Microwave Dave performs at the Alabama Cigar Box Guitar Festival

The 7th Annual Alabama Cigar Box Guitar Festival (formerly known as the Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza) will take place on Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th, 2011 in Huntsville, Alabama. This is the event at which most of my documentary, “Songs Inside The Box” was shot several years ago.

The event attracts cigar box guitar enthusiasts from across the eastern U. S. and is a fun outing for anyone interested in these unique instruments.

Times and performers have not been announced at this writing. Screenings of two of my documentaries, “Songs Inside The Box” and “Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” are planned along with lots of live music.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Winners of the 2011 Campus MovieFest Film Festival at The University of Alabama were announced February 10th at the Red Carpet Finale at the Ferguson Center Theater. All recipients of the top awards for Best Picture, Best Comedy and Best Drama received a free version of Final Cut Pro Studio, an iPod and were invited to the Campus MovieFest International Grand Finale in Los Angeles, Calif. this summer.

BEST PICTURE

Best Picture was awarded to the film “Sugarbaby,” the story of a guy Mark who is trying to break up with his (hopefully soon-to-be ex) girlfriend Stacy, but she is not going to let him go easily when she reveals a big surprise. “Sugarbaby” was created by the group Bob Lob Laws. Group member Hamilton Henson works with me at the Center for Public TV & Radio and can be seen in the background wearing headphones. Congratulations Hamilton! Watch “Sugarbaby.”

BEST COMEDY

Best Comedy was awarded to the film “Mind Games,” the classic story of boy chases girl with a comedic twist. Most films are driven by dialogue, but not this film. This film strictly shows what the characters are thinking. The characters bodies might be saying one thing, but their minds are saying something else.”MInd Game” also won the award for MOST POPULAR by obtaining the most YouTube views during the past week. This film was created by the group Fast Forward. Watch “Mind Games.”

BEST DRAMA

Best Drama was awarded to the film “Bottom of the Glass,” the story of how an unique protagonist loses everything he’s loved in the blink of an eye. With nothing to live for he fills his life with a collection of self-deprecation to fill the empty void. His life seems lost until someone comes along to remind him that life is worth living even after tragedy. “Bottom of the Glass” was created by the group Que The Lights. Watch “Bottom of the Glass.”

BAMA DINING FAN FAVORITE

This year, the Ferguson Center and Bama Dining teamed up to award a team with fun prizes based on the number of votes they received during the two days prior to the finale. Fans could vote as many times as they wanted by text, twitter or web voting. The Bama Dining Fan Favorite award was given to the film “Blue Barry.” Barry, a blue bird, takes on the scummiest of parking lot birds in this stop-action thriller. The clay animation movie was created by the team The Coiner Production. Thomas Coiner is a survivor of my Intro to Media Production class and has worked with me at the Center for Public TV & Radio. Congratulations Thomas! Watch “Blue Barry.”

MAX’S PERSONAL AWARD

I’d also like to congratulate one of my current students, Kathleen Davis. Her group’s production, “In Search of Comedy” turned out well despite the fact that I was out of town when Kathleen contacted me to help her find locations. Way to go Kathleen! Watch “In Search of Comedy.”

GOLDEN TRIPOD AWARDS

Participants were also recognized for specific talents and specific aspects of their movies with the Golden Tripod Awards:

Best Director: Thomas Coiner with “Blue Barry”

Best Cinematography: “Hustle”
Matt Phillips, another survivor of my class worked on this one. Congratulations Matt!

Best Soundtrack: “That’s Why Your Name Isn’t Dante”

AT&T RETHINK POSSIBLE AWARDS

Three semifinalists were also announced for the AT&T Rethink Possible award, which gives them the chance to compete for one of the five spots to pitch their work to Hollywood executives. The finalists include:

“Blue Barry,” “Bottom of the Glass” and “A Certain Woman.”

Campus MovieFest is the world’s largest student film festival and has traveled across the country providing college students with all the equipment they need to create a short film for free in one week. This is the fourth year that Campus MovieFest has come to UA.

For more information about Campus MovieFest or to see the CMF movies, visit www.campusmoviefest.com.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

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.

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.

From the Kinoscrastinate Website:

In the last year it has become very easy for a student to be involved in film production. However, the University of Alabama lacks an official venue to showcase the incredible work being done by students on campus. We have discovered that there is a great interest in starting a university-wide annual film festival to fill that need. It would have the benefit of showcasing student work, drawing attention to the film scene on campus, and fostering a truly inter-disciplinary art form.

