Screening at Rooftop in September

Some news: my short "Notebook on Santas and Elves" will screen September 5 in the Rooftop Films program Storms Expected at a venue on the Lower East Side. Did I mention there's an open bar?

Saturday, September 5
STORMS EXPECTED (short films)
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
Directions: F/J/M/Z to Essex/Delancey
Rain: In the event of rain the show will be held indoors at the same location
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St. @ Grand) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online at www.rooftopfilms.com

Doc Challenge Film Up For Emmy

Some news from the International Doc Challenge:

"ARS MAGNA" NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY!

Believe it or not, but a Doc Challenge film has been nominated for an Emmy! "Ars Magna", made as part of the 2008 International Documentary Challenge, has received a nomination in the 30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, announced July 14 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The film, directed by Cory Kelley and produced by Sean Roach of Team Juicebox in Seattle, qualified for the Emmy's by receiving a national broadcast on PBS' POV series, a presenting partner of the Doc Challenge.

"Ars Magna," which means "great art" in Latin, is an anagram of the word "anagrams." Enter into the obsessive and fascinating world of anagrams with Cory Calhoun, who took the first three lines of Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy and made them into what's been called the "world's greatest anagram." Congratulations to Cory, Sean and all of Team Juicebox - what an accomplishment for a film made in 5 days!

You can see the film here.

Last Book Read: Ralph Rosenblum

Sure, I've been away from the blog. It's true. I've been busy, sick, swamped and just plain away. And it's been quite a while. Now I'm back.

Usually, when I read, I try to do so in big chunks. I'd rather experience a book, live with it, rather than just chip away at it. That hasn't been possible, lately, though, so my reading has consisted of 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there, between and around tasks. Still, eventually you get to the end.

I've just finished Ralph Rosenblum's When The Shooting Stops ... The Cutting Begins: A Film Editor's Story.

I'm adding it to my fall curriculum -- I'll be teaching a basic editing class -- so I thought I'd re-read it. It's really a delight. As a person's life story, it's a sharply-told account that details Rosenblum's career as one of the most significant editors of his time. From the standpoint of editing, a few highlights not to miss:

• his invention of flashback techniques in "The Pawnbroker"
• his nightmares working with first-time directors -- and their egos
• his account of the changing conception of what an editor does
• his collaboration with Woody Allen, remaking the films in the edit

Best of all, at least from the viewpoint of my students: it's a theory-free glimpse over a feature editor's shoulder, letting you spend time in the cutting room of one of the pioneers of contemporary editing. A great read.