What SAG-AFTA can do for you.

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The Winter Park Public Library  hosted a talk about SAG-AFTA. I had not been to the new library building, so I decided to go.

There is a huge arched structure in front of the very modern building so I walked through those arches into one of two adjacent buildings that sweep outwards a precarious angles from the base.

I masked up and entered the building which turned out to be an events space. There were no books to be seen. I felt I was on the wrong track, so I exited and went to the other building which actually did have books inside. There were tow computer consoles inside the entrance instead of a receptionist. I would need to search around for the talk in question. Luckily it was right behind the computerized reception desk. Off to the left was a recesses staging area with chairs set up and two actors seated at a table center stage. Video cameras were set up at the top of the mini amphitheater taping. The event had started 15 minutes early, so I felt I would not have much time to sketch. I decided not to sketch the cameras and instead walked half way down the seating area. I wanted to show that there were a few people in the audience.

SAG-AFTA is an actors union. Carol Baily and Adam Vernier have both done lots of commercial work as actors. Much of their talk was about doing work as extras on sets. Adam was particularity upset since Florida once had incentives for film production companies to shoot in the state. Rick Scott then became governor of Florida and he killed those incentives. Georgia offers incentives and so they get all the film production work instead of Florida. Even if a film is supposed tp take place in Florida it is usually shot somewhere else.

Carol listed instances on a film set where a production company ignored guidelines by not offering breaks for actors for instance. She listed the infringements and called SAG-AFTA. A union representative then came out and quietly pulled the producer aside and made sure things were set right. She noted one instance where she was an extra but was then upgraded since she was in so many scenes. Once lines are delivered salaries can jump up to six figures. Royalties are offered any time a commercial is shown. Royalties are an actors bread and butter, but they can be just a fraction of a percent, meaning a check might arrive for just a few cents. But hey as an artist every penny counts.

A question came from someone in the audience. He said his daughter had caught the acting bug and wanted advice on how she might someday get her SAG-AFTA membership. Adam was blunt. He said she should  get out of acting while she can, but if she really has the bug there is no stopping her. Actors are born not made.

I looked up Carol and Adam on IMDB to see their credits. I had no luck finding information on Carol but found plenty on Adam. Adam Vernier was born in Manassas, Virginia. While living in Chicago at 5 years old, Vernier auditioned for and was the second choice for the part of “Danny” in the movie The Shining. Adam has worked for years on stage (Equity), television shows (SAG-AFTRA), feature films (SAG), straight to television movies (SAG-AFTRA), commercials (SAG), industrial training videos (SAG) and on and on. He is often cast as an officer or military guy. Now I am wondering if either of them are in one of the films being shown at the Florida Film Festival.

Danny Loyd who did play the roll of Danny in the Shining, retired from acting at the age of 10. In 2019, Lloyd appeared in a cameo role as a spectator at a baseball game in the Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, his first acting role in 36 years. I do not know if he was in SAG-AFTA.

Facebook for some reason has recently started flooding the social media site with photos of celebrities. Because of that I have started to ignore the platform.

Whisky Duo at Eden Bar

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I decided to cover the Florida Film Festival as an outsider. My film, COVID Dystopia was rejected by the festival. My thought is that the Florida politics shown in the film probably disqualified it. It is a bit too hard edged for the quaint hometown FFF.

I have sketched the festival many times in the past and I know you can rub shoulders with some pretty incredibly film makers just by hanging out at the Eden bar.

I saw more than my share of films at the Cleveland Film Festival which was a truly incredible experience. So I don’t feel the need to review films at the Florida Film Festival. Instead my thought is to cover the Florida Film Festival ancillary activities.

As I walked up to the Enzian Theater I could hear live music. Whisky Duo was performing outside on the patio in front of the Eden Bar. The bar was packed as were most of the outside tables. The front two tables closest to the performers were however empty. Chairs had been borrowed to seat more people at other tables so I set out my art stool. I masked up since it was a dense crowd.

