John Paul II Film Festival features inspiring movies, interfaith dialogue

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Blanca Morales – Florida Catholic

BLANCA MORALES | FC
Laura and Frank Brennan, directors of the John Paul II International Film Festival, welcome guests to the kickoff Mass and concert Nov. 7 at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center.

BLANCA MORALES | FC
Guest speaker Matt Laboda, a graduate of the University of Steubenville, gives a talk on art and the new evangelization at the kickoff event.

MIAMI | With a slate of 18 feature films and 7 short films, plus an Islamic-Catholic dialogue, organizers hope the third John Paul II International Film Festival will live up to its theme and be a source of “Revelation” for all who attend.

The festival, which began Nov. 8 and runs through Nov. 17, already opened this year with many new things to offer film aficionados. Instead of the traditional night of prayer and reflection that preceded opening night, this year’s festival was preceded by a Mass and concert Nov. 7 featuring Catholic singer-songwriter Jackie Francois and speaker Matt Laboda, both of whom shared their views on art and the new evangelization.

“It feels as if this year is going to be the biggest we’ve ever had. The energy is different, there is more interest, and we are more well-known,” said Frank Brennan, a filmmaker and fulltime youth and young adult minister at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Miami. He co-directs the festival along with his wife Laura, a singer and actress who works in the fine arts department at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School.

The Brennans co-founded the film festival in 2009 along with mental/behavorial health therapist Rafael Anrrich, whom they have nicknamed “the godfather of the JP2IFF.”

With three years under its belt, the festival has broken the two-year mark that either makes or breaks such events said the founders, who feel that they are now “rooted.”

BLANCA MORALES | FC
Renown Catholic artist Jackie Francois performs at the kickoff Mass and concert for the John Paul II International Film Festival, which was held Nov. 7 held at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center in Coral Gables.

The theme this year is “Revelation,” which refers to an unveiling of intangible truths through art.

The festival opened Nov. 8 with a screening of “Restless Heart,” a depiction of the life of St. Augustine of Hippo.

Also shown Nov. 10 was the world-premiere of “The Investigator,” written by former policeman Richard Romano, better known for his alter ego in his brother’s show “Everybody Loves Raymond.”  The multi-genre movie claims to have something for everyone and fans of “Raymond” will enjoy the inside jokes that recall the series.

The panel discussion following the movie featured members of the production crew and cast, including Romano and lead actor Wade Williams.  Williams, who is Christian, shared a “revelation” of his own. Whatever he is working on as an actor, he said, “if it’s not bringing people into the kingdom, I’m really wasting my time. If it’s not bringing a positive message, I don’t want to do it.”

The crew attested that the production of the film, which took four weeks to film, was a result of interfaith prayer on the set.

In keeping with John Paul II’s ecumenical outreach, the festival will also show two feature films Nov. 15 by female director Roohangiz Shams from Iran. “A Glass of Milk” and “Why Doesn’t It Rain?” will be followed by an Islamic-Catholic interfaith dialogue.

All film screenings are followed by panel discussions with experts in the film industry, or 30-minute question-and-answer sessions with directors, producers or actors. Most of the films are being shown at the Tamiami campus of Florida International University, with the exception of a couple which are being shown at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center in Coral Gables. The closing reception and awards ceremony will be held Saturday, Nov. 17 at 9 p.m. at FIU.

Throughout the week, film fans can receive updates via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google plus, and the film festival’s blog, where interviews with directors are posted. The film festival also has a free app on Google Play that can be found by searching JP2FILMFESTIVAL.

Brennan encourages everyone to attend at least one screening because, as he put it, “As Catholics, it’s important that we mobilize and don’t just say ‘that’s a great event.’ It’s important to put on Facebook that you went, Tweet that you went, tell your parish, and promote in bulletins. We need to do more mobilizing. If there’s something that’s positive, bring people to the screen. That’ll inspire film makers and they’ll see that there’s a market for this.”

FESTIVAL FILM SCHEDULE

• “7 Days of Sacrifice”: Wednesday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m., St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center, 1400 Miller Road, Coral Gables 33146

• “The Way”: Thursday Nov. 15, 9 p.m., FIU School of International and Public Affairs, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., SIPA 125, Miami 33199

• Iranian Double Feature: “A Glass of Milk” and “Why Doesn’t It Rain?”: Thursday, Nov. 15, 8 p.m., FIU Marc Pavilion, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., Marc Building 2nd Floor, Miami

• “God in the Box”: Friday, Nov. 16, 8 p.m., FIU School of International and Public Affairs, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., SIPA 125, Miami

• “October Baby”: Friday Nov. 16, 9 p.m., FIU College of Law, RDB1100, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., Miami

• “Una Cancion (A Song)”: Saturday Nov. 10, 1 p.m., FIU School of International and Public Affairs, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., SIPA 125, Miami

• “Men of La Mancha”: Saturday, Nov. 17, 3:15 p.m., FIU Graham Center, GC 140, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., Miami

• “For Greater Glory”: Saturday, Nov. 17, 7:15 p.m., FIU College of Law, RDB1100, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., Miami

• “Reconciliation”: Special screening of the 2011 John Paul II Film Festival winner, Saturday, Nov. 17, 10 p.m., FIU School of International and Public Affairs, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., SIPA 125, Miami

• Award ceremony and reception: Saturday Nov. 17, 9 p.m., FIU Marc Pavilion, 11200 S.W. Eighth St., Miami.

To purchase tickets or find out about volunteer opportunities: www.jp2filmfestival.org
To see more details about the films: http://jp2filmfestival.org/festival_09/films/index.html

RISE AND DREAM is a beautiful documentary about 13 teenagers in the Phillipines learning to play their own cultural instruments and put on a once in a lifetime show for their community for free! The struggles that the  teens face are well beyond the struggles of what any teenager should go through. These kids learn to persevere through poverty and balance their time with school, work, domestic labor, and the CFCA music program. Mario Xavier discussed the film with the team and CFCA staff members.

RISE AND DREAM premieres on Sunday November 11th, 2012 at 3:30PM in Florida International University. Get your Tickets now!

Mario Xavier(JP2IFF): How would you pitch your movie to an audience?

“Rise and Dream” Team: In the turmoil of the southern Philippines, a celebration on the edge of the jungle stands to defy the chaos. Rise and Dream brings you into the lives of 13 students whose spirits outshine the uncertainty. When the students accept a challenge to learn their own cultural instruments, the struggle to balance dreams and obligations tests their limits as they prepare for a performance on the biggest stage of their lives. Their efforts to persevere — despite challenges posed by poverty and a long-standing armed conflict — reveal the beauty and strength of the human spirit.
Mario Xavier(JP2IFF): In your opinion, how does your film fit into the 2012 theme, REVELATION? This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process.

“Rise and Dream” Team: While Rise and Dream is about a concert on one level, it’s more importantly a story about human dignity. It shows the hunger for education, and the struggles and perseverance of families to provide an education for their children. The film celebrates people of diverse faith traditions creating unity despite an armed conflict at their doorstep. And it shows the beauty that is unveiled when artists from different cultures come together to create something new and vibrant.

The concert documented in the film offers a chance for the students to learn about and see the beauty in their cultural heritage. In learning to play cultural instruments, the students discover talents within themselves. As Abbas, a father and architect of the concert stage, says, “In every human being, sometimes your talent is hidden.”

