FATblog

The Media Arts Project (MAP) presents Tara Wray as part of the Southern Circuit tour of independent filmmakers at The Fine Arts Theatre on Biltmore Avenue in Asheville, NC, on November 6, 2006. Following the 7pm screening of her personal documentary Manhattan, Kansas, Wray will engage the audience in a discussion of the film and her work as a filmmaker.

Director Tara Wray fled her childhood home of Manhattan, Kansas after her mother, in a mentally unstable state, threatened to kill her when she was 19 years old. Following five years of estrangement, Wray knew it was time to go back - with her camera.

Manhattan, Kansas delves into the complicated ways family members connect with each other. In the same way that everyone tries to forge relationships with their parents or siblings, Tara Wray desperately wants to connect with her mother. The Film Society of Lincoln Center writes, "Wray's film articulates the moment we truly see ourselves removed from our parents and see who they are beyond the world they created for us." According to the Independent Feature Project, the American representative of the Cannes' Film Festival, "This intimate and engaging documentary acknowledges that love abides, even when forgiveness is not always easy or possible."

Tara Wray was born and raised in "The Little Apple" of Manhattan, Kansas and has since relocated to "The Big Apple" itself. Wray took her first plunge into film work, without the formal training of film school, by making Manhattan, Kansas. "The only thing I had going for me," she says, "was an interest in learning how to make a documentary, and a belief I have a good story to tell."

Along with her drive, Tara had an amazing film crew to help the project. Her co-producer, Michel Negroponte is an Emmy award winning filmmaker, whose work has premiered on HBO and at the New York Film Festival. Several other members in the team have won several prestigious festivals, including a jury prize at Sundance.

Created by the South Carolina Arts Commission over thirty years ago, Southern Circuit takes independent filmmakers on a journey into communities across the South. Chosen by a panel of experts for the quality of their work, the filmmakers screen their recent films for local audiences. Produced without studio backing and struggling to secure a distributor, many of these films would never be seen on a screen in this area of the country without Southern Circuit. The program also encourages audiences to interact with the filmmakers during receptions and post-screening discussions.

Southern Circuit is a program of the Southern Arts Federation, a not-for-profit regional arts organization making a positive difference in the arts throughout the South since 1975. Southern Arts Federation is supported by funding and programming partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts, private foundations, corporations, individuals, and the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Posted by J. Parker at 02:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Fall 2006 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers presents State of Fear, directed by Pamela Yates.

State of Fear tells a cautionary tale of what happens when fighting terrorism impairs democracy. "When I went there in 2002," says Yates, "I realized all of these astounding parallels between Peru and what the rest of the world was about to begin. It is really about the war between terror and counter-terror."

State of Fear makes every image count as it contrasts the unsettling testimony and confession of victims and perpetrators with the unparalleled beauty of the Peruvian landscape.

The South American nation's blood-soaked 20-year "war on terror" from 1980 to 2000 burst out of an explosive atmosphere of hopelessness, corruption and ideology gone wrong. The radical militant group, Shining Path, and the oppressive President Alberto Fujimori created a "state of fear" leading to the violent deaths of 70,000 Peruvians. State of Fear explores issues of traditional military responses to rebel attacks, the government use of fear to justify authoritarian measures, and the manipulation of the media to influence public opinion. Although the film tells the story of one particular country, the issues and events it depicts concern any democratic nation in today's terror-conscious climate.

Join us for a screening of State of Fear, Monday, October 9, 2006 at 7 PM at the Fine Arts Theatre. The film will be followed by an audience discussion with the filmmaker. Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for WCU and UNCA students with a valid student ID.

Posted by J. Parker at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Media Arts Project (MAP) presents Danielle Beverly as part of the Southern Circuit tour of independent filmmakers at The Fine Arts Theatre, in downtown Asheville, on September 25, 2006 at 7pm. Following a screening of her first feature documentary, Learning to Swallow, Danielle Beverly will engage the audience in a discussion about the film and her work as a filmmaker. A reception with the filmmaker is scheduled directly after in the Fine Arts Theatre's Lounge.

Patsy Desmond, an artistic whirlwind chronicling her life through self-portraits, stormed through the early 90's Chicago art and music scene. Full of drama, outrageous style, and charisma, no one guessed that behind it all she was hurtling toward her ruin. In an uncontrolled, manic-depressive episode, Desmond attempted suicide by drinking drain cleaner. Although she survived, the incident destroyed her digestive system. Danielle Beverly’s documentary Learning to Swallow follows Desmond over four years of recovery: through reconstructive surgeries, oxy-contin and alcohol addictions, and the ultimate struggle to keep hope.

