For Memories’ Sake
(Ashley Maynor, 2009, 29 min.)
Quick Feet, Soft Hands
(Paul Harrill, 2008, 26 min.)
With filmmakers Ashley Maynor and Paul Harrill
10:00 am
Plant Zero Art Center
Admission $5

Filmmaker Maynor reveals the rather extraordinary life of a seemingly ordinary woman, Southern housewife and grandma, Angela Singer. Yet this Southern homemaker has taken an average of 12 photos daily for 35 years, amassing a remarkable archive of 150,000 pictures of family and friends; this personal archive becomes the focus in this moving generational portrait of life and love. “A particular and universal story.” – Tom Rankin, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University.

Set against the backdrop of our national pastime, Award winning filmmaker Paul Harrill’s latest film, Quick Feet, Soft Hands, follows a young couple’s pursuit of the American Dream. Greta Gerwig (Baghead, Hannah Takes the Stairs) stars as Lisa, a young woman whose hopes of moving up are tied to Jim, a minor league baseball player. As Jim falls deeper into a batting slump, the couple must cope with the day-to-day realities of being young and poor. And they must confront the prospect that they may never make it to the big leagues. “American viewers addicted to plot and action in their films stand to learn a lot from the work of Paul Harrill. … He restores mystery to the events of our everyday lives – not the bogus mystery of who–done–it, but the genuine, unfathomable mystery of what we are and why we do the things we do.” – Ray Carney, film critic and author.

Ashley Maynor and Paul Harrill will be on hand for a Q&A session following the film.

Filmmakers Salon! Following the Q&A filmmakers are invited to participate in a more intimate discussion with Ashley and Paul – we’ll move to the Plant Zero Café for coffee and conversation about the joys and challenges of what Paul refers to as “self-reliant filmmaking.”

Wild Blue Yonder
(Celia Maysles and Charlene Rule, 2009, 75 min.)
with director Celia Maysles!
12:00 noon
Plant Zero Art Center
Admission $5

Autobiographical interrogation of filmmaker Maysles and her relationship with father David Maysles, who with brother Albert produced some of the most important American documentaries of the ‘60s and ’70s – Salesman, Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens. The Maysles worked in an American vein of cinema verité they dubbed “direct cinema.” Daughter Celia strives to establish contact with her father’s memory (he died when she was seven) and his career through family and friends – as revealing of familial relations as her father’s and Uncle Al’s Grey Gardens (1975).

An Unlikely Weapon: The Eddie Adams Story
(Susan Morgan Cooper, 2009, 85 min.)
With producer and ex-Richmonder Cindy Lou Adkins
2:00 pm
Plant Zero Art Center
Admission $5

An Unlikely Weapon is an insightful profile of late Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Eddie Adams, whose fame rested largely on a single photograph he took in the streets of 1968 Saigon. One of the most-recognized photographs of the 20th century – a Vietcong prisoner being executed by Saigon police – changed history and the life of the man who took it. His brilliant career spanned thirteen wars and the biggest names in entertainment and politics, but somehow that never seemed enough for the iconoclastic Adams. Narration by Kiefer Sutherland; interviews with Tom Brokaw, Gordon Parks and Peter Jennings. Producer and ex-Richmonder Cindy Lou Adkins will be present for a Q&A after the screening.

I AM COMIC
(Jordan Brady, 2009, 86 min.)
With director Jordan Brady and narrator/interviewer Rich Shydner
4:00 pm
Plant Zero Art Center
Admission $5

Through candid interviews and privileged backstage access, director Brady explores the world of the working comedian. Featuring Sarah Silverman, Jeff Foxworthy, Tim Allen, David Attell, Kathy Griffin, Janeane Garofalo, Louis C.K., Phyllis Diller and others. We also track retired stand-up Rich Shydner’s comeback – big in the 1980s, he tries to make it with new audiences after a thirteen year absence. Introduced by John Porter. Mr. Brady and Mr. Shydner will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening.

Jem Cohen Retrospective with filmmaker Jem Cohen
7:00 pm
Plant Zero Art Center
Admission $5

Jem Cohen is a New York-based filmmaker/media artist whose works are built from his own ongoing archive of street footage, portraits, and sound. His films and installations often navigate the grey area between documentary, narrative, and experimental genres. Cohen has worked extensively with musicians including Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Fugazi, Vic Chesnutt, the Ex, Terry Riley, Elliott Smith, R.E.M., Sparklehorse, and the Orpheus Orchestra. Join Jem Cohen for a rare treat – a personally guided tour through his body of work, featuring a selection of short films handpicked by Cohen himself.

Patti Smith: Dream of Life
(Steven Sebring, 2009, 109 min.)
9:30 pm
Plant Zero Art Center
Admission $5

Director Sebring’s acclaimed documentary portrait of poet/musician Patti Smith was in production for over a decade. Shooting in 16mm black and white, Sebring chronicles Smith at home, on the road, at concerts and readings. While coping with the loss of husband Fred, friends Allen Ginsberg and Robert Mapplethorpe, Smith returns to the stage, immersing herself in her work and the causes she champions. The director, who claimed never to have watched a rock-doc before, offers up a rare glimpse into the life of revered, generational icon Patti Smith.