Overall, the film reveals our commonalities despite our differences, and serves as a reminder of our most essential and shared beliefs as a human family. 

Mario Xavier(JP2IFF): How did you hear about the festival?

“Rise and Dream” Team: Several supporters and friends of CFCA had heard about the festival and brought it to our attention. One of those connections was from the Catholic Media Conference this year.

Mario Xavier(JP2IFF): I ask this question of all documentaries: How many hours of footage did you shoot and cut down to make this feature?

“Rise and Dream” Team: We taped more than 200 hours for the film.

Mario Xavier(JP2IFF): How did your collective backgrounds in journalism affect how you shot this movie?

“Rise and Dream” Team: Our collective backgrounds in journalism, filmmaking, nonprofit work and music came into play as we crafted the story. One of the roles of journalism, for example, is to give voice to the voiceless. That was a guidepost for us during the storytelling and editing process. We wanted the young people and families featured in the film to be able to tell their own story. Our objective was to give the microphone to the families, so they could share with the world what they think and feel.

Mario Xavier(JP2IFF): With that, can you tell us of some of the dangers you might have encountered while shooting this movie other than what we saw?

“Rise and Dream” Team: The dangers our team faced were mostly those touched upon in the film, from the threat of violence in the region to walking through cobra-filled fields while preparing for the concert. Although we were filming in a volatile area, our network of CFCA staff members and families in the program allowed us to be in places few ever get to visit. The lessons we learned in the homes, hearing stories of courage amidst the uncertainty, helped us understand in a deeper way the spirit of the families and how they are building community.

Filmmaker, Zombie enthusiast (Check out Living Dead Lock Up) and JP2 Team member had the chance to talk with some of our filmmakers about their short films that will be screened on Saturday November 10th, 2012 at the JP2 International Film Festival. Don’t forget to PURCHASE TICKETS for this event as space is limited! The other films being screened that are not interviewed here are Chris Casaburi’s “Choices” and Charles Kinnane’s “Child 31″.

SET APART – Directed by James Penco

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF):How would you pitch your movie to an audience? 

James Penco (Director): “Set Apart” is a documentary portrait of four monks and the Benedictine community they live with in Mission, British Columbia, Canada. I really wanted to let the beauty and wisdom of monastic life speak for itself, and to do this in a way so that not just Catholics could understand it, but hopefully any ordinary secular person could. So the film is really about the decision these four men made to become monks, how they felt a call, why they chose to listen to that call, and most importantly, the gifts they have found since following it.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): In your opinion, how does your film fit into the 2012 theme, REVELATION. This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process. 

James Penco (Director): I think “Set Apart” is a “Revelation” of sorts because many people think that being a monk must be a miserable way to live your life. They’re thinking of all that the monks have to give up– money, material possessions, marriage, sex, and children, and so on. But then encountering the spiritual depth and richness of their lives, and seeing the joy and peace they have that comes through even on film, is a bit of a shock, to find that these monks, who have none of the things our society holds most dear, actually have something that the rest of us are lacking. We think they have far less than us, and we realize that they, paradoxically, have so much more.

I think the biggest singular revelation of the film for audiences has been its explanation of celibacy. I’ve had many completely non-religious people come up to me after watching the film telling me how beautiful and thought-provoking it was for them to hear that celibacy wasn’t about rejecting sexuality but embracing it even more deeply at a spiritual level. It’s another revelatory paradox that these celibate monks have more wisdom and insight into human sexuality than our sex-happy modern culture.

I was the only Catholic on our film crew- I brought with me an atheist, an agnostic, and a Protestant Christian- and every one of us was deeply moved by the monastic environment. From a production standpoint, it was by far the most peaceful film set I have ever been on! I think the biggest revelation for my crew was just to see the beauty of Catholicism when it is lived out to its fullest. Speaking for myself, I have never felt the presence of God so deeply as I have at the monastery. It truly is an extraordinary place.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How did you hear about the festival? 

James Penco (Director): I found out the festival about a year ago. Knowing that there are so many subcultural film festivals out there, I was wondering what sort of Christian and Catholic festival existed in North America. That led me pretty quickly to finding out about the JPII Festival.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): What special permission did you have to use to be allowed this much access? 

James Penco (Director): The Abbot of the monastery was very gracious with us. He spent about a month praying and discussing with the community before coming to the decision of letting us film there. I said that what I was most interested in filming would be 3 or 4 interviews as well as the liturgical prayer of the monks in the chapel. When we got to the monastery, they took very good care of us. When something interesting would be happening that day (for instance, oiling the bells in the bell tower) one of the monks would ask us if we wanted to film it. Of course, we said yes! So we really just took what was given to us each day, and the monks were very generous.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): What did you shoot with and what lenses did you use to get some beautiful shots? 

James Penco (Director): We shot the film on two Canon 60D cameras, which are rather inexpensive DSLR cameras, with four different lenses. I am very happy that we got such amazing-looking footage out of them, and I have to credit my cinematographer, Devan Scott, for that. We were also incredibly graced with the weather- we were only at the monastery for three days to shoot, but all four seasons showed up in those three days so you really get a sense for the year-round natural beauty of the monastic grounds.
HARVEST - Directed by Reid Carrescia

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How would you pitch your movie to an audience?

Reid Carrescia (Director): It’s ultimately about one man’s journey towards belief. The story follows a farmhand who questions his fatalistic outlook amidst the strange prophetic events occurring around him.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): In your opinion, how does your film fit into the 2012 theme, REVELATION. This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process.

Reid Carrescia (Director): For one, the main plot point in the film could be considered the start of the tribulation as described in the Book of Revelation. A great deal of inspiration came from Matthew 24, which refers to the future. In a couple of cases, the characters’ dialog is pretty much verbatim from this chapter, like in the case where the drunk at the bar exclaims, “the moon shall be darkened, the sun shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven”.

But besides Revelation itself, the film also suggests the other side of the term ‘revelation’—that is, one of discovery and new beginnings. After witnessing the prophecies and recognizing what they mean, the farmhand abandons his fatalistic perspective and finds his own belief. Though the ending of the film is left slightly ambiguous in terms of what happens, the main character ultimately goes through regeneration when the truth is unveiled to him.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How did you hear about the festival?

Reid Carrescia (Director): I got sick a few months ago and couldn’t do much for about two weeks, so I used time wisely and browsed the web for festivals in which Harvest would be a good fit. It was kind of a blessing in disguise, because it forced me to take time off and focus on what was important, realizing that getting my work out there is good thing to do. So when I found out about JP2 and their theme for 2012, I had to enter.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): You had some incredible photography.  What cameras did you use and was it mostly natural light?

Reid Carrescia (Director): Thanks. My goal with Harvest was to ‘show, don’t tell’. I really aimed to communicate the majority of the film solely through visuals.

We shot most of the film on the RED ONE with Canon lenses and used Canon DSLRs for most of the B-roll shots. I had my good friend BJ Downs behind the camera for the principal photography, and we worked close together to do a lot with very little.

Yes, natural light was used for the majority of exteriors, occasionally bouncing sunlight onto the talent’s face. I knew the time of day would play a big role in the cinematography and the feel of the film so I organized the shooting times around the most appropriate lighting for each scene. The interiors were lit with a few tungsten halogens with diffusion and Chinese lanterns. The color grade helped tie together the overall look.

