Adam Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Hi all, A bit of self-promotion. I co-produced two documentaries last year. One is called "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience." It's about soldeirs experiences of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as reflected in their own writings. It will be opening at Film Forum in NY on Feb 9 and playing for a week. I hope everyone there can make it. More news to come, of other cities where it will be playing, festivals, etc. It's rooted in a program by the NEA that created a bunch of writing workshops at military bases. Here's a link about that NEA initiative: http://www.arts.gov/national/homecoming/index.html Tickets at Film Forum: www.filmforum.org I promise that it won't be a waste of your time. Some writings were published in the New Yorker last summer. A larger assortment was published as a book by Random House last September. The film drew upon the submissions by soldiers for the book. Not propaganda, as some critics feared when it was originally announced. I think it's a remarkable portrait of troops at war, the complexities, doubts, and fears - written with honesty. I'm biased, of course, but response has been pretty overwhelming thus far. The 80-minute version of the film (which will be in theatres) includes 11 pieces of writing, with different visual strategies, along with interviews with the writers, and with more established American writers who are also veterans. In the latter group are Tim O'Brien, Yusef Komunyakaa, Tobias Wolff, Joe Haldeman, James Salter, Anthony Swofford, Richard Currey, and Paul Fussell. The visual approaches range from poet Brian Turner reading directly to camera, to archival footage, to an animated "graphic novel," to a still photo sequence shot by photographer Antonin Kratochvil. There will also be a 53 minute version airing on PBS as part of a series "America at a Crossroads." the series deals with America's relationship with terrorism, war, Islam, and other variations. Here's the website for our show & the series. The PBS version has two fewer pieces of writing, and various other trims. http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/s...homecoming.html ---- The other film is "The Old Weird America: Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music." I'm currently at the Rotterdam Film Festival with that one. One more screening - tomorrow 2/2. It's available in the box set from Shout! Factory, but we are trying to get some festival and television play. Beasts of entirely different natures. But I hope you all can check them out. I think you might hear a bit about Operation Homecoming in the weeks to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Here's the flier for Film Forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 up for the Operation Homecoming opening at Film Forum today. It was reviewed in various NY publications today. I hope those of you in NY might find it interesting and will check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Depressing no comments yet. I wish I could see both. Thanks for the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Operation Homecoming will also be playing at the UCLA Film & TV Archive on Monday night, Feb 12, at 7:30, for any Angelenos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Yo Adam-- congrats & good luck w/all this & two things 1) Feel free to give us a little longer lead time when yr in NYC 2) Do you have access to any photographs of Harry Smith & contact w/the rights holders? Preferable Harry in New York, btw, tho' Naropa or elsewhere might be acceptable. This has become unexpectedly URGENT. PM me & I'll explain-- txxx in advance!! elder don clementine I'll be in NYC in March for the Harry Smith screening at Anthology. The director of the film, Rani Singh, runs the Harry Smith Archives. I am in contact with her all the time. PM me and I'll hook you up, no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 (edited) Official notice. "The Old, Weird America: Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music" will have its New York premiere on Thursday, March 15th, 8:00 p.m. at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave (@ 2nd St). We will have a reception in the Anthology lobby immediately afterwards. I would like to invite you to join us that evening and attend the Thursday screening (or any of the nights you're available). I hope you all can make it to one of the shows! Harry Smith was the collector and annotator of the original Anthology of American Folk Music, issed by Folkways in 1952, and reissued on CD by Smithsonian Folkways in 1997. The film is primarily about the Anthology, Harry's relationship to it, and its influence on the folk revival of the 1960s and on musicians since then. Included are healthy chunks of footage from concerts organized by Hal Willner to celebrate the Anthology's reissue. The concerts were held in London, NY, and LA in 1999 and 2001 and feature performers as varied as Don Byron, Percy Heath, Roswell Rudd, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Beth Orton, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, David Thomas (of Pere Ubu), Beck, Geoff Muldaur, Elvis Costello, and John Sebastian. The film will also