Devon Sproule’s lovely brand of sweet, sophisticated folk has been a constant companion of mine since high school. Her album Upstate Songs was the first music I ever felt was really mine, my own; music I listened to privately, and shared only after careful consideration, with people I thought might, somehow, understand.
I’m honored to call Devon a friend, and thrilled to announce Ain’t That The Way, our music video inspired by the first track off her upcoming album, ¡Don’t Hurry for Heaven!
See the video here.
Check out Devon’s website here, and her myspace, too.
¡Don’t Hurry for Heaven! is currently a UK import only. Devon’s other albums are all available on iTunes.
We at Saint Eliot are very proud to be based in Boston, where (nearly*) all of us were born and raised. Until now, however, all we’ve had to show for our allegiance to our favorite city is gentle accents and fashion sense reminiscent of most english professors.
But today, I’m very pleased to announce Saint Eliot’s collaboration with Nuestra Communidad Boston and Youthbuild Boston at the launch of their historic partnership, The Greening of Blue Hill Ave.
The Greening of Blue Hill Ave is a new partnership between YouthBuild and Nuestra which aims to reverse the devastation caused in the low income and predominantly minority neighborhoods of Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester by decades of discriminatory banking and insurance practices referred to as redlining.
Saint Eliot and Company is proud to be a partner of these organizations and to assist in their fight to educate, support and empower the people of Boston.
This video was produced by Company filmmakers Matt Paley and Brian Barth, along with frequent Company collaborators Sasha Winters, Christian Kiley, and Jeff Kulig.
See the film here.
Check out the new website for the partnership here. Also, be sure to check out Nuestra’s website, and Youthbuild’s.
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*Adam is from Oklahoma City. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I hear the barbecue is great.
Jefferson Bull Fermor, as a boy.
Faith Healer, Adam Hirsch’s 2009 senior thesis film, has been almost as elusive in the past few months as its subject, Jefferson Bull Fermor. No longer! Adam finally taped together the last few pieces and scrounged enough up to get it out. I’m happy to point you to two newly published excerpts from the film.
Much more content to come.
It is my privilege to direct your attention to Rickets, a little experiment in abstraction conducted by our very own Brian Barth. Rickets marks Brian’s first foray into landscape filmmaking. It’s also the first full St. Eliot project to appear on our website.
Many more to come.
Our good friends Billy and Jason over at Delicious Design League–otherwise known as the geniuses behind the Bullseye and Faith Healer postcards and posters–are selling the hand-printed posters on their website.
Some Enchanted Summer Evening:
New Movie Shorts by Local Filmmakers Have New England Premiere at the Brattle
Cambridge, July 10, 2009— Consider it a glimpse of things to come.
On July 10th, the Brattle will host two short films by first-time directors. The first, Faith Healer, blurs the line between documentary and fiction. When the faith healer at the center of his documentary disappears, director Adam Hirsch reconstructs his subject’s life through interviews with family and friends. Mr. Hirsch unravels the documentary form, searching for a moment of truth in what he regards as a manipulative and illusory medium. The result is an engrossing mystery, a cunning satire, and, most compellingly, a love story.
The second film, Bullseye, is a keenly observed story about growing up in New England. Writer-director Matt Paley has an eye for the nearly imperceptible changes that accompany the big moments: the private smile of a child who’s suddenly the center of attention; the bounce in the step of a teenager in the glow of a first sexual experience. There are a million shades of heartbreak in there, too. Candid performances from local teenagers breathe new life into the well-worn coming-of-age genre; Mr. Paley crafts a deceptively simple story that is satisfying without becoming sentimental.
Both Mr. Hirsch and Mr. Paley are graduates of Bard College’s experimental film program. Beyond their marked influences (Mr. Paley takes some obvious cues from Bard professor and Wendy and Lucy director Kelly Reichardt, while Mr. Hirsch’s epistemological experiment touches on the work of avant-garde filmmaker/professor Peggy Ahwesh), both directors are concerned with breaking the film form down into its basic elements—image, sound, and language—and exploring the particular powers of each. That Mr. Hirsch uses this as a philosophical stepping-stone, while Mr. Paley is more interested in reshaping a classic story, makes for an enjoyably eclectic evening.
Faith Healer/Bullseye starts at 6 pm, followed immediately by a Q&A with both filmmakers, moderated by local writer Scott Haas. Tickets are $5. For more info, please contact Scott Haas by email at scotthaas@comcast.net, or by phone at 617-497-2114.