I acquired a good portion of the exterior/B-roll shots while driving to and from college, because I just happened to have a camera in the car. When driving to dinner one night, there were these huge flocks of geese landing in a field alongside the road. So my girlfriend and I stop and set up the camera, and all of a sudden, she casually walks onto the field and scares hundreds of birds into the shot. I almost didn’t get it, but the whole thing was pretty awesome. It was the perfect visual metaphor to end the film. I give all the credit to her on that one.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): What software did you use to edit your short?

Reid Carrescia (Director): I used Final Cut Pro 7 and Premiere Pro for the edit, REDCINE-X for the color, and Pro Tools for the soundtrack. And a good amount of coffee, too.

ALWAYS COME HOME - Directed by Meagan Flynn

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How would you pitch your movie to an audience?

Meagan Flynn (Director): ALWAYS COME HOME is a Christian family short that show us even in our darkest times we are reached out to and comforted. At it’s simplest form it holds true the statement “When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.” I don’t believe God causes bad things to happen or allows those we love to die, but he does provide hope and comfort in the times we need him most. As my pastor says “The worst thing is never the last thing.” which is what the story of Christ teaches us. I wanted a simple story that would hopefully uplift the audience when it was over. I wanted it to be accessible for all ages and thus showed it through a little girl’s eyes.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): In your opinion, how does your film fit into the 2012 theme, REVELATION. This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process.

Meagan Flynn (Director): I believe ALWAYS COME HOME greatly embodies this year’s theme. The unveiling of comfort is the revelation in this story. God finds us in our darkest times and often reveals inner strength we did not know we had and sends us reassurance in ways we do not expect. Revelation to me is having one’s eyes opened often in an unexpected way as Franny’s mother does. Franny’s belief and faith in things is unwavering, but she provides her sight and understanding to her mother.

The creation of this film was also a revelation for me personally. I had produced and acted for years and had just started directing, but this piece was the first thing I had ever written and directed simultaneously. The fact that the Arts Council of KC believed in it enough to accept my request for an Inspiration Grant was a huge boost to me. This piece showed me that I can take on the writer/director role and succeed. I have since written and directed two more shorts in the last year. I felt uplifted and encouraged by the entire experience and it helped convince me continue on this journey as a filmmaker.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How did you hear about the festival?

Meagan Flynn (Director): I was researching Christian film fests that would showcase the values I was trying to present in the piece. John Paul II caught my attention in a Google search and I was impressed with the mission and message of the festival. I submitted that same week and had my fingers crossed we’d be accepted.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): This was a personal family story, did someone in the production lose a relative in combat?

Meagan Flynn (Director): During college I witnessed someone very close to me lose their younger brother in Afghanistan in the earliest stages of combat after 9/11. He was a brave young Marine who was adored by his family, friends and colleagues. Witnessing the grief they went through was a defining moment in my life. If you have never stood at a graveside and heard a 21 gun salute, and seen a folded American flag presented to a grieving mother, I assure you it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Particularly in this case with one so young and full of spirit who had barely begun to live. I was determined from that point on to never take a moment or individual in my life for even a second. As the year’s have gone on and I have experienced more loss in my own life I have often reflected on the love and heroism of that family and drawn strength from that. In creating this film I thought a lot about what kind of signs would give me strength and reassurance after losing a loved one this way. It was very important to me that we were respectful of the subject matter and that the military aspect was handled extremely accurately.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): Was it intentional to not see a father in the family photo?  Was that a statement?

Meagan Flynn (Director): I don’t know that it was a conscious choice in the beginning, but as I worked on the piece to me there was something even more profound to me about a loss where the son was the only man in the family and a father figure in addition to brother for the little girl. I didn’t create a back story for what may have happened to the father, if he passed away or left at some point, but I also thought it really spoke to the strength and faith of Franny’s mother that she would be able to carry on as a single mother and then to carry on in faith after the loss of her son. It wasn’t a statement per se, but I felt that the family of three really made the loss all that more poignant.

I hope people enjoy the film. I also have to give an immense shout out to my director of photography Shaun, composer Ryan, editors Andy and Brandon, producer Pamela and the entire cast and crew, without whose talents this wouldn’t have been possible. You were all wonderful to work with and your trust in me is so appreciated. I hope people will stay all the way through the credits and note each name in the list. They all deserve it! Again we are honored to screen with you and hope you enjoy the film! Blessings!

ZOMBIES VS. JESUS - Directed by Rob Kaczmark

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How would you pitch your movie to an audience? 

Rob Kaczmark (Director): I would say Zombies vs Jesus is a great movie to get the conversation started with a youthful person who may not completely “get” the Eucharist and why it is so important in our daily lives.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): In your opinion, how does your film fit into the 2012 theme, REVELATION. This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process. 

Rob Kaczmark (Director): Well both of our films, To Be Born and Zombies vs Jesus are films that we hope to leave the viewer with something new, something that may have not thought of before they watched it.. sort of a Revelation.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): How did you hear about the festival?

Rob Kaczmark (Director): I first heard about it from Sr. Helena Burns and then seen a lot buzz about it on Facebook.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): What did you use to shoot all that great POV footage on the bike?  A Go Pro maybe? 

Rob Kaczmark (Director): We shoot all the POV stuff on a Canon 5D mark II with a 16-35mm lens. The camera was mounted on a motorcycle helmet by a custom rig made out of Zacuto parts. We considered using a GoPro but the image quality wasn’t up to par of what we wanted.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): Which movies and video games inspired you?  I definitely saw some ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘Left 4 Dead’ influence.

Rob Kaczmark (Director): I am a huge Sam Raimi fan, so Evil Dead I and II and of course Army of Darkness played a huge role in inspiration for me. I really like the Resident Evil video game series as well. However, we had limitation on this film from the producers, in that we had to keep the gore to a minimum, which was a bit of a let down because I love me some gore. I understand the reasoning for it. They didn’t want it too gory so that it would turn people off, but I wish we could have given it a Walking Dead look.

Mario Xavier (JP2IFF): You had some impressive shots did you have access to Steadicam and a jib? 

Rob Kaczmark (Director): 

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): Somewhere West was your MFA thesis project for the University of Colorado , how has it been received by your University?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): “Somewhere West” was received very well by the University of Colorado, we actually received 2 grants from the university – the Gambill Family Endowment which was quit an honor, as it was a school wide application process and it hadn’t been given to fine arts student in a very long time. We also received the J.R. Hopes Grant which was within the Fine Arts Department, but I believe I was the first filmmaker to receive that award as a graduate student. The school was very supportive and helped me out considerably with equipment rental and plenty of advice. No one had ever produced a feature film as an MFA thesis project, let alone one that was going to travel 4982 miles in a rented RV, so there was considerable and legitimate concern that I would be able pull off the project, but they let me run with it and likely crossed their fingers. In the end, when I had to defend the film, things went very well and my main mentor Phil Solomon said the following in a newspaper interview:  “I was lost in the film immediately. I luxuriated spending time in that world.  Dave’s film has very little sound and fury … it’s quiet in a noisy time. It’s big talk in a time of small talk. . . When Dave’s film ends, he was after something bigger than the story.  He was after the big picture.” And so, they passed me.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): This is a visually breathtaking road film. Can you talk a little bit about the production process?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): I’d be happy to tell you about the production process, but it won’t be a little, haha!  So, I designed a very unusual production method that was half social experiment and half practicality. We jammed a primary cast of 4 and crew of 5 into an RV that was also pulling the “picture car” (the car that’s seen in the film) behind it and traveled 4,982 miles in 31 days all the while shooting the film. We slept wherever we parked, ate and rehearsed while on the Interstate, showered at campgrounds and did laundry on the rare occasion we stopped in a town for supplies. And all of this on a production budget of $18,500! The overriding intent of the production was collaboration, which meant the cast and crew worked as an ensemble, responding, improvising and adapting to the constantly changing landscape and shifting weather. There was never a day off for rain, we had to literally roll up to our location, unpack the gear from the RV, block our scene, shoot it a few times and then pack back up and hit the road. We were in a constant state of arriving, accepting what we were presented with, adapting the scene to fit the circumstance and then collaborating and improvising the performances. And since landscape is such an important character in the film, this also allowed the environment to play an active and creative role in making the film as well. Sounds crazy and it was, but I did it intentionally for several reasons.

