Oh my god, it’s finally here.
This was one of those projects. None of the lovely people — Lily Susskind, my mighty co-director; Matt Ferro, our genius behind the camera; STE’s own Jake Teresi, our enabler, producer, and host in New Orleans; Carsie Blanton, our musical muse and sponsor – had any idea if and when it would suddenly (in my unsteady hands) transform itself into something lovely, hard and brilliant, and I had only the slightest inkling (and only sometimes).
Certainly, it was a project with the makings of something good. Carsie had managed to round up a veritable who’s who of the world’s greatest swing dancers – Chance Bushman, Giselle Anguizola, Peter Loggins, Amy Johnson, Reuel Reis, Laura Manning and Lisa Casper — and we’d constructed a tiny crew equally versed in dance and film primed to push the boundaries of the dance on film we’d seen before. Thanks to the generosity and excitement of the performers who joined us, our time in New Orleans and the footage we’d collected was unbelievable. But in the editing process, trying to capture the spirit of all of these dancers and their opposing styles, to respect the dance and still cut it mercilessly, to delight in the magic of New Orleans without reverting to cliché, and above all to fit everything into barely three minutes of song seemed an impossible task.
And yet, at long last, here it is! Shot in the streets of the 8th Ward, inside a St. Charles streetcar, on the balcony of Mimi’s in the Marigny, and in the abandoned Six Flags in Michoud, Baby Can Dance is a celebration of life and joy and dance and a city that’s always pregnant with all three. Please enjoy.
To kick off 2012, we’re rolling out Dumb Dumbs, a co-production between Greg Hanson of Greth Productions and STE.
Jason Trachtenburg and Andrew WK laugh manically into Seth Applebaum’s camera on the set of Dumb Dumbs
The boys (and girls) over at Greth Productions have long been a source of inspiration for us here at STE. Their work is alive and electric – crackling with humor, ingenuity, and a love for cinema that we see in the eyes of every zombie, cannibal, and bloodthirsty nun they throw on screen. I’ve counted Greg Hanson and Casey Regan amongst my closest friends and favorite collaborators since they lent us a hand on the set of Ruchiki, but hadn’t yet gotten to pay back the favor – until now.
Dumb Dumbs is Greg Hanson’s insane fever-dream of a music video for Rachel Trachtenburg (of Ruchiki fame) and her teen-girl outfit, SUPERCUTE! An homage to the drug-scare films of the 1930s and 40s, Dumb Dumbs is pure Greg – stylish, innovative, twisted and absurd. Liz and I were delighted to be asked to produce – almost as delighted as we are to share a little piece of the madness with you now. Enjoy!
I first visited New Orleans this past February and — like nearly everyone I know who’s made the trip — I found myself quickly ensnared in nets of magic and, from the very moment I left, anxious to return. How lucky I was to find myself, not three months later, back in Nola at the helm of a project that combined so many of my favorite things: a lovely folk singer, some extraordinary dancers, nightclubs, streetcars, and an abandoned six flags… the result (in whatever forms it settles into, still very much a mystery) is the Baby Can Dance project, a collaboration with Lily Susskind, Founder of Baltimore’s Effervescent Collective, and folk singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton and her delirious mix of folk, pop, jazz and, in this case, swing.
Carsie, Lily, the insanely talented Matt Ferro (whose camerawork can be seen in Pitkoff’s La Vie and No Sleep) and I descended on New Orleans (and on STE’s own Jake Teresi, who produced the hell out of this crazy shoot) and came together with a number of the very best swing dancers in New Orleans — and, thusly, the world — to photograph their dancing in ways it hadn’t been captured before. I think we very much succeeded. Below is a first little taste of what we’re playing with, featuring Laura Manning and Reuel Reis.
Much more to come.
Our very own Brian Barth has officially stepped on to the festival circuit!
His experimental film RICKETS (2010) will be premiering at the Boston Underground Film Festival ’11 and the Kansas City FilmFest ’11.
RICKETS explores a transformed landscape as it follows the simplest aesthetic narrative — white to black. The textures and rhythms of the image come from the serious digital distortion (achieved entirely in-camera) of the perfectly scenic setting of a boat trip down the Hudson River. The camera captures an alternate, underlying world, an almost microscopic vibration that pervades our existence.