We envision such a film festival to be an annual event held on campus, organized collaboratively by Kinocrastinate Productions, Nimpire Pictures, Sprankle Pictures, and the University of Alabama. We envision this to be our versions of the Oscars. To generate interest, we would like an extensive publicity campaign on campus and online. The film pieces would be judged in a variety of categories by a panel of judges from each school, with small cash prizes available to the winners in each category.

UA Film Festival Rules and Dates

* Films can be up to two years old.
* Entrants must be current UA students. This includes graduate students.
* Gives us your films by the 26th of March, 2010.
* Films will be shown and awards presented on the 2nd of April, 2010.
* Format: You can turn in your movie either on mini-DV tape or as a .mov file on a data DVD or CD. If you choose to turn in a file, please encode it as DV-NTSC. For audio, use 48 kHz AIFF, if possible.
* Include a slate before the beginning of your film with your name, the film’s title, whether it’s framed 4:3 or 16:9, and the total running time. We also recommend including some credits that list everyone who helped in the making of your film.

More information:
http://www.kinocrastinate.com/uaff/

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Actor, producer and director Lea Thompson will be a special guest of the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, scheduled for March 4-7, 2010. Best known for her roles in the “Back to the Future” trilogy and as the star of television’s “Caroline in the City,” Thompson will join writer and producer Bob Gale at the festival for a 25th anniversary celebration of “Back to the Future.”

A native of Minnesota, Thompson began her performance career as a professional ballet dancer, performing in more than 45 ballets with the Minnesota Dance Theatre. She moved to New York at age 20 to pursue an acting career and quickly found success in the films “Jaws 3-D,” with Dennis Quaid, and “All the Right Moves,” with Tom Cruise.

Thompson’s credits include more than 60 roles in film and television, including “Red Dawn,” “Dennis the Menace,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Spy School” and John Hughes’ “Some Kind of Wonderful.”

With friend and frequent collaborator Robert Zemeckis, award-winning screenwriter, producer and director Bob Gale co-wrote and co-produced “Back to the Future,” which was the No. 1 U.S. box office attraction in 1985 and earned Gale an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Gale went on the write both “Back to the Future” sequels.

Gale’s collaborations with Zemeckis also include the 1978 film about Beatlemania, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” and the 1980 comedy “Used Cars,” which starred Kurt Russell and Jack Warden. Gale’s first directorial project was a 1993 episode of HBO’s “Tales from the Crypt.” The 2003 film “Interstate 60” marked Gale’s theatrical debut as a director. The film starred James Marsden, and the cast included Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, Amy Smart, Chris Cooper, Ann-Margret and Michael J. Fox and Kurt Russell in special guest appearances.

Along with Lea Thompson and Bob Gale at the festival will be actor James Tolkan who played intimidating principal Strickland in the “Back to the Future” trilogy and actress Jennifer Parker, Marty McFly’s girlfriend in the films. The DeLorean Time Machine will also be on display at several events during the festival.

The George Lindsey UNA Film Festival is one of the few film festivals hosted by a university. The event was founded in 1998 by UNA alumnus and celebrated actor and entertainer George Lindsey. Lindsey’s own film career has included several important roles, including the character Goober Pyle on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

I am very proud to have had three of my documentaries featured at the Lindsey festival in past years and to have won three awards from the festival. It is always a wonderful event with screenings at various locations across the Shoals area in northwest Alabama.

For more information, visit the festival website at: www.lindseyfilmfest.com.

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.

Actress Illeana Douglas will kick off the 5th Macon Film Festival (“MaGa”) on Thursday, February 18, 2010, with the special screening of “Easy to Assemble” at the Cox Capitol Theatre at 7:45 p.m. Earlier that day the Best In Show award will be renamed for Douglas’ grandfather, Academy Award-winning actor and Macon native Melvyn Douglas.

Her name is familiar to film buffs, but others will recognize Illeana Douglas from the numerous memorable roles in films like Message in a Bottle, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, To Die For, Grace of My Heart, Stir of Echoes, The Perfect Woman, and Happy, Texas; and recurring roles on television series including Ugly Betty, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Action, and Six Feet Under, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. In addition to acting she has written, directed and produced for film.

The Macon Film Festival’s Best In Show award will be renamed the Melvyn Douglas Award and dedicated at a ceremony with Illeana Douglas at 1:30 p.m. on February 18. This award is given to festival jurors’ pick of the best competition film each year. The dedication will be followed by a special “Melvyn Douglas Matinee” screening of The Candidate at 2 p.m. This is a rare screening of the 1972 archival film in which Douglas plays the father of Robert Redford, made possible by a special arrangement with Warner Brothers.

