66 Minutes 2006
During the 2004 Republican National Convention, three political players are followed: Cheri Honkala, liberal activist; Paul Rodriguez, Republican candidate for Congress; and Michelle Goldberg, an independent journalist.
FEATURING: Michelle Goldberg, Cheri Honkala, Paul Rodriguez, Galen Tyler, Cecilia Garza, Sam Heller
Using the tumultuous 2004 Republican Convention and the animated reaction of New Yorkers as its backdrop, August in the Empire State takes the viewer behind the scenes during one of the most intense moments in recent American history. By following a homeless rights activist, a journalist, and a congressional candidate before and during the convention, the film exposes the people and the very personal stakes behind what divides us as a country.
Tension in the triangle area of North Carolina ramped up considerably after the wild clashes in Charlottesville, VA. A few days after the chaos and the killing there protesters in Durham pulled down a Jim Crow era confederate statue in front of the old courthouse. People were shocked, not only to see it fall, but also to see it twist......
About a year and a half ago – when we launched our first kickstarter campaign to help fund Battle for Brooklyn (a doc we have been working on for 7.5 years), I did a great deal of planning. I took the game theory aspect very seriously. We knew that we had networks of people that we could tap into, and......
Last night I spent a little time going over a grant application for film funding. Years ago, I gave up on applying for grants because we never got them- literally- in our first ten years of applying, we got none. The one positive thing about the process is that it does force one to do the work of articulating what......
When I hit the floor with searing back pain for the second time in my life I was stuck on my office floor for two weeks, unable to even sit up. On the 9th or 10th day of my stuckness I tried to go to the airport to get on a plane with my family. It took every bit of......
Last week a good friend, and academy nominated doc director, gave us some great notes on our rough cut. He had seen a somewhat earlier version of the film so it was great to hear his notes because we had already addressed about 80% of them. At the same time, he asked a series of sharp questions about what we......
Cathryn J Ramin’s heavily researched look at the back pain industry, “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting On the Road to Recovery“, is painfully satisfying to read – especially for people who have struggled with back pain and the surgeons, pushers, and needle jockeys that profit from it. Ramin’s book is framed by her personal journey to heal......
The few times I’ve posted anything vaguely political on the All The Rage Facebook page, it has sparked outrage from Dr. Sarno fans who support Donald Trump. This includes simply posting articles about Trump’s response to the opioid crisis with no comment whatsoever. While Dr. Sarno did not write about political issues in his books, when he appeared before the......
On a Saturday afternoon in late September, I almost drowned. On this warm fall afternoon, my friend Caroline and I had impulsively decided to swim across a lake. It’s a big enough body of water that we had to frantically wave at several speedboats to make sure that we didn’t get run over as we crossed. It’s one of those......
DSLR video has had a tremendous impact on us over here at Rumur. The image quality is so much better than standard HD cameras that it has inspired a whole new wave of ideas. Before we made our first feature film, “Half-Cocked,” Suki said to me, “If we can make it look anything like your photos, we’ll be all right.”......
Feb 13- a snow storm locked Chapel Hill into place. The highway was stopped and the meadow froze over. Our borrowed dog struggled with the icy layer....
Last month I got the first copies of my photo book. It would not exist without kickstarter, and for that I am very grateful. It all began when I put some 20 year old mall pictures on-line. They went viral so I quickly threw together a kickstarter to make a book. I kept it simple, just using a music video......
We've been doing this work for over 25 years and have made all kinds of films from rock and roll narratives to crime films to political and personal documentaries. On the surface, most of the films don't seem connected, but certain themes run through them all, and they build on one another. These can be thought of as themes and also as lessons we learned from making the films. ...