Keep an eye out (for all our loyal Boston followers) – make sure to pick up some tickets for BUFF.
And while you’re there, be sure to also check out the extraordinary nunsploitation film Thy Kill Be Done (2010, dirs. Greg Hanson and Casey Reagan). It’s exactly what you think it is in the best way possible.
Our shoulders are all waxed and ready to rub. Come out and support Brian, the Company, Boston filmmaking, and, heck, just to see some really great film.
Friends!
We’re sorry we haven’t kept in touch (you look great, by the way). But while 2011 has, thus far, proved a year of bad communication, it’s proving to be a great year for work. Over the next few weeks, we’ll finally begin talking about Adam’s new short, Giampaolo’s Hollis Frampton opus, Jake’s new screenplay(s), Peter’s Kenneth Bowser project, Brian’s first festival appearance(!), and more. There are some structural changes coming to Saint Eliot as well; expect some changes to the website in the coming months, to reflect the changes brewing under the hood.
Today I have the pleasure of introducing my latest project (with Brian Barth and Skin Horse Theater’s Brian Dorsam), a four music-video cycle starring folk-rock goddess Devon Sproule, to be released with her upcoming album, I Love You, Go Easy. I’ll let the teaser do most of the talking for now; suffice to say, we’re very excited about the new album, about the project, and about the work to come.
For the past couple months, I’ve been working with a few of the funniest people I know (including company writer Peter Warren) on A Show About Us, a filmed sketch comedy show in the vein of Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall, and The State. The show is about three 20-somethings – Sasha, the L.A. transplant; Ken, the alpha male Celtics-fanatic; Christian, the sardonic prep-school kid – living together in Somerville, MA. Although the show is broad in scope (the actors also play the characters on their TV, for instance, as in the promo below), many of the sketches focus on their efforts to figure out Boston and for Boston, too, to figure them out.
The above summary makes it sound like the show is all dropped ‘r’s and references to Lansdowne street. Writing and speaking a lot about the show the past couple of days, I’ve felt the need to clarify my position on living and working in Boston. Even as Boston has become a more popular place to film, its pop-culture identity hasn’t matured. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with The Fighter, The Town, or The Social Network; it’s just that they all present Boston as one of the two popular cliches: a tough Irish neighborhood, or Harvard. A Show About Us – and every project I undertake — looks to poke and prod at these stereotypes. I (and I know I speak for the five Saint Eliot members that grew up in Boston) am very proud to be a Bostonian. Part of the impetus for Saint Eliot’s creation was the shared dream of living and working here; even as we disperse (Jake is off to New Orleans!), we constantly talk about a shared future in Boston, with a new wave of young artists committed to expressing our peculiar point of view. We believe that by telling the stories that matter to us — or, in this case, expressing what we find to be funny — we’ll add to a cultural conversation we’re hoping to grow here. That doesn’t always mean writing about Boston. It means writing from Boston.
It was my unexpected thrill yesterday to be invited to share this view on WBUR 90.9, Boston’s NPR news station. You can listen to my interview with Ken Breese (who writes for and stars in A Show About Us) and host Sacha Pfeiffer here.
A Show About Us has called Improv Boston home for the past few months; we’re delighted to finish our run with a big Holiday Extravaganza! finale at The Brattle Theater tomorrow night. (what’s that you say? you’ll be in the area tomorrow? well, come on by!) Shortly after, we’ll be launching a new home for our sketches online.
I’m new to directing comedy, and not that funny myself, so the creation of this show represented a huge step into the unknown for me. I want to take this chance to thank the absolutely wonderful Sasha Winters, Ken Breese, Christian Kiley, and Casey Regan (the show is about them), as well as Mike Salomon and Peter Warren, our incomparable wordsmiths, for making this initially horrifying prospect a truly joyful experience.
Below I’ve included our promo for the Brattle show. Enjoy!
In September, I announced the upcoming release of I’ll Be Okay, the debut music video for the Boston-based hip hop group The Dean’s List. I promised a “delightful exercise in good pop: glossy, catchy, satisfying, sugary goodness.” After a month spent fine tuning and color correcting (with a little help–okay, a lot of help–from our friends over at National Boston Studios), I think we’ve delivered just that.