First we didn’t have the time or the budget to get too precious with our shot designs and by shooting on location we eliminated much of the need for lights and forced ourselves to be creative within very defined limits. Secondly, I also chose to shoot the film chronologically, so that the cast and crew lived the story in real time – this allowed the actors to not only really identify with their characters, they were actually living the characters lives, the characters road weariness became the actual weariness the cast and crew were experiencing. Shooting chronologically also allowed us to collaborate on the script as we moved forward and change things that would then alter the script/story from that point forward and this is precisely why you see 4 writers credited on the film, we all thought it would be a good idea to credit the 2 amazing lead actors, Barrett Ogden and Judson Webb as well as my amazing cinematographer and good friend Adam Benn. Thirdly, I wanted to isolate the cast and crew and see what happened when, we as an ensemble were cut off from our normal lives and physically forced to immerse ourselves in the making of the film 24/7 for the month that we were on the road. It wasn’t always pretty – we had 2 flat tires on the RV, the tread came completely off the trailer pulling the picture car at 2am in the middle of nowhere Minnesota, 1 trip to the hospital and a minor mutiny that seemed to right itself after a night of drinking and dancing at the world famous Cassie’s Supper Club in Cody, WY.

In the post production I had been developing and put to use an editing method I call “Dissociative Montage,” which assumes there are five elements to narrative cinema: sound, image, time, space, and what I call the narrative stream.  And unlike the predominantly used “Continuity Editing,” which is the use of image and sound to create a continuity of time and space to tell a story – my method attempts to dissociate the first 4 elements (sound, image, time, space) from each other while continually maintaining the narrative stream.  This allows for a deeper exploration of dialectics between these images and creates opportunities that I think push narrative cinema towards a more poetic expression.

Further, we experimented with some different optical and in camera effects that I find stunning and really add a visceral effect to watching the film. There are several scenes where the main character, Ian is feeling ill, and I chose to represent these moments both literally and metaphorically – we use a lot of soft focus and actually used small mirrors to reflect light into the lens which helped create the floating lights that seem to hover around Ian. I call these “baubles of light” and I feel that they appear in these strange moments when, Ian is experiencing a contradictions – he is simultaneously feeling very sick and close to death while also experiencing a spiritual euphoria and I view the baubles of light to be a metaphorical representation of the spiritual light hovering about him, call them angels, nature spirits – that’s up to the audience to decide as well as if they are actually there or just in Ian’s imagination. The point is, he is not alone in these moments and that, while experiencing the pain and sickness so inevitable in our human bodies, he is simultaneously experiencing the euphoria of being closer to God, and surrounded by living light. I will likely talk more about this and my obsession with the seeming contradistinctions of the human experience as we go along.

Also, there is a lot of soft focus in general in the film and this is both purposeful and practical – first, its practical because we had such a small crew and basically only Adam Benn on the camera and so he didn’t have the normal and basic support of an assistant camera person and so he had to make all adjustments on the fly and we really didn’t have the time to measure focus points and have an AC do focus pulls. Further we were often improvising in performance and so Adam never knew where focus was going to be and so he had to do his best to follow along. The effect of this is a lot of strobing focus where the focus comes in and out as it searches for its subject. Normally this would be considered a mistake or sloppy, but we used it consistently and visually it relates to Ian’s own failing eye sight – see, Ian has a brain tumor in the occipital lobe of his brain which begins to effect his vision and so the audience is not only along for Ian’s journey, they are forced to join Ian quite literally as his eyesight begins to fail.

Similarly, we worked with visual metaphor throughout the film and that was planned from the start. The basic idea is that there would be a relationship between Ian’s health and the landscape as well as the landscape and Ian’s spiritual state.  When the film starts Ian is at his most healthy and so the landscape is very lush, full of life in Northern Michigan. As Ian continues on his journey and his health begins to fail, the landscape begins to become more desolate, less green, less lush, until finally when Ian is near death he is on the salt flats, which is completely lifeless, flat and void of nearly any differentiation in the landscape. This visual parallel also works for Ian’s spiritual state – when the film starts Ian, much like the dense trees and growth of Northern Michigan, is clinging to his life, holding on to his material objects and has a strong attachment to his sense of self. Over the course of the film, Ian is forced to let go of so much both in the material and spiritually. He is pushed by another character to reconsider what he is holding on to as far as personal/material objects and challenged to let them go as they don’t define him, he is defined more by his relationships and it will be his friends and loved ones that will remember him, not his “stuff.” Ian is also forced to let go, to trust and have faith in those around him and faith that he will be taken care of in a larger sense, and he is forced to give up control as he becomes more sick.  He needs help from other to continue his journey and he also needs to begin to let go of his body as he works towards the salt flats and at the end he is surrounded by an almost pure white landscape brilliantly illuminated, ethereal, which helps to make his transition into the after life or coming home to God, after such a long and hard road … as easy as an exhale.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): The film is a very personal view on terminal illness. How did you develop the story?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): Well I’m happy to say that the cancer element of the story was completely fictional, even though some of this film is inspired by events from my life. I thought it was very important to bring the audience into a situation where the stakes are as high as they can be, where a man’s sense of self and spirit are on the line and time is short. In script writing we talk about “inciting incidents” something happens that forces our protagonist out of their repetitive, daily, uneventful life and nothing does that quite like staring down your mortality as it gallops towards at an accelerating pace. I did a lot of reading on end of life physiology, bereavement and cancer, and being hopelessly fascinated by consciousness and perception, I began to investigate brain tumors which, as I mentioned above, worked for the film both in story and aesthetically by motivating some of the visual and perceptual/spiritual themes we wanted to explore.

I feel very blessed to say that terminal illness hasn’t been an issue that directly effects myself or immediate loved ones, but I think as a society we need to consider our mortality more and not ignore it out of fear. I would hope that folks would walk away from my film with many, many thoughts, feelings and question, but at the very least I would hope that “Somewhere West” provides a 103 minute opportunity to consider one’s mortality and by relation – consider how they want to spend their time in this life, how they want to treat those around them, their loved ones as well as strangers, and how beautifully broken we all are.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): What were the biggest challenges in making this film?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): Well, I’ve addressed a bit of this above as far as the unusual challenge of shooting a film in 30 days while traveling 4982 miles in an RV with a cast and crew of 9. But what I will add is that I plan meticulously to flirt with chaos. I intentionally create some of my own challenges – which is part of my practice and what I love about the filmmaking process. As I mentioned above, I not only intentionally collaborate with my cast and crew, I designed the production of “Somewhere West” so that we would HAVE to collaborate with the landscape and environment. I operate on the idea that with great risk comes great reward and I am almost always richly rewarded by letting go, being present to the moment, using what is offered by my cast, crew, the environment and allowing all those elements put their hand on the film, to shape it and in this way I truly feel like I am finding the film that wants to be made in the moment – I am as much finding the film as making it.