I was enjoying the set until they broke into playing The Bear Necessities, from Disney’s The Jungle Book. Ugh, Disney’s sweaty paw seems to try and permeate all local arts and culture. I liked that yellow blooms had fallen from a tree onto the table and I liked that the Live Music banner reflected the dense Florida foliage that surrounds the Enzian. The performance was free, you can’t beat that.

On the night I did this sketch, International Animated Shorts were to be shown at 9:15pm. The laughing crowd around me were probably waiting for that show to begin.I figured that a crowd interested in seeing International Animated Shorts might have a familiar face but I didn’t recognize anyone. This weekend I will be buying a ticket to see the shorts for myself. I am curious what types of animated films were selected.

The musician announced that they were performing their last song. I panicked and sketched faster. I got some semblance of line work done of the performers before the end of the song. I spent the rest of the time working on the background and adding color. The lights made the painting a challenge since they kept changing color. I settled on the bright purple lights.

Florida Film Festival rejects COVID Dystopia

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I was saddened to find out that the Florida Film Festival has rejected COVID Dystopia. I had high hopes that I could screen the film at this high profile festival in my home town.

I have sketched at many Florida Film Festival events over the years and it is the film festival that I have felt most at home with.

I have a hard time imagining why the festival might not want to screen my film, but then I thought, well maybe they do not approve of my COVID pandemic depictions of the policies of our home state governor, Ron DeathSantis. Most festival judges in other states or other countries do not know who this fella is but locally his deadly policies are well known.

I also submitted the film to the Orlando Film Festival in Downtown Orlando but I suspect the result will be the same.It is best to ignore a film that contradicts the rush to a “New Normal” while 2000 Americans continue to die every week.

Florida Film Festival Opening Night Party

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The opening night of the 2019 Florida Film Festival was celebrated with a
thrilling film premiere at Enzian Theater (1300 Orlando Ave, Maitland, FL 32751). The opening night film was Woman in Motion directed by Todd Thompson. To most of the known universe, Nichelle Nichols is Lieutenant Uhura, the
communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise. On Star Trek
she broke barriers as one of the first African Americans to star in a
network show and as a participant in television’s first interracial
kiss. In reality Nichelle Nichols was a pioneer, a fiercely intelligent
and passionate advocate for African Americans, women, and minorities.
She worked with the NAACP and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a role model
for young black children and women. Beyond that, Nichelle Nichols is
arguably the single most important figure in history for the recruitment
of women and minorities to the field of space exploration, specifically
the NASA space shuttle program.

After the premiere, patrons sampled food and cocktails from favorite
local spots and an open bar at Eden Bar. It was an outdoor feast where patrons could
mingle and celebrate with all the folks would be their new cinematic best
friends for the next ten days. Patrons ate, drank, were merry, and discussed all the
films that might be seen at the festival ahead. This legendary
party launched a non-stop, fun-filled, ten-day celebration of Film,
Food, and Friends.

When Pam and I arrived, I quickly sat in a open spot to sketch the moon shaped orb that illuminated the lawn next to the Eden Bar. Pam explored a bit and sat with Scottie and Brendan to catch up. When My sketch was done, Scottie asked if I had included him in the sketch. Unfortunately he was out of my line of sight.

Pam and I tried a few vendors food booths to see what was available at this gala opening party. First up we tried a slice of pizza from Medici Pizza. It was kind of hard to judge the pizza since it was ice cold. We picked up a flyer anyway and might go to the restaurant to try a hot slice instead. Roque Pub was offering bites, beer and wine. Better yet they had a $10 off coupon and a bumper sticker. Now I don’t put stickers on my bumper,but I did place it on the cover of my sketchbook which is mighty fine ad placement for hundreds of years to come. Should you be a local business wanting sticker exposure look no further than the AADW sketchbooks. The other food treat I tried was from La Empanada and that was delicious. After a couple of bites of cheese I had seen enough. I had my sketch and the party was in full swing. We decided to get back home since I had to get up early to teach all day Saturday.

Today is the final day of the Florida Film Festival, so get out and support independent cinema.