screen Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 5:00. This is part of a larger series of Harry Smith's complete oeuvre taking place March 14 - 18th at Anthology Film Archives. MAGIC IN MUSIC AND MOTION: THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF HARRY SMITH All screenings at Anthology Film Archives, New York http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/index.php Artist, Animator, Ethnographer, Alchemist – Harry Smith (1923-1991) was all this and much more. An utterly remarkable character who produced an eccentric, electrifying body of work, Smith’s legacy and influence continue to be felt across a wide spectrum. Anthology and Harry go way back (he was our Artist-In-Residence) and it has been our mission over the years to promote and preserve his myriad achievements and undertakings in film and beyond. At the heart of this series is a one-week run of our brand new preservation of Smith’s most fully realized work, FILM NO. 12: HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC. Rani Singh, Director of the Harry Smith Archives, will be on hand to present her recently completed documentary THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA: HARRY SMITH’S ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC. In addition, we are presenting 2 screenings of Smith’s epic, the incomparable MAHAGONNY. And finally, there will be an Essential Cinema program of Smith’s short film wonders. To learn more about Harry Smith, visit The Harry Smith Archives: www.harrysmitharchives.com Thursday, March 15 through Saturday, March 17 at 8:00 nightly and Sunday, March 18 at 5:00. NEW YORK PREMIERE! FILMMAKER IN PERSON! Rani Singh THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA: HARRY SMITH’S ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC 2006, 90 minutes, video, color, sound. Produced by Adam Hyman and The Harry Smith Archives. Prepare for an eclectic journey through THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA. Rani Singh's new documentary film tracks the history of Harry Smith's ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC from its initial compilation of 78rpm records from rural Americana to its release on Folkways Records in 1952. Instrumental in helping inspire the urban folk revival of the 1960s, the ANTHOLOGY continues to influence modern music. An incredible set of interviewees reveal the lasting impact of the ANTHOLOGY and the remarkable personality of Harry Smith. After the box-set’s release on CD in 1997, Hal Willner’s Harry Smith Project concerts celebrated Smith’s idiosyncratic vision, from Nick Cave’s cathartic take on spirituals to Lou Reed’s mesmerizing evocation of Blind Lemon Jefferson. The film includes rare archival footage, performances, and interviews with Elvis Costello, Beck, Sonic Youth, Beth Orton, Philip Glass, David Johansen, John Cohen, Greil Marcus, and more. Join us for a wild ride through a remarkable musical landscape. Wednesday, March 14 at 7:30. ONE NIGHT ONLY! HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC WITH LIVE SLIDE & GEL PERFORMANCE! Harry Smith NO 12: HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC 1957-62, 66 minutes, 16mm. Newly preserved with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Preservation work by Cineric, Inc. For the opening night screening of the preserved print of HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC, The Harry Smith Archives and M. Henry Jones will present a live performance with specially designed slides, colored gels and maskings. Smith showed the film with its special projection set-up only once, in the late-1950s at Carnegie Hall, New York City on a specially built projector. This show involved the use of colored gels and slide overlays to create a vividly colored presentation that had the strong feel of a magic lantern show with an animated shadow play at its center. It is characteristic of Smith to have created this antiquated form of color presentation, very much akin to the tinting and toning of silent films, rather than naturalistic color. With the slides and gels, HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC regains its aboriginal character as an alchemical séance. Wednesday, March 14 through Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 nightly. Additional screenings on Saturday and Sunday at 5:30. Harry Smith NO 12: HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC 1957-62, 66 minutes, 16mm. Newly preserved with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Preservation work by Cineric, Inc. A masterpiece like none other, HEAVEN AND EARTH MAGIC is a fever-dream collage animation of inexplicable depth and illogical means. Beautiful to behold and bizarrely baroque, Smith toiled for years to create the surreal images and musique concrète soundtrack contained herein. Surprisingly, Smith never made a negative for this milestone of underground cinema. Following nearly two years worth of work, we are thrilled to present this pristine new copy that was made from the earliest existing print. All attempts at a rational description fail when compared with Smith’s own explanation: “The first part depicts the heroine’s toothache consequent to the loss of a valuable watermelon, her dentistry and transportation