And of course their are the practical issue of making a very ambitious road-film with under $20K. There were a lot of technical challenges, but again, you asses, accept and create with what is provided in the moment. I much prefer this method then producing a plan and rigidly executing it to perfection … sometimes to the detriment of the piece as a living breathing story. Which some might say is a long-winded way of saying I need to become a better writer – and that is certainly true!

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): As writer and director did you have to make any cuts that looked great on paper, but needed to be adjusted for the final cut?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): Well, as I’ve mentioned above, I was not very precious about the script in the slightest and the story we shot is considerably different from the script that we initially walked on to the RV with. And yes editing was very hard, I believe we had 32 hours of footage and there are a lot of fantastic scenes that were cut for a host of reasons, and even today I feel the pacing is a bit rushed at times for what the performance and images area asking for, but I also know what the expectations are here in the US and everyone I talked to had the same sad and shortsighted response “Call me when its 90 minutes and has a soundtrack.” I’m not a box builder, I’m an explorer of the human experience, and sometimes that’s a very messy thing and can take as long as it takes to stumble into a resolution. I fully realize that film industry is a business and you have to make things that people want to buy to be financially successful – I’m working on that – but I’m hopeful that along the way, some unexpected humanity, and dare I say poetry, might find its way into our box building film industry. Thank goodness for film festivals!

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): The film has a spiritual dimension, especially in the visual scenery, was this intentional or did it develop throughout the production process?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): Some folks say that filmmakers, the ones that write and direct, often have 1 issue, theme, or story that they make over and over again – every film is related to that issue. I can believe this, as I see again and again in my young career that I’m constantly fascinated by issues of the spirit as they come in contact and conflict with our daily lives. Somewhere West is no different, but its important to know that I intentionally took steps to NOT highlight any particular doctrine or practice, as I was interested in exploring a character who was a lost soul, who had no real religious background who decided he would go into the world with his quickly vanishing time and try to find God on the mountaintop so to speak. And this is a young man who is battling with many of the Stages of Grief that Dr. Kubler-Ross wrote about (which was another big influence) and who simply wants to be alone in nature, he wants to isolate himself for many reasons: because he is angry about his situation, because he believes he is on this journey towards death alone, because he feels medicine has failed him, and so he decides he will throw himself out into nature and sacrifice himself to this one last ditch effort to make sense of it all. Well, in his mind this is a solitary journey and that what he fully intends, but early in the film he makes the choice to help another wayward soul … and then can’t seem to get rid of him. This throws a big monkey wrench into this rather naive and the somewhat romantic, Emersonian idea of becoming the wandering ascetic that he was clinging to. He just wants to be alone … so he says and thinks, but once he finally pushes this second character away, his health fails to the point where he needs to swallow his pride, apologize and ask for help. This begins a friendship, that is first out of necessity, for both of them really and then over time, becomes something much more as both characters grow and learn to selflessly help each other. Ian, the main character, doesn’t get what he wants, but at the Stones say, he gets what he needs.

    It was important for me that all the characters are broken characters, they all have flaws they all have ugly or petty moments, so that we can really see how beautiful they become when they give and act out of compassion and love. I think in much of our western cinema, particularly in Hollywood we have lost the idea of character development – so often films are so worried about an audience liking their protagonist, that the character development moves from a likeable character to a slightly more likable character … not much of an evolution really which consequently means, not much learned either. My goal is always to investigate the seemingly impossible contradiction that the human experience is – we are both so tremendously strong and at the same time so painfully fragile, thoughtlessly brave and blindly fearful in the same moment – capable of timeless acts of love and joy as well as horrors that should never be forgotten. How so many contradictions can exist inside each one of us, often at the same moment … I like to think of us all as beautifully broken creatures.
As I said above, landscape is a very important character in the film and its certainly not by accident that we visit many sacred landscapes: The Black Hills, Devil’s Tower, the amazing St. John’s Cathedral, and the Big Horn Medicine Wheel to name a few of the more obvious ones. I’m fascinated by the idea of sacred landscapes and what that means. I’ve had some interesting conversations with landscape architects and, I wish I could give you some nice pithy conclusions, but I’m happily a babe in the woods and have much reading, talking, and considering to do on this subject. But there is no denying that we are drawn to these landscapes and I know that it is for more then their beauty and spectacle. And in this same way, Ian makes pilgrimages to these place in the hope of … connection to the sacred, healing, answers, hope, inspiration to go on … for many reasons. As he visits them, he does begin to open his heart, he is changed and even though his body isn’t healed, his spirit is, as he learns to let go of so much of what is polluting his heart, mind and spirit – and he begins to see, with a little help, what is important – his relationships and how he chooses to live. Its no mistake that once Ian looses his eye sight and has to really let go of control, the idea of prideful independence and fear – and begins to rely on those around him – that he’s the happiest he is through out the entire film.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): Do you have any current projects you’re working on or ideas for the near future?

David K. Marek (Writer/Director): Future Projects – Well, I have recently co-founded a filmmaker collective in Traverse City, Michigan called, “The TreeFort Collective.” We are in the process of remodeling an office space and lining up both commercial and creative jobs for the next year. We have been working with the State Theatre in Traverse City and with the Traverse City Film Festival and Michael Moore on several special projects. One of my great interests and one of the reasons I moved back to Northern Michigan was to help develop and evolve a sense of regional cinema. With the changes we have seen in technology and distribution, high quality films are much cheaper and easier to make and so we are starting to see films with landscapes that aren’t restricted to a 100 miles from Hollywood. I’m interested in Northern Michigan landscapes and when I dream, the landscape of my imagination is a Northern Michigan landscape, so I want to tell stories that embody the people, culture and environment of Northern Michigan. That said, I’m 1/2 way through a feature script that is set in the back woods of the UP during the lumber boom of the late 1800’s. I’m also working on a very unusual and somewhat experimental short film as well as a collaborative  project I will be doing with some of the other amazing instructors at the Interlochen Arts Academy where I am presently the Filmmaker in Residence.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR NOMINEES!!!