Program Announcement Party

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The 28th annual Florida Film Festival pass and package holders as well as other festival supporters gathered for this kickoff event featuring the announcement of all films, events, and special guests selected for the 2019 Florida Film Festival. The big announcement was that actress Nichelle Nichols best known for her role as Lieutenant Uhura on the original Star Trek series would be featured in the opening night’s film titled Women in Motion. Back in the 60s when Star Trek aired it was unheard of for a black woman to featured as a senior member of a crew. After leaving the bridge, she saw a film about the space program that featured all white men. She wondered why there were no women of color in the space program. She spoke to people in charge and ended up becoming the single most influential figure in the recruitment of women and minorities in the filed of space exploration.

The Blair Witch Project was made in 1999 with a budget of $25,000. The premise of the film was that the film makers hiked in the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland
to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair
Witch. The three disappeared, but their equipment and footage was
discovered a year later. The purportedly “recovered footage” was the film
the viewer saw. I first saw the Blair Witch Project at the Enzian. The Blair Witch Project grossed nearly $250 million worldwide on a modest budget of $60,000, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. The Cast and Crew will be returning to the Enzian for an evening to see and discuss the making of the film.

This year the Oscar for the best film went to a film made for Netflix. This might be an indication that audiences have a growing taste for independent films. The Florida Film Festival is an Oscar qualifying film festival. So for the independent film creators, this is an important step in their film’s journey.

Following the announcement, trailers were screened. This year there are more films by women filmmakers than ever before. Pam Schwartz wrote comments for each film so we knew what the best films to see might be. Her choices included,  

Chef’s Diaries: Scotland, food travel.

Dachra, Investigative reporting about witchcraft.

Dog in the Woods, a magic universe dog.

All is True, Shakespeare’s biography and finding his voice after retirement.

The Biggest Little Farm, a couple on a farm faced the hardships of nature.

General Magic, an early computer company dreamed of the pocket cell phone and was ripped off by Apple.

Tungrus, was a hilarious short about a rooster terrorizing a family home in Mumbai.

Of the animated shorts, I liked,

Sister, about memories of an annoying sister. I incorporated this film into my sketch.

Hybrids, looked like  gorgeous epic about life in the ocean with crabs wearing bottle top helmets.

Cerulia, a creepy Burtonesque film.

Beginning April 13, 2019 the Festival will screen 180 films over 10 days. Festival passes and individual tickets for the film Festival are on sale now. It will be 10 days of Film, Food and Friends.

Sam Rivers Tribute Band at the White House.

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The Sam Rivers Tribute Band gathered once again after years of being apart at the Timucua Arts Foundation White House (2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806.) this concert was thrown together at the last minute.  The band had not performed together for years. 

Sam Rivers is one of the greatest jazz legends of our
time, performing for over 70 years. In the 1970’s he was the first
artist to open a jazz cultural arts center in Greenwich New York, which
was used as a venue to help artist exhibit their talents and gain
recognition.

The one of a kind, intensely original compositions of Sam Rivers came to life once again in a rare performance of his 16 piece Rejuvenation Orchestra. (formally known as the Rivbea Orchestra. I sketched Sam Rivers as he performed at the Enzian Florida Film Festival wrap party in 2009.   He was a joy to watch and fun to sketch.   Sam Rivers died on December 26, 2010 at the age of 88 from Pneumonia.

I was excited to see if his magic still infused the Orchestra he had formed when he moved to Central Florida in the early 1990 with his wife Beatrice.  Several platforms were set up on stage for all the horns and saxophones.  Sam performed on bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano, but I loved watching him perform on the soprano and tenor saxophones.

I sketched as the orchestra took to the stage.  I recognized the string players but some of the sax players looked like they were still in college.  The performance was aggressively loud, as if each performer was trying to play louder that everyone else.  At times various performers stood for solos.  Rivers derived his music from bebop, but he was an adventurous player, adept at free jazz. He was also an adept composer and it was his sheet music that sat before every performer.  I hope this orchestra performs together more often.  In time they could bring back the polish that helps support the inspiration.  Sam’s parting words at many of his concerts was, “Tell them what they missed.”

