After a vicious attack left him brain-damaged and broke, Mark Hogancamp seeks recovery in “Marwencol,” a 1/6th scale World War II-era town he created in his backyard. He populated it with military figurines and Barbie dolls representing World War II personages like Patton, as well as stand-ins for himself, his friends and his family. Finally, he dusted off an old camera and used it to capture staged events ranging from pitched battles between occupying German and American forces to cat-fights in the town bar.

Jeremy Butler, film professor at UA says, “Tuscaloosa is lucky to get “Marwencol,” a unique and almost inexplicable documentary about a man and his obsession. Debuting at SXSW last March, the film took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary. More recent accolades include two Independent Spirit Awards. I was fortunate to see this film at the Sidewalk Film Festival in September and can honestly say it’s one of the more engaging and thought-provoking docs I’ve seen in a very long time. Patiently edited and thoroughly compelling, the film probes questions about the role of art in rehabilitation, and the often thin line that separates art from commodity. Ultimately it’s a human story with a larger than life central character you can’t help but be compelled to watch.”

“Exactly the sort of mysterious and almost holy experience you hope to get from documentaries and rarely do,” says the Village Voice.

Marwencol (2010) – February 1 at 8:00 p.m. in Tuscaloosa’s Bama Theatre
Not Rated / Documentary / 83 minutes
Prize winner at the Boston Independent, Seattle International and Woodstock Film Festivals
Director: Jeff Malmberg
Stars: Mark Hogancamp

Discounted complete series subscription tickets will be available at www.brownpapertickets.com ($40 adults/$30 students and seniors).

Individual tickets will be available at the Bama Theatre box office prior to screenings ($7 general/$6 students and seniors/$5 Arts Council members).

GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS AT THE DOOR! Bama Bar & the box office will open at 7:00 p.m. before each film. Screenings begin at 8:00 p.m. For more information about the film series, visit www.bamaarthouse.com.

Thank you to Series Sponsor EPIPHANY in Downtown Tuscaloosa. Epiphany will offer a dining special for BAH film-goers during this 7-week film season.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

"Not My Son," a documentary by my colleagues Dwight Cammeron and Ginger Jolly from the University of Alabama Center for Public Television and Radio will be broadcast on Alabama Public Television several times during the month of November. The broadcast premiere of the award-winning documentary will be Tuesday, November 16th at 8:00 p.m. Encore presentations will be on Monday, November 22 at 10:00 p.m. and Tuesday, November 23 at 1:00 a.m.

The one hour documentary follows Birmingham’s Carolyn Johnson-Turner and her Parents Against Violence group over the course of several months. According to Johnson-Turner, she will never recover from her son’s death. The Parents Against Violence Foundation was founded on March 1, 2004, by Johnson-Turner as a result of the anguish she experienced when her 20-year old son, Rodreckus DeAndrew Johnson, was shot and killed while attending a birthday party. In order to cope, she and other group members, women who have also lost loved ones to gun violence, are on a personal mission to prevent other deaths. At the same time, their anti-violence activities serve as therapy to deal with their overwhelming grief. Can Johnson-Turner and Parents Against Violence really make a difference?

Alabama Public Television is a nine station network covering the state of Alabama.

For more information:

Alabama Public Television

More information about "Not My Son”

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

One of my favorite documentary films from the past few years will be shown at the Bama Theatre in Tuscaloosa at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12th. I had the pleasure of seeing “Darius Goes West” at the Oxford Film Festival several years ago. This film is great not because of its production techniques but because of its moving message.

Darius Weems, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, travels across the country with eleven friends on a mission to get his wheelchair customized by MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.” Internet Movie Database

Darius’ brother, who also had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, died at the age of nineteen. Before his death he asked their friend, Logan Smalley, to take care of his younger brother. Logan decided to take Darius on a cross-country trip in an RV and record their adventures for a documentary film. Darius had never left his hometown in Georgia. He was fifteen when they took the trip and people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy rarely live past the age of thirty.

Here’s a trailer:

The film has won 25 festival awards and has started a movement. Since making the film, Darius Weems and Logan Smalley have traveled extensively to raise funds for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. They appeared on CBS’The Early Show about a year ago.

“Darius Goes West” will be shown at the Bama as a part of the Rose Gladney Lecture for Justice and Social Change series. There is no charge to attend the film screening, but come prepared to make a donation toward treatment and cure of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. DVDs of the film will be sold for $10.00 with most of the proceeds going toward the cause. Logan Smalley will be in attendance and Darius Weems, who has just turned 21 and is working on his own album of rap music, will appear by Skype.

The film may bring you to tears, but you’ll leave the theater smiling.

For more information, visit DariusGoesWest.org.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Director Dwight Cammeron takes questions from the audience

My colleagues Dwight Cammeron and Ginger Jolly shared their new documentary, "Not My Son" with its first audience on Saturday, January 23rd at Woodland Park Church of Christ in Birmingham, Alabama. Over 800 people attended the standing room only event.

Documentary participants from the Parents Against Violence Foundation were present to answer questions from the audience.

Click on images to enlarge them.

Documentary participants answer questions

Over 800 people attended the premiere

For more information, visit: http://www.cptr.org/notmyson

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

"Not My Son" is a moving documentary from my colleagues Dwight Cammeron and Ginger Jolly. It chronicles the story of Carolyn Johnson-Turner in Birmingham, Alabama, who founded the Parents Against Violence Foundation following her son’s death by a gunshot. At the age of 20, he was shot while parking his car outside a friend’s birthday party.

Johnson-Turner is on a mission to prevent other deaths and her organization unites mothers who have suffered the loss of children to violence. There are many tears when they meet, and this documentary is difficult to watch with dry eyes as they recount the stories of how their sons were murdered. But these parents have turned their grief into action. They hope that by sharing how urban violence affects so many people they can have a beneficial impact on society.

A premiere screening of the one-hour documentary is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 23rd at Woodland Park Church of Christ (1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Birmingham, AL 35211). Johnson-Turner and other parents seen in "Not My Son" will be in attendance.

For more information, visit: http://www.cptr.org/notmyson

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.