REEL ROSE BEST FEATURE-LENGTH FILM NOMINATIONS:

The Investigator

The Fighter’s Ballad

California Solo

Restless Heart

Somewhere West

REEL ROSE BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM NOMINATIONS:

7 Days of Sacrifice

If Only We Had Listened

Rise and Dream

God in the Box

Men of La Mancha

REEL ROSE BEST SHORT FILM NOMINATIONS:

Always Come Home

Choices

Harvest

Zombies Vs. Jesus

To Be Born

REEL ROSE BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM NOMINATIONS:

Child 31

Set Apart

REEL ROSE BEST DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS:

Christian Duguay – Restless Heart

Sean Bloomfield – If Only We Had Listened

Tony S. Ukpo – The Fighter’s Ballad

Curtis Graham – The Investigator

Jim Morlino – The War of the Vendee

Marshall Lewy – California Solo

Judy-Anne Goldman – Rise and Dream

David K. Marek – Somewhere West

Roohangiz Shams – A Glass of Milk

REEL ROSE BEST SCREENPLAY NOMINATIONS:

Francesco Arlanch – Restless Heart

Peter Cadwell – The Fighter’s Ballad

Richard A. Romano – The Investigator

Marshall Lewy – California Solo

Jim Morlino – The War of the Vendee

David k. Marek – Somewhere West

Roohangiz Shams – A Glass of Milk

Inmaculada Hoces – Una Canción (A Song)

REEL ROSE BEST SHORT-LENGTH SCREENPLAY NOMINATIONS:

Harvest

To Be Born

Zombies Vs. Jesus

Always Come Home

Choices

REEL ROSE BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE-LENGTH FILM NOMINATIONS:

Alessandro Preziosi (Young Augustine) -Restless Heart

Peter Cadwell (The Fighter) – The Fighter’s Ballad

Wade Williams (James) – The Investigator

Robert Carlyle (Lachlan) – California Solo

Mary Claire Morlino (Marie Stofflet) – The War of the Vendee

Barret Ogden (Ian) – Somewhere West

REVELATION AWARD NOMINATIONS:

If Only We Had Listened

The Fighter’s Ballad

Rise and Dream

Somewhere West

A Glass of Milk

THE PEOPLE’S FESTIVAL NOMINATIONS:

Restless Heart

If Only We Had Listened

The Fighter’s Ballad

The Investigator

California Solo

The War of the Vendee

Rise and Dream

Somewhere West

7 Days of Sacrifice

A Glass of Milk

God in the Box

Una Canción (A Song)  

Men of La Mancha

Writer: Peter Cadwell

Producer Jane Frisby

Director: Tony S. Ukpo

The Fighter’s Ballad will screen on Friday November 9th at 9PM. You can purchase your tickets here: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/918701

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): What inspired the writing/making of ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ and what would you say the film is fundamentally about?

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): I wanted to tell a story of the soul…a story of the human spirit, that hopefully, anyone could relate to, world wide…I wanted to try and ask the big human, spiritual questions . As artists, that’s what we aspire for, to humanly connect…express ourselves and express our souls. As for what the film is fundamentally about, people will hopefully have their own interpretation…I hope they do! As for what I think the film is about, personally, this can be hard to answer, as it’s about so many profound thoughts and feelings. A story of the soul, from the depths of the soul. The script’s journey can still haunt me, challenge me, question me. One of the core theme’s is love and the loss of love and the spiritual suffering this brings. Other fundamental theme’s include faith, grief and mental health…the list could go on.

Jane Frisby (Producer): You could simply say it is ‘about’ an angry young man breaking into a church…and confronting a Priest…and the all consuming verbal and potentially physical battle between them. But is it ‘about’ so much more than simply that. Essentially yes…faith, grief, love, loss of love, anguish, the human struggle…the film poses many questions to it’s audience…some of which people may find disturbing and painful. They may not want these questions asked…as they either may not have, or do not like the possible answers.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): What where your influences for ‘The Fighter’s Ballad?

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): With the play and the film of ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’, my influences where the great 50′s/60′s plays, films, actor’s, writer’s and director’s. Plays by ‘Harold Pinter’ and ‘Arthur Miller’ for instance…those great theatrical, epic pieces of work, that lent towards a heightened, emotionally charged, dramatic naturalism. Films such as ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘On the Waterfront’…directors and actors such as ‘Elia Kazan’ and ‘Marlon Brando’…and the whole ‘Method Acting Movement’. Another influence would be Classical Theatre…Greek Theatre or the Medieval Passion Plays…those big emotions, theological questions and philosophies.

Tony S Ukpo (Director): We always set out to make a film that was similar in spirit to the great theatrical adaptations of the early-mid 20th Century, notable mentions being films like ‘On the Waterfront’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, where the subject matter is so deeply rooted in the human story. Once you begin to tell those emotionally charged stories, you immediately begin to lend yourself more towards a timeless quality, and I think that is essentially what our film is, a human story…the battle between and within the characters, to truly understand the world around them, and the effect it has on them on a subconscious level.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): The Fighter’s Ballad is an adaptation of a stage play, what challenges did you face in bringing it to film?

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): From writing the first draft of ‘The Fighter’ stageplay, to actually now having filmed the adapted screenplay ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’, it has been painfully passionate. Like the title, the script’s themes, and the film itself, art has mirrored life, and life has mirrored art, in that my writers journey has been one of blood, sweat and tears…a real fight to finally get the script here today. I’m very proud that through all the pain and passion, it survived. With love, but with as little compromise as possible, I fought, for the script’s story, its soul, its vision, in order that its integrity would be kept intact…and again, I’m proud that in a world of compromise, the script to screen, has managed to be as near to its original vision as it could be.

Through the journey from ‘The Fighter’ as a play, to ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’, as a screenplay…over the years, I have spoken to several spiritual figures about the issues within the script. For a long time I think I’ve underestimated the impact that the writing and the characters have had on people…but the longer the journey continues, I’m realising the script is hitting a powerful nerve within people, whether it be spiritual, emotional or psychological! Many seem to love the film for its challenging passion, but many are fearful of this also! I now really believe we have a deeply important film, especially for our times…a film that I believe should be seen, for the thoughts/feelings it provokes, for the issues it raises and for the debates it could potentially create!

Many in the church community have embraced, supported the film, some who are very established…but there have been a few, who have not liked the film for its challenging nature, it’s potentially too much of a hot potato for some of those in the faith community. For me personally, in the writing of the film, I didn’t wish to condemn faith or for the film to be pro faith either…it’s a battle of faith! Although I have deep religious feelings within myself and lean towards pro spirituality, I wanted the debate in the film, to pose more questions, rather than give answers!

One of the challenges along the way, is I wanted the film to stay as a simple character driven two hander, one location, dialogue heavy…but so many in the commercial film/TV industry told me this would never work, and I could never achieve this! I really now believe we have achieved this, and as a team, we feel it is working as a film. Of course, the film won’t be to everyone’s tastes, as it’s an arthouse film…but I don’t think there are any rules? Throughout the 100 or so years of film, there have been many films that have been one location and dialogue heavy…some of the greatest film classics ever!

Jane Frisby (Producer): I cannot obviously answer this fully…though I do know that Peter worked very hard on the film adaptation of his play. One of the versions did open out more, using flashbacks and back stories…but this totally lost what is essential to the power of Peter’s script…it’s unique claustrophobic quality…and consequentially the intimacy and energy of the continuous, powerful, verbal battle between the two leads. The story is partly about an uncompromising character that challenges us…so in making the film, we celebrated this, by not compromising the scripts power! We made a film that is challenging and asks more from a modern film audience.

Tony S Ukpo (Director): I had originally read the script for the play, and then seen it performed some months later when Peter the writer/actor invited me down to one of the shows. What attracted me to the material was that it’s more of a performance piece, and it comes across a lot better seeing it live than written on the page. My goal in the adaptation was to try and bring that energy to screen. However the main challenge was trying to spread it out a little bit in the blocking, as in the play it all takes place on the altar of the church and nowhere else, so I tried to take advantage of the space we had and the variations within it to give a more dynamic feel to the story. The inclination with these kinds of adaptations is to really open it out and take the story out of the church and into other aspects of their lives, but I wanted to go with a more claustrophobic tension having these two characters face off with nowhere to go until one of them gave in, as that was what appealed to me from the play in the first place. There’s a long tradition of films that are adapted from the theater that lose no emotional punch or resonance by having a dialogue heavy story happen in an enclosed space, Twelve Angry men comes to mind, and they’re all the better off for it.