Florida Film Festival Industry Party at the Copper Rocket

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On April 11th I went to the Florida Film Festival Industry Party at The Copper Rocket, 106 Lake Avenue Maitland, FL. It was a chance to hang out with Festival friends and chat about all the amazing films. Each Film Festival guest got one complimentary beer and live music all night long. There was a table set up at the entrance and I got an arm band. At 8pm the place was pretty empty. Drew Yardis performed on the stage in the corner and I started sketching him. He performed covers of popular songs while adding his own inflections and personality to each piece.

Journalist Michael McLeod joined me at my table. He explained that Susan Sarandon was giving a talk at the Enzian Theater across the street. That program which also featured a screening of one of her films, wouldn’t let out until after 10pm. That is when The Copper Rocket was going to get mobbed. I wondered if I should hang out just in case Susan decided to get a drink in this local dive. Denise Sudler also stopped by our table and we chatted while I continued to sketch. We discussed the notion of my doing an evocative sketch for her. It would be an edgy commission that might spur others on to consider the idea.

The filmmakers of Druid Peak sat at the table next to us. The film was written and directed by Marni Zelnick. Executive producer Maureen Mayer explained the film to us. It is set against the backdrop of the wolf reintroduction program in Yellowstone National Park. It is a coming of age story about a troubled teenage boy (Andrew Wilson) who finds a home for himself tracking wolves in the wild. The production was partly funded by a one hundred thousand dollar grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It is a story about the why of conservation, not just the how.

Florida Film Festival Filmmaker’s Revel Awards Party

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On April 12th, The Florida Film Festival held its awards ceremony at Rick’s Speakeasy (1114 Solana Avenue, Winter Park FL). Starting at 8:30 there was a complimentary buffet dinner and cash bar.

This place was hidden away on an isolated back road full of warehouses.  This was an unexpected new discovery. This place smelled of gas and vintage cars were hoisted up for display. The bar and lounge area seemed pretty permanent but this “Speakeasy” must also function as a working garage.

The place was packed full of producers, directors and revelers. Carl Knickerbocker had one of his stop motion, puppetry animated films in the festival. The film is called “The Last Orange Grove in Middle Florida.” I kind of like the Tolkenesque title and from now on I will tell people that I sketch Middle Florida.

And the winners were…

SHORTS

Special Jury Award for Outstanding Storytelling was presented to THE BRAVEST, THE BOLDEST directed by Moon Molson

Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short was presented to AFTERMATH directed by Jeremy Robbins

Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short was presented to YEARBOOK directed by Bernardo Britto

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short was presented to NOT ANYMORE: A STORY OF REVOLUTION directed by Matthew Vandyke

Audience Award for Best Short Film was presented to FOOL’S DAY directed by Cody Blue Snider

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Special Jury Award for Demonstrating the Connection Between Art, Humanity, and Cinema was presented to LEVITATED MASS directed by Doug Pray

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature was presented to SLINGSHOT directed by Paul Lazarus

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature was presented to SLINGSHOT directed by Paul Lazarus

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast was presented to CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY directed by Jerzy Rose

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was presented to DRUID PEAK directed by Marni Zelnick

Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature was presented to COPENHAGEN directed by Mark Raso

INTERNATIONAL

Audience Award for Best International Feature was presented to LE CHEF (France/Spain), directed by Daniel Cohen

Audience Award for Best International Short was presented to B-CLASS CULTURAL HERITAGE (Japan), directed by Yuji Hariu

After the sketch was done, Terry and I went to the neighboring Celluloid Circus. This is his private animatronic amusement park and club which was set up as a haunted house. Terry clutched my hand till it hurt. I was unfazed by most of the animatronic horrors, but one room cause me to completely short circuit. A narrow gang plank extended out inside a spinning tube. The spiraling motion made me think I was going to fall. I leaned hard to my left, let go of Terry’s hand and grabbed the handrail. Terry screamed when I let go. This must be what it would feel like to ride inside a spinning dryer. Somehow, we made it across the void. Later, one of the cast members told me I should have closed my eyes to stop the vertigo.