to heaven. Next follows an elaborate exposition of the heavenly land in terms of Israel, Montreal and the second part depicts the return to earth from being eaten by Max Muller on the day Edward the Seventh dedicated the Great Sewer of London.” "NO. 12 can be seen as one moment – certainly the most elaborately crafted moment – of the single alchemical film which is Harry Smith’s life work. In its seriousness, its austerity, it is one of the strangest and most fascinating landmarks in the history of cinema.” –P. Adams Sitney Saturday and Sunday, March 17 & 18 at 3:30. ESSENTIAL CINEMA Harry Smith EARLY ABSTRACTIONS (1941-57, 23 minutes) MIRROR ANIMATIONS (1957, 4 minutes) LATE SUPERIMPOSITIONS (1964, 28 minutes) OZ, THE TIN WOODMAN’S DREAM (1967, 15 minutes) All works preserved by Anthology Film Archives. For a description of these films, see the entry in the ESSENTIAL CINEMA section on page 3. Saturday, March 17 at 5:00 and Sunday, March 18 at 7:00. Harry Smith FILM #18: MAHAGONNY 1970-1980, 141 minutes, 35mm, color, sound. Preservation work undertaken by Cineric, Inc., with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Sony Entertainment, the National Film Preservation Foundation, The Getty Research Institute and The Harry Smith Archives. This restoration has been a joint project of Anthology Film Archives and the Harry Smith Archives. Smith worked obsessively on MAHAGONNY for over ten years, shooting it from 1970-72 and editing it from 1972-80. Based on the Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht opera RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY, the film was an epic, four-screen projection which the filmmaker considered to be his magnum opus and described as a mathematical analysis of Marcel Duchamp's “Large Glass.” MAHAGONNY is an allegory of contemporary life; it explores the needs and desires of man amid the rituals of daily life in New York City. Smith's New York, like Brecht’s Mahagonny, is a place where everything is permitted and the only sin is not having enough money. Much of the film takes place within the Chelsea Hotel and contains invaluable portraits of important scenesters such as Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith and Jonas Mekas. These appearances are intercut with installation pieces from Robert Mapplethorpe's studio, New York City landmarks of the era, and Smith's unique, visionary animation. This 35mm print represents the completion of an ambitious preservation project by Anthology Film Archives and The Harry Smith Archives. The film was originally shown ten times at Anthology in 1980 on four 16mm projectors with the filmmaker present at each screening. This recently restored print is a composite of all four original 16mm masters (and the Weill soundtrack) that have been optically printed into a single “tiled” 35mm film image. Edited March 3, 2007 by Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Up once, for the screenings at Anthology Film Archives in NYC this week. I hope some of you might come on down! I'll be at the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 8 pm shows. Probably see some jazz after the Friday night show at the Stone or the Vanguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 up for tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazaro Vega Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Congratulations on this work. Just saw the notice tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Up. Operation Homecoming is currently playing in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center. We also won a Special Jury Prize at the Florida Film Festival for Innovative Documentary Storytelling. And it's opening this Friday at Coolidge Corner in Boston, the Laemmle Grande Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Theatre in Portland OR, and Theatre N in Wilmington DE. Theatrical screenings, starting with dates: 3/30 - 4/5 Chicago, IL Siskel Film Center 4/1 - 4/5 Buffalo, NY Market Arcade Film & Arts Center 4/2 - 4/4 Atlanta, GA Lefont Plaza 4/6 - 4/8 Wilmington, DE Theatre N 4/6 - 4/12 Brookline, MA Coolidge Corner 4/6 - 4/12 Los Angeles, CA Laemmle Grande 4/6 - 4/12 Portland, OR Hollywood Theatre 4/7 & 4/10 Amherst, MA Amherst Theatre 4/13 - 4/19 Salt Lake City, UT Tower Theatre 5/27 - 5/29 San Francisco, CA Red Vic Theatre These venues are all Landmark Theatres, and have only mid-day screenings (noon and 2 pm, generally): 4/2 - 4/4 Minneapolis, MN Lagoon 4/2 - 4/4 Milwaukee, WI Downer Thr. 4/3 - 4/5 Houston, TX Greenway Thr. 4/3 - 4/5 New Orleans, LA Canal Place Cinema 4/10 - 4/12 San Diego, CA La Jolla Theatre 4/10 - 4/12 Boulder, CO Crossroads Thr. 4/10 - 4/12 St. Louis Plaza Frontenac 4/10 - 4/12 Austin, TX Dobie Thr. 4/10 - 4/12 Seattle, WA Harvard Exit It also airs in shorter form on PBS on Monday April 16. There was an article about the series in the NY Times today - America at a Crossroads. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/arts/tel...70&emc=eta1 And here is the PBS website for it: http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/s...homecoming.html I hope you all can check it out, in the theatres if possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Up. I'll be at the screenings at the Laemmle Grande in downtown Los Angeles tonight (Saturday) and next Tuesday April 10 after the 5:45 and 7:45 shows for Q&As. Hope some of you in LA can make it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 Hi all, OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE will be airing on PBS on Monday April 16 as part of the series America at a Crossroads. In most areas it will be airing at 10:00 pm on your local PBS station, after the show "Warriors" which is also part of the series. For those of you who weren't able to see it on the big screen, I hope you can catch the PBS viewing. Set your Tivos now! We just won a Special Jury Prize for Innovative Documentary Storytelling at the Florida Film Festival. The televised version is a shorter version, and not quite as fulfilling, a bit more abrupt, but better than not seeing it. Here is the PBS website for the program with lots more details: http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/s...homecoming.html OPERATION HOMECOMING is a unique documentary that explores the firsthand accounts of American soldiers through their own words. The film is built upon a project created by the National Endowment for the Arts to gather the writing of soldiers and their families who have participated in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . Through interviews and dramatic readings, the film presents a profound window into the human side of America's current conflicts. Directed by Richard E. Robbins; Co-produced by Adam Hyman and Kristin Lesko; edited by Gillian McCarthy; filmed by Jason Ellson, production coordinated by Megan Parlen. More on the feature film: http://www.operationhomecomingthemovie.com/ Here's a trailer. Let me know what you think. best, Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Operation Homecoming is airing tonight, Monday April 16th, at 10 pm. Hope you can catch it. NY Times review today: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/arts/tel...70&emc=eta1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Depressing no comments yet. I wish I could see both. Thanks for the information. Very cool indeed...congrats! Can't make it...wish I could Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 try to watch it tonight on PBS, unless it's co-opted by Virginia Tech coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 did anyone watch it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 sorry, Adam, if I'd known this was your project I would have watched it - gotta admit that I find the whole domestic/war situation so depressing that I don't know if I can watch anything about it - it flashes back to the Vietnam war and the lemming-like willingness of Americans to let their sons become cannon fodder. Where I live 2 soldiers have been lost in the last month or so - South Portland, Maine - and I see the flags waving and the funeral processions and I say to myself, they never learn; give them another war and they'll send the next generation to die for nothing (though they'll never get my son, who just turned 19; we've already gotten a few calls from recruiters whom I've yelled at); even worse, of course, is the situation for Iraquis and their children, about whom nobody seems to care - (by the way, this is not by ANY means a criticism of your documentary subject; there's plenty of victims to go around here) - so I apologize as, politically, I'm in something of a hibernation mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeith Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Adam I watched it and found it to be excellent: very moving, informative and fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Maybe I should have made a separate thread about it. Ah well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 For those of you in the Bay Area, California, "The Old, Weird America: Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music" is playing 4 times at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Hope you check it out! Fri, Apr 27 / 8:55 pm / Pacific Film Archives, Berkeley Sat, Apr 28 / 6:15 pm / Sundance Cinemas Kabuki Mon, Apr 30 / 8:30 pm / Sundance Cinemas Kabuki Wed, May 2 / 3:45 pm / Sundance Cinemas Kabuki Pacific Film Archive Theater 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch Street), Berkeley Sundance Cinemas Kabuki 1881 Post Street (at Fillmore), San Francisco http://fest07.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=73 and "Operation Homecoming" will be playing at the Red Vic in San Francisco on May 27-29. I'll be up there for some of those screenings for the Q&A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) Hi all, The film I co-produced, "Operation Homecoming," was nominated for an Oscar this morning for feature documentary. It's also out on DVD now. Catch the feature version, not teh PBS version. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/movies/2...amp;oref=slogin Hope you all can see it. Should be on Netflix as well, and maybe we'll get some more theatrical showings, at least in NY & LA. Edited January 23, 2008 by Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoGrubb Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Outstanding!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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