Frank Brennan: The acting stands out in the film, what did you do as a director to keep the two actors so emotionally invested?

Tony S Ukpo (Director): I didn’t have to do much because a lot of it was on the page in the dialogue. But what I think i did was to help give context to some of the feelings they were having, and also to find meaning behind all the religious rhetoric that is inherent in the story and the setting, and keep the characters true to the pain they both felt in their lives that pushed them towards the paths they were on. Ultimately the emotional grounding of both men comes from the pain of loss in their lives, and I thought it was important to never lose sight of that. Also it’s easy to get melodramatic with this kind of material, and I’m all for subtlety. Though there is a theatricality, certainly  when it comes to the title character, it needs to come across naturally and not overly performed, so it was trying to tone that down so it was at just the right level of fantasy with some creative license, and a genuine reality.

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): Tony was brilliant, he gave Clive Russell and myself the space to be free and just be, and he didn’t dictate for us how to act. He was a true director, in that he trusted us to do what we do, and only give notes and directions when needed. Also, he endeavoured to make the shooting environment as best it could be, in order for us, to feel safe and secure, to go as deep as we could.
As an Actor, my main method and approach is that of ‘Method Acting’ inspired by the great American Actor’s…however, fused with this, is still my classical theatre training and background. Clive Russell was mainly more classical in his method and approach.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): Can you talk about the location. How long did it take to find the Church and were you looking for anything specific when scouting?

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): The Church ‘St.Leonard’s, Shoreditch, East London’ is very close to my heart. A good few years ago, my father, who is a builder, was the foreman on the Churches re-build. His main job was to work on the foundations, as the Church, being hundreds of years old, was in desperate need of restoration. It was at this time, I first wrote the stageplay of ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ and performed it, as a workshop performance, within the church. From here, we performed the play in many major churches in London…but when it came to filming the story, I felt it only fitting to return to it’s spiritaul birthplace.

St Leonard’s Shoreditch Church is round the corner from the hedonistic playground of London’s youthful and trendy, that is Hoxton. Slightly further down the road from the Church, is London’s financial heart…however, East London is still a deprived inner city area, with many social and spiritual issues. Through the frenzy, chaos and gloom of London, St. Leonard’s is a sanctuary, a beacon of light for London’s most vulnerable…such as the homeless and the mentally ill.

Sadly, because of the area, lack of funds, the Church struggles to look clean and decorated for it’s parishioner’s…but for me, it’s cracks, scars and imperfection’s, are beautiful. I feel, the Churches imperfections and vulnerability, honour and celebrate our own vulnerability…the cracks, scars in our souls. Like the character’s in the film.

Also, St.Leonard’s has a great theatrical history. The Church is situated very near the original site of ‘The Theatre’, England’s first purpose built Playhouse, built in Shoreditch in 1576. The Church is noted as being the resting place of many actors from the ‘Elizabethan Period’. Those buried in the grounds of the Church include ‘James Burbage’, the Founder of ‘The Theatre’ and his son ‘Richard Burbage’ who was the leading man in many of Shakespeare’s play’s, which were first performed in ‘The Theatre’.

Tony S Ukpo (Director): We had maybe a day or two where we considered other possibilities, but really it was always going to be St Leonard’s. It was the first place the play was performed, and also of all the possible places we could have gone to it was the closest to the feel we were going for. Somewhere that was as worn and so full of history, as both the characters are, especially the Priest, that didn’t have that glossy feel to it. It had to be somewhere slightly grungy and dangerous.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): Was there anything that you cut from the script that just didn’t work on film?

Tony S Ukpo (Director):One of the things I wanted to do from the get go, was to stay true to the script. The way it was written, and the importance of a lot of the scenes in terms of building the character of the Fighter for the audience, and also the evolution of the Priest’s journey made it very difficult to cut things out. It was mainly a word or two here and there, or rephrasing the odd sentence for fluidity, but really pretty much everything you see on screen is what was on the page. I think there may be a few minutes in there that could be trimmed down, but it’d be tough to find those moments, where taking them out doesn’t affect the overall rhythm and substance of the film.

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter):  We didn’t cut anything majorly from the stageplay to screen…I can remember, I was worried there was potentially too much dialogue and that some things might not work…but Tony, was happy with everything, and felt that we didn’t need to cut anything, as it would lose something. Saying that, throughout it’s theatrical development, I cut loads, before we got close to the film. Now watching it back, I feel it works…but maybe some others won’t like the heavy dialogue! But all what is on screen, I really believe is important for the character’s voice.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): The battle between the Fighter and the Priest is one of the soul rather than of physicality. How would you describe this battle to someone who has never seen the film before?

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): Brilliant, but tough question! You’ve got me there…I’ll have to think on this one further. But as you said, it’s two Men, who are both deeply suffering, who challenge each other on a deep, dark, soul level. I suppose from this, through this, it’s what happens…is there healing, is there forgiveness, is there peace…is there redemption?

Always, part of my thinking and vision for the story and it’s character’s…is this thought, feeling, that through our darkest moments, eventually God’s light will shine. The film is a dark film, but for me, it is fundamentally more about it’s light.

Another thought I’ve always had, is that the Fighter character in the film, breaks into the church…but really, what I feel he is mostly trying to do, is metaphorically and spiritually, break into the soul of the Priest, break further into his own inner soul. But beyond this, the Fighter is trying to break into the soul of man, and possibly the soul of the audience, in order for us, to hopefully look further into our own souls.

Tony S Ukpo (Director): It’s actually a very easy pitch in a way, because even if you take the religion out of it, it’s something a lot of people battle with everyday. Everyone is plagued with doubt, and loneliness, and anger, or resentment at some stage in their lives. How does one respond to those feelings? what are the consequences of those reactions? Mental and emotional anguish is often the most difficult to deal with, and even if it’s just for moments in the day, or a bad couple of weeks someone goes through, it’s something that everyone can relate with as a very base aspect of human nature and how society affects us in different ways. How certain relationships are so strong that once they’re severed there’s little that can pull you back from those depths of despair. Now what happens when two people who’ve lost something so close to them, both trying to deal with it in different ways, confront each other about moving on when neither of them actually wants to, or has the strength to do so. They either wipe themselves out, or something happens where that shared experience helps them both realize that letting go might be the only way to ease the pain. And it’s something that can only happen when faced with someone who has gone through the same thing, because there’s a credibility there. As if to say, well if you can do it, then I guess maybe I can too.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): What do you find most haunting about the film? Most beautiful?

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): There are so many moments that break my heart, as so much of it comes from my own soul. I couldn’t say to be honest. All I can say, is Tony did such a beautiful, haunting job, bringing the screenplay to life.

Tony S Ukpo (Director): The film is quite intense, and one of the things I tried to emphasize were those few moments where the audience gets a chance to breathe, and to understand that there’s something more to the characters than what they are presenting to us. Where you can see them first start to let go and connect with each other. There’s something magical about connecting so deeply with another human being, a stranger especially, that is both cathartic, and also strangely uplifting. I think it’s my favorite moment in the film that first moment, that transition.