On the whole drive home on I4, the road seamed to be banking hard left and right. The spinning roadway kept swinging like a rickety rope bridge. I dug my fingers into the steering wheel leather and tried to stay in control. When we got home, I couldn’t find my car keys. The valet might not have handed them to me. My car is one of those push button starters so the keys don’t need to be in the ignition. In a panic I emptied every item out of my art bag. Terry remained calm and she found the keys in the cup holder in my center console.

Florida Film Festival

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I went to a Florida Film Festival press preview for “After Winter, Spring“directed by Judith Lit at the Enzian Theater, (1300 S South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL.) This is a love story for the farmers in Perigord,
France, which has been continuously cultivated for over five thousand
years. One hundred years ago, half of the population of France were
farmers. Now less than 3% are. Will the Perigord peasants be the last
generation to employ and sustain the old methods? Will the world lose
their “old peasant wisdom” of prudence, respect, and love of the earth?
Filmed over four years, “After Winter, Spring” is a treasure trove of
great food and farming traditions. With fascinating detail, it captures
the roots of farm-to-table and the tenacity of the people who have taken
one season at a time for generations. The filmmaker, an American ex-pat
and Perigord neighbor, was raised on her own family’s farm in
Pennsylvania. Her bond to the land and the people who love it translates
into an insightful, lyrical tribute to a way of life on the verge of
extinction. 

Judith grew up on a small farm in Pennsylvania. She saw how her parents had to sell off the farm in small parcels until there was no land left to farm. When she traveled to France later in life, she fell in love with the quaint farming life. She packed everything and went to France to rediscover her roots. She interviewed her farming neighbors to learn about their more natural way of living.

The film didn’t only show small farms as a bucolic ideal. Three generations of women ran a goose farm. In a rather graphic scene, one of the women answered questions as she shoved a funnel deep down a gooses neck to force feed it. She massaged the goose’s neck to force it to swallow. The harsher sides of farming were shown, like shaving a slaughtered pig with a machete or breaking a chicken’s neck and then plucking the feathers.

A tobacco farmer bragged about the beauty of his hand harvested crop. “The more beautiful it is, the prouder we are. It (the tobacco) sings on the verge of being brittle.” All the farmers are trying to find a path through change. It is hard to compete against huge industrial farms that have multi-million dollar machines doing all the work. The smaller farming families feel their land helps preserve habitat. Since they are attentive to the land, they become more attentive to themselves and others. As one farmer stated, “I accept what life gives me. I can’t do otherwise.”

The one shred of hope is that people have grown sick of over processed food-like products. A younger generation is returning to the fields to live lives closer to nature.  Farm to table, has become a new battle cry. Perhaps the pendulum can swing back. Perhaps Spring can follow a Winter of industrialized neglect.

Florida Film Festival

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The  23rd Annual Florida Film Festival is now underway. The Festival runs for ten days showing 170 films. This is one of the top film festivals in the country and if you go, it is likely you will rub shoulders with producers and directors as you sip a drink at the Eden Bar. With so many films to choose from, it is a good idea to surf the Film Festival website, to see what interests you on any given day. The festival runs through April 13th.

I attended several preview screenings to wet my palette.  The Enzian Theater (1300 S Orlando Ave, Maitland, FL) is nestled among huge live oaks that tower overhead. They looked particularly naked this year before the bright spring foliage filled then in. Philip Tiedtke stopped to see how my sketch was turning out. He explained that this year they invested $11,000 to have all the Spanish Moss removed from the trees. I knew something looked different, but I hadn’t put my finger on it. He explained that all the Spanish Moss was smothering new growth and it made the branches extra heavy. There was concern that they might collapse under their own weight thanks to all the moss.

Besides all the film screenings, there are also panel discussions, industry parties with fabulous food and drink and opportunities to meet the stars. Susan Sarandon, Paul Sorvino, Giancarlo Esposito, and Shawn Christensen are all attending the Festival. So get out and see some films and do some Hollywood star gazing..