Learning to Swallow contains footage of Desmond's recovery, old photos, and animation created from her artwork. Director Danielle Beverly's 96 hours of film culminates with the opening of Patty Desmond's exhibition Coming Clean. According to Mary Kerr, programming director of SILVERDOCS, "It is rare that a film can so meticulously capture the essence of a complicated person like Desmond." Beverly finds that audiences are responding to the film "in an intensely visceral way. Although Patsy's experience is singular, it also has universality in its portrayal of one person's resilience, redemption, and self-acceptance."

While earning her M.F.A in Film/Video from Chicago's Columbia College, Beverly lived in the fashionable Wicker Park community and befriended wild-child photographer Desmond. "I am attracted to dramatic, unfolding stories; watching the process and transformation of a subject," says the filmmaker, "I'm not afraid of human pain. Rather, I am drawn to it as a documentary subject -- the incredible pain of living." As a director, Beverly wants the subject to tell their own story -- full of choices, decisions, and survival, "I just try to bear witness to the situation."

Created by the South Carolina Arts Commission over thirty years ago, Southern Circuit takes independent filmmakers on a journey into communities across the South. Chosen by a panel of experts for the quality of their work, the filmmakers screen their recent films for local audiences. Produced without studio backing and struggling to secure a distributor, many of these films would never be seen on a screen in this area of the country without Southern Circuit. The program also encourages audiences to interact with the filmmakers during receptions and post-screening discussions.

Southern Circuit is a program of the Southern Arts Federation, a not-for-profit regional arts organization making a positive difference in the arts throughout the South since 1975. Southern Arts Federation is supported by funding and programming partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts, private foundations, corporations, individuals, and the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Posted by J. Parker at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

n partnership with the upcoming Design Science Lab, the Fine Arts Theatre will host a local panel discussion to address the global climate change issues raised in Al Gore's documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, now showing at the Fine Arts Theatre. Four local environmental professionals will participate in the panel and audience discussion group Real World Solutions to Inconvenient Truths: What You Can Do About Climate Change at the Fine Arts Theatre from 10 am to noon on Saturday, July 8.

The goal of the discussion group is to facilitate discussion about what steps individuals and organizations in western North Carolina can do immediately to address the climate change issues discussed in An Inconvenient Truth.

Dee Eggers, Ph.D., assistant professor from UNC Asheville's Environmental Studies Department will present Taking Personal Responsibility Now: Vital Steps for Individuals and Communities to go 'Carbon Neutral'. Andrew Jones, southeast representative for the Sustainability Institute, will discuss Good News Tipping Points for Sustainable Energy Solutions. Jonah Butcher, development consultant for UNC Asheville's alternative energy Craft Campus, will speak on Cutting Edge Sustainable Energy Technologies at the Frontier of Science.

The panel will be moderated by David McConville, board member of the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and organizer of the upcoming 2006 Design Science Lab workshop at UNC Asheville.

The Fine Arts Theatre discussion panel is free and open to the public.

Posted by J. Parker at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PAPERCOOKIE is a film production collective of art/film school dropouts who left college to pursue do-it-yourself independent filmmaking.

John Ferrer, Aubrey Curtis, and Joe Chang all left the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and relocated to Asheville almost 2 years ago. They have since made a short and feature film and oversaw all aspects from conception, to production, to scoring music themselves. This summer, they will be producing Joe Chang's feature directorial debut entitled, NEUTRAL.

NEUTRAL is an experimental comedy that takes a surreal and satirical view of the banality of everyday life and all its glory, sadness, and humor. The film uses a series of continuous vignettes following over 80 different characters as they meander through a day, spilling their thoughts, dreams and hearts along the way. Toying with the reality of the surreal and mocking established norms with absurdist behavior, these characters are just as likely to break a joke as they are to crack a heart. Examples of scenes include a chance encounter between a young woman and the author of her life and the shadows of a boy and girl discussing their favorite shapes their owners' cast.

Twenty-three year old Writer/Director Joe Chang grew up all over North Carolina. He became interested in film when his theatre teacher in high school began a filmmaking class his senior year. He has spent the last few months working 2 jobs, living in his truck and eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches in order to raise and save money for NEUTRAL.

The film is being photographed by Greg Hudgins, a WNC native, who has worked on numerous local films, including projects with Blue Ridge Motion Pictures, Eljapa, and camera work for Asheville filmmaker Paul Schattel's SINKHOLE, among many others.