I produced I’ll Be Okay (with Ruchiki producer Liz Phelps) for music-video director Matt Pitkoff, who I’m excited to announce will guest-direct Ruchiki‘s own music video, Mermaid Princess. I’ll Be Okay will make its television debut on MTV networks in the coming month; check back in for more specific information soon.
In August, I was thrilled to produce I’ll Be Okay, the debut music video for the Boston-based hip hop sensation (or soon-to-be sensation) The Dean’s List. Directed by my good friend Matt Pitkoff, the video, like the song, is a delightful exercise in good pop: glossy, catchy, satisfying, sugary goodness.
I’ll Be Okay represents something a little different for Saint Eliot, and we hope you like it. Here’s a little teaser; the full video will make its debut on MTV (and youtube, of course) in the next few weeks.
Apologies for the radio silence, gentle readers!
Summer has been a busy time for all of us at STE–a time spent settling accounts (as two of the boys graduated from college), reassessing work (as the first major Ruchiki shoot came to an successful close), and starting fresh (new projects in new places, with a few of us in new cities). We’ll be back up and running at full speed soon, but for now, let me kick off the coming fall with a happy announcement: Ain’t That The Way has started its festival run.
We’re looking forward to screenings at LA International Film Fest, Vegas Cine Fest, and Young Cuts Film Fest (and crossing our fingers for more), and we do hope, should any of you be in any of those fine cities on the nights in question, to see you there (more on the exact dates and times later).
We were especially excited to learn (in the same email that informed us of our acceptance, strangely enough) that the judging at LA International was complete, and that Ain’t That The Way had won Best Costume Design (Music Video), and had come in third overall in the Best Music Video category!
We hope you’ve had a lovely July and August, and are ready for an exciting fall. You’ll hear quite a bit more from us soon enough.
If you watched the Webby Awards–which, thank you so much for asking but, no, we did not sweep–you probably saw the funniest introduction of the night. It featured Jason Bateman and Will Arnett introducing Arnett’s wife, Amy Pohler:
What you may not know is that the introduction was written by Ruchiki writer and Company member Peter Warren. Congratulations, Peter, for the joke of the night–which means a lot next to Zach Galifianakis and BJ Novak. Make sure you put in a good word for us next time.
Well, it’s looking like the time has come for the Company to go international. I’m hopping the pond over to Europe to take Faith Healer to the Milan International Film Festival, where it’s nominated for Best Short Film. Check out the program here. It screens on Sunday May 9 at the Teatra Gnomo.
I’ll be posting updates on the blog periodically over the week, but if you want the play-by-play action follow me on Twitter.
This Friday, April 23, Faith Healer is playing at the Alabama International Film Festival in Troy, Alabama.
If you’re in the area, please swing by! Getting some friends of the Company in some seats would be amazing. The festival is being held during TroyFest, the local arts festival, and the entire town’s going to be alive and I’ve heard it gets crazy.
It’s playing at 5:30 pm this Friday, April 23, in Historic Downtown Troy at the Studio Theater on Walnut Street.
Last week, the Geneva Film Festival was a big success and this weekend will be just as great!
We’re proud to announce that Adam Hirsch’s Faith Healer, one of the first Company shorts, is making the festival circuit beginning at the Geneva Film Festival (April 16-18)*.
You can stop by Geneva IL (about 20 minutes west of Chicago), and see Faith Healer at 3:00 on Fri. April 16 at Riverside Receptions or at 2:00 on Sat. April 17 at the Mill Race Inn. Adam will be there, likely wearing a tie and jeans–unless he’s nervous, in which case he’ll up the style with, I’d wager, a vest.
The full schedule of films is here on the Festival site.
It’s a small festival (30 films or so) so it’s a guaranteed good time. Everyone showed such support and enthusiasm when we screened last June at the Brattle, we’re hoping to replicate the experience out there in the midwest.
Hope to see you there!
*Screening twice! You have no excuse!
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 Comunidad 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.
We’re very proud of their interpretations of our work, and highly suggest you take a look at some of their other designs. They primarily work with bands–maybe you’ll see a concert poster you’ve just got to have. If you do buy something from them, tell them Matt and Adam sent you.
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.