Actor and Macon native Jack McBrayer, who currently stars in NBC’s award-winning comedy “30 Rock,” will return to his hometown for the Macon Film Festival (“MaGa”) special screening of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” followed by Q&A with Jack on Saturday, February 20, 2010, at the Cox Capitol Theatre at 8:15 p.m.

While he’s probably best known as Kenneth the Page from “30 Rock,” Jack McBrayer has turned in unforgettable performances in films including “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Jack also had memorable guest starring roles in the television comedies “Arrested Development” and “Phineas and Ferb.” Music video fans will remember him as the “compu nerd” in the Mariah Carey “Touch My Body” music video.

The Macon Film Festival will close the 2010 festival with the Macon premiere of “That Evening Sun,” the award-winning film starring Macon-native Carrie Preston with Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, and Ray McKinnon, at 7:30 p.m., following the Festival awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on Sunday, February 21, 2010. Special guests for this screening will be announced next week.

Based on a short story by William Gay, “That Evening Sun” chronicles the late-in-life conflict of Abner Meecham, an elderly farmer who leaves his retirement home to return to his family farm in Tennessee only to realize his city slicker son has rented it to a couple and their daughter. He refuses to leave, instead taking up residence in a run-down building on the property and conflict with the renters ensues as Abner tries to reconcile himself to say goodbye to his beloved home. This is southern gothic at its very best.

Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor, Hal Holbrook, leads this outstanding cast of character actors with his real life wife, actress Dixie Carter, portraying his late wife in the film. Macon native actress, Carrie Preston, a 2009 Special Guest at the Macon Film Festival and star of HBO’s “True Blood,” along with Academy Award winning actor Ray McKinnon, plays the couple who rent the farm and butt heads with Meecham. Young rising star, actress Mia Wasikowski, known for her work on the HBO series “In Treatment,” plays their daughter, and Walton Goggins, known to tv audiences from “The Shield,” plays Meecham’s son.

Other “don’t miss” films include:

“An American Opera” by Tom McPhee – which details the tremendous dog recovery efforts that took place during and after Katrina. Thousands of people had to leave their pets behind. This film has been winning awards at film festivals around the country.

“Stuck,” directed by Steve Balderson, will have its Georgia premier Friday, February 19. The movie is about a woman who was wrongfully accused of murder.

The Macon Film Festival is a wonderful event with great films and lively after-parties each night of the festival. I’m very proud that both “Songs Inside The Box” and “Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” have been featured there in past years with Hill Country Troubadour winning the Best of Show (to be renamed in honor of Melvyn Douglas) award in 2007.

For more information, visit: http://www.maconfilmfestival.com

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Blues Documentary, “Full Moon Lightnin’” to screen at Black Box Theatre Thurs. Jan. 28

FILMMAKER JOHN C. GARDINER WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE AT THIS SERIES OPENER….PG-13
Thursday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 pm – Link Centre

The Tupelo Film Commission is cranking up the Indie Film Series at the Link Centre with “Full Moon Lighting” – an award-winning documentary that follows an aging New York Bluesman back to his Mississippi roots. It’s a film that Melanie Addington has described as “Raw, beautiful, heartbreaking….” And Ken Baynes from Blues Review says that it “Captures the spirit of the blues like no other film. This isn’t just another documentary about the Blues. It’s a story about two very different musicians and their own personal journeys. Producer John C. Gardiner has done a remarkable job of making the film which follows 70-something Bluesman Floyd Lee as he journeys back to Mississippi from New York to find his long-lost family. At the same time, Floyd’s musical partner Joel Pluck is facing a different personal crisis and struggling to hold on to someone he loves. Without spoiling the ending, these are changed men by the end of the ninety minutes. What makes this movie so powerful to watch is the heartfelt honesty and integrity of both musicians.

For more information:

http://www.fullmoonlightnin.com

http://www.tupelo.net/film-festival/film-events/events.aspx

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

The 2010 Deep Blues Film Festival will take place January 23rd and 30th in the St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota area. I won’t be going but I sure wish I could.

The Deep Blues Music & Film events that have taken place over the last three years are the brainchild of Chris Johnson of Hudson, Wisconsin. Chris is a wonderful guy who encourages musicians and filmmakers who make films about music. I’m very proud to have had two of my documentaries, “Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” and “Songs Inside The Box” featured at previous Deep Blues events.

The upcoming events include great films and live music by some amazing performers. I wish Chris and all those involved with the festival all the best! I’ll be there in spirit though not in the flesh.

Go if you can!

For more information, visit DeepBluesFestival.com.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.