illusion of power and confidence, masking profound insecurity and indecisiveness. Finally arrested and convicted, she spent six years in prison.

Kenneth Harrigan, an “A” student from a stable African-American family, started to use recreational drugs and was soon addicted to crack. Burglary sustained his habit–he served 16 years in prison.

Angel Ramos, Puerto Rican, grew up brutally poor with an abusive mother. At seventeen, a friend made an offhanded remark that offended him. Releasing a suppressed reservoir of rage, Angel murdered his friend. He served 30 years in prison.

From these deep deficits, Casimiro, Vilma, Kenneth, and Angel struggled and ultimately triumphed. Drawing on long overlooked personal strengths and a radical shift in attitude they all shared something in common and understood that the will to live productive lives was in their control.

They also shared something else. After leaving prison with no homes to go to and no jobs for support, they found a unique program known as “The Castle”, a 62-bed re-entry facility run by former prisoners in New York City. This haven was created by The Fortune Society, founded by Broadway Press Agent, Producer and activist, David Rothenberg, after years of engagement with former prisoners through talk backs after the performances of his hit play, Fortune and Men’s Eyes.

As part of their rehabilitation Caz, Vilma, Kenneth and Angel collaborated with Rothenberg to tell their own stories. Originally conceived as an exercise in self-awareness, the project developed under Rothenberg into the play, The Castle, and was produced by Eric Krebs, a highly regarded theater producer and social justice advocate, for a 14-month Off-Broadway run in 2008. To date, more than 30,000 people have seen the production in over 200 performances at prisons, colleges, community centers, and other organizations, including the New York State Legislature.

http://youtu.be/QaFxFpXxyyg

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The documentary ‘Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay’, directed by Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein, and an official selection of the 2012 New York Film Festival, opens in NYC at Film Forum on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 and at the Nuart in Los Angeles on May 17, 2013.

What happens when documentary filmmakers, whose mission is to probe, explore, reveal, take as their subject one of the world’s greatest living magicians, whose life and art are basically off limits to probing, exploration, and revelation? More than a decade in the making, Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay is the captivating result of this curious conundrum: a mesmerizing journey into the world of modern magic and the small circle of eccentric geniuses who mastered it. 

At its center is the multitalented Ricky Jay, a best-selling author and historian, an acclaimed actor, a leading collector of antiquarian books and artifacts, but above all a conjurer capable of creating a profound sense of wonder and disbelief in even the most jaded of audiences.   Told largely in Ricky’s own inimitable voice, Deceptive Practice the story of his achievement, from his early apprenticeship, beginning at age 4, with his grandfather Max Katz, an accomplished amateur magician, as well as Al Flosso, Slydini, Cardini, Francis Carlyle, and Roy Benson, all of who were among the best magicians of the 20th century.   The film weaves together stunning performance footage from his one-man shows and classic TV appearances, and also includes friends and collaborators such as Steve Martin (who joins him in a hilarious turn on a ’70s vintage Dinah Shore TV show) and David 

http://youtu.be/Mky39dDsjtw

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Fresh off its world premiere at SXSW, Oscilloscope Laboratories announced that it will release Lotfy Nathan’s debut feature, 12 O’Clock Boys, in the US. The film is is next scheduled to screen at the Hot Docs and Full Frame Documentary Festivals, among others. O-Scope will continue to roll the film out to more festivals prior to its theatrical, DVD, and digital releases.

The 12 O’Clock Boys are a notorious urban dirt bike pack in Baltimore. Converging in groups and invading the streets, they dangerously–yet magnificently–make their presence known as they pop wheelies and weave in and out of traffic at excessive speeds, all the while taunting the police who must obey a self-imposed “no chase” rule for fear of endangering the public. Nathan frames the three-years-in-the-making narrative through the eyes of the adolescent Pug – a kid from the Westside eager to join the 12 O’Clock Boys’ ranks. Pug reveres the Boys’ every move, and Nathan follows this young man through some of the most pivotal years of his life, providing a compelling and intimate personal story within the broader depiction of the wild, dynamic world of the 12 O’Clock Boys.

Filmmaker Lotfy Nathan said, “Oscilloscope’s great. I really hope they don’t f*&k this up.”

http://youtu.be/5oU0fiFn_IM

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[caption id="attachment_3333" align="alignnone" width="550"]Farmer Joel Salatin in American Meat[/caption]

The pro-farmer documentary American Meat will open on Friday, April 12, 2013 at New York City’s Cinema Village for its first theatrical screening. The Friday, April 12th opening of American Meat will include a grass carpet entrance, and one of the farmers featured in the film, Joel Salatin, will be dropped off on a tractor.

American Meat is described as a solutions-oriented, macroscopic, “pro-farmer” documentary surveying the current state of the U.S. meat industry. Featuring Fred Kirschenmann, Joel Salatin, Steve Ells, Chuck Wirtz, Paul Willis, and other farmers across America, the film takes an even-handed look at the past and future of animal husbandry and meat production in America. The film explains how America arrived at its current industrial system and introduces the charismatic industry leaders who are working hard to create practical and tangible solutions to change it for the better.

“The ‘celebrities’ featured in American Meat are the hard-working farmers that feed America and the ones that are doing so in a way that’s better for the planet and the animals,” said Graham Meriwether, director of American Meat. “This premiere isn’t about glitz and glamour; it’s about paying tribute to these small-town heroes and educating the public about these important issues.”

The film’s New York City premiere concludes a 10-state tour of the film at universities and high schools as part of the film’s yearlong Young Farmer Screening Series.

http://youtu.be/knNLZvphhfs

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[caption id="attachment_3328" align="alignnone" width="550"]Fulton Mall in the 1980′s, photo by Jamel Shabazz[/caption]

by Cecily Witcher

My Brooklyn is a documentary by Kelly Anderson and Allison Lirish Dean that touches on the gentrification of the Brooklyn borough and how it affects the local Brooklyn residents. A large portion of My Brooklyn explores the downtown area know as Fulton Street that was once home to the famous Albee Square Mall which had a major influence on the community as well as the hip hop world internationally. The Fulton Mall was once the 3rd most profitable shopping district in New York but now that local experience that drew people from all over the world to the Fulton Mall has been stripped with the closing of the Albe Square Mall as well as the local owned stores have been replaced with major chains.

[caption id="attachment_3329" align="alignnone" width="550"]Arnold cuts hair at Jack’s Barbershop in Downtown Brooklyn[/caption]

The documentary also touches on the high rises that have been built-in the downtown Brooklyn area that provide enormous tax breaks for the already healthy. The film My Brooklyn is an eye opener with facts that explain why the “gentrification” of Brooklyn is happening with little regards to the community residents that have built up the Fulton Mall area. 

Cecily Witcher Interviews Kelly Anderson

http://youtu.be/t3s-DjjA3LI

Trailer – My Brooklyn

http://youtu.be/rD_t-OMy3dM

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