Filming will take place this August with almost all of it being shot in Asheville. The cast includes many locals as well as cast and crew coming in from Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Austin, TX, and all over North Carolina.

Papercookie's first feature film, GROWNUPS, along with short film, LEAVING HERE, will be screened at the Fine Arts Theatre on June 28 at 7:00 PM, and all proceeds will benefit the shooting of NEUTRAL this summer.

While over half the budget has been raised, the project is still seeking funding and donations. More information can be found at www.papercookie.net.

Posted by J. Parker at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Asheville premier of An Inconvenient Truth is a benefit for SouthWings and its work to help communities expose the human and environmental damage from "mountaintop removal" coal mining and coal-related pollution that contributes to global climate change.

SouthWings is a non-profit conservation organization based in Asheville, NC, and provides skilled volunteer pilots to support environmental efforts across the Southeast, providing conservation groups, the media, community leaders and policymakers a "bird's eye view" of environmental impacts visible only from the air. Recent flights have supported feature stories and photography on this type of coal mining in the New York Times, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, the BBC, "O" Magazine, and Audubon Magazine.

An Inconvenient Truth, the powerful and important Sundance Film Festival hit from director Davis Guggenheim, offers a passionate and inspirational look at Al Gore's fervent efforts to alert us to climate change and exposing the misconceptions that surround it, to help us take action.

Please join us on Thursday, June 29th, 2006 to experience the film everyone is talking about, learn what you can do to make a difference, and support SouthWings and its conservation partners.

When: Thursday, June 29, 2006
Reception: Pack Place Forum - Reception, auction and raffle, 5-7pm
Premier: Fine Arts Theatre - 7:15pm
Reception & Film: $50
www.southwings.org or call 828.225.5949

Posted by J. Parker at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Local production company Buried Pictures presents the premiere of independent film The Nudger. Filmed entirely in Asheville, The Nudger is a dark comedy about a woman who wakes people up for a living, and her
efforts to save a suicidal man. Starring local actors Metta Prye, Chad Oliphant, and Robert Ballard. Featuring the music of Tyler Ramsey, Sugar and The Plums, and Manband. Original Soundtrack by Todd Lemiesz of The
Poles. D.P./Editor- Dougal Bailey. Art Director- Anis Crofts. Written and Directed by Lawrence Benner. Premieres at The Fine Arts Theater, April 20th , 9:30pm. Info and contact: buriedpictures.com.

Continue reading "The Nudger World Premiere" »

Posted by J. Parker at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What would you do if you were faced with a life threatening illness? If you’re Neil Young you call a bunch of your friends, go to Nashville and record the album Prarie Wind. What if you come through alright afterall? Well, if you’re Neil Young, you call a bunch of your friends including Director Jonathan Demme and head back to Nashville and give a concert with the songs from Prarie Wind. You also get Jonathan Demme to record a bunch of interviews and you do an encore that includes all of your acoustic hits from a long career and put it all into a movie called Neil Young: Heart of Gold. On Thursday, April 27th at 7pm Paramount Pictures and the Fine Arts Theatre in Asheville are hosting an advanced screening of Neil Young: Heart of Gold for WNCW listeners. All the proceeds from tickets go to support programming on WNCW. Seating is limited and is on a first come, first seated basis. It’s a special advance screening of Neil Young: Heart of Gold on April 27th at 7 at the Fine Arts Theatre in downtown Asheville. We’ll see you there.

Posted by J. Parker at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Christopher Nupen’s Award Winning Film We Want the Light comes to the Fine Arts Theatre, March 14, 2006 at 1pm.

Continue reading "Special Screening: We Want the Light" »

Posted by J. Parker at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Fine Arts Theatre, in cooperation with locally based support organizations, and professional care providers will sponsor a community talk-back following the 1:00 pm showing of Transamerica on Saturday, March 18th.

Continue reading "Transamerica Discussion Panel" »

Posted by J. Parker at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kindness Week is coming, and this year the theme is “Spreading Kindness through Community Service.” Mayor Terry Bellamy will sign a proclamation of Kindness Week on Thursday, February 9 at 11:30 a.m. in the Mayor’s office. She will also be helping to present the Kindness Campaign’s “Community of Kindness” awards to nine community service organizations which helped Hurricane Katrina refugees who made their way to Asheville.

Continue reading "Kindness Week is February 13 - 19" »

Posted by J. Parker at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)