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): In your opinion, how does your film fit into the ‘JP2IFF’ 2012 theme, REVELATION. This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process.

Peter Cadwell (Actor/Screenwriter): ‘Revelation’…since ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ was selected to screen at ‘JP2′, I’ve been thinking about this…as I feel deeply humbled and incredibly moved that the film has been selected to screen, and then potentially be discussed in relationship to ‘Revelation’…in relationship to Catholic Faith.
‘Revelation’…a revealing…a vision of truth…something possibly prophetic…something possibly apocalyptic…God’s disclosure. For me…’The Fighter’s Ballad’ connects to the theme of Revelation, in that I truly believe it transcends from all the above, within its production process and within the film’s story and character’s.

In the writing of the screenplay, it was a revealing of myself and my own soul, a revealing of other people’s souls through my writing…it is an artistic vision of my own human, spiritual experience, throughout my life. When writing the script, I felt many thoughts and feelings came from something profound and prophetic, beyond my understanding.

The anger, the darkness, the sadness in the script, is my revelation of where I think we possibly are in the world today, which could be prophetic, apocalyptic. We can’t deny the pain and suffering within our world today, and is it getting better? Since time began, since man was born, how much have we evolved, spiritually? How much are we continuing to evolve spiritually? How spiritually healthy are we deep down, as a human race? My fear, is that we are possibly de-evolving spiritually… this is spoken within the script. But also in the script, I feel in many ways, is the revealing of pure love.

Through performing the character of the Fighter, again, there was a revealing of my myself, my soul, my truth and the soul of the character I was giving voice too…hopefully dignity too.

Through seeing many audiences watch the film, I have felt a revealing of the audience member’s themselves. A revealing of either their spiritual truth, or lack of spiritual truth…which has often felt beautiful, yet at other times, felt very painful!

There is revelation in the character’s, in that throughout the film, they reveal their past, their pain, their truth’s, their soul’s…and I believe through this, God discloses his love and his light, to character’s themselves and the audience.

Another small thing that could also connect to the theme of ‘Revelation’, is that of a spiritual vision. Many audience have thought, questioned, that possibly, could the character of the Fighter in the film, not be real, but instead, be a spiritual vision, visiting the Priest. The Priest’s angel and devil, a vision of his tormented self possibly. I have my own thoughts on this…yes, the Fighter is the everyman in a way, he could possibly represent all of us in a way, as so could the Priest…but I’m not telling anyone whether I think the Fighter is real or not…that’s for the individual audience to decide.

Tony S Ukpo (Director): The production process was itself a revelation in ways I won’t go into too much here, but the film is all about revelation because these characters find each other at moments in their lives when they are in desperate need of change, whether they knew it or not. And the fact that they have such an impact on each other’s lives where there was so much resistance and suspicion early on, and arguably through most of the film, to end up where they do at the end is very much what I would describe as a revelatory moment. I think for Peter as a writer it was probably the most personal experience, both in the writing of it, and in finally seeing the script brought to life in a cinematic way.

Frank Brennan (Jp2IFF): How has this film been received thus far?

Tony S Ukpo (Director): It has been received very well so far from a variety of different audiences. Everyone seems to connect with the emotional impact of the story, and the intensity of the performances certainly drives home that feeling of helplessness that the characters are going through, and that’s something everyone has experienced in their own lives, or has been a witness to. It certainly seems to have affected some people in a deep way, and ultimately that was the goal. To create an emotional connection with the real world inspirations of the film.

Quotes/reviews from some of those who have seen ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ so far:

“While some films depend on lavish CGI flights of fancy, The Fighter’s Ballad draws its strength from its simplicity. Taking place in a cavernous east London church, this is a stark two handed confrontation between the gentle-spirited Reverend John and the Fighter of the title – a loquacious ball of anger and despair who breaks in from the street. Though the rhythmic back and forth of their exchange often smacks of the stage, there’s an impressive visual sheen here – and the dialogue is given a weighty intensity by the performances of Peter Cadwell and Clive Russell.” Danny Leigh – Film Critic & Co-host of BBC One – Film 2012

“Brutal but beautiful” Sadie De Jouer Taylor – Producer

Frank Brennan (JP2IFF): Are you working on any current projects or developing ideas for future projects?

Tony S Ukpo (Director): I’m finishing up post-production on another feature film, a sci-fi drama I wrote and directed called After the world ended, and working on other scripts. I’ve got quite a few projects on the go, or ready to go, so I guess it’s just seeing where the wind takes me. It all depends on various factors falling in to place, and then I work according to what those factors dictate in many ways, but the idea is to always keep productive, and try new things.

“Powerful, Provocative, Poetic, Profound.” Anonymous Viewer

“An excruciatingly beautiful film that asks questions of us all.” Mike Warburton – Actor

“Peter Cadwell is a truly transformational actor, a stunning performance.” Jack Price – Director

“Shocking, thought-provoking and dark; a vision of the battle between hope and hopelessness. Emma Engers – Agent

“If you’re into dialogue driven indie films, in which the acting, writing and characters are intensely powerful, challenging, yet truly beautiful, heartbreaking, then this already cult classic is for you.” John Howard – Filmmaker

“Peter Cadwell is a tour de force, tackling a difficult subject matter with both brute force and compassion/sensitivity, reminiscent of early Brando! ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’, blow for blow, is the best Low Budget Film of the year!” Russell Taylor – Director

“Ukpo’s direction is understated, letting the feelings and characters speak out for themselves. Breaking up the action effectively is Samuel Karl Bohn’s moving score. Cadwell’s work explores religion, man’s existence and how the two ebb and flow around each other…he has bravely taken on and tackled a huge body of thought, which really makes this film stand out in style and content from what one is used to seeing on our stages and screens.”
Caroline Vice – ‘Glitterazi’ online arts reviewer

“Unflinching, questioning and brutal. This powerful film will stay with you for sometime. A brave, stylistic commentary on contemporary society, or lack of, and the relevance of religion and forgiveness. Memorable.” Tara Newton – Actor

” ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ deserves all the support it can get, regarding the insightful direction and convincing performances, in a film that proves once and for all that big budgets and special effects don’t make big and special movies. It’s the creative heads behind a production like ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’, that give birth to films that stay in people’s minds.” Robert Sigl – Director

“Strong performances from Peter Cadwell and Clive Russell make ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ a thought provoking and poetic piece of work; a great example of how a Low Budget Film can offer high hopes for the indie industry in the UK.” Andi Reiss – Director

“This Film delves into uncomfortable depths, exploring the difficulty of communicating with a troubled soul, seemingly out of sync with the ‘normal’. The audience’s instinct is to be afraid and repulsed by people whose reality seems dangerously misaligned; ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ suggest that mental illness has to be treated early, at source, through pity, patience and openness. In the film’s darkest moments, we see the friction caused by divergent world views; the comforting idealism of religion versus the despair and violence of hopeless nihilism.” Tom Quillfeldt – Agent

“I am still thinking about ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’, which I take to be an excellent sign! It’s raw and powerful, but as I’ve started to distance myself from it, it’s the beauty of it that’s staying with me. The poetry stands out … ‘The Fighter’s Ballad’ has a rare lyricism usually reserved for the theatre and the love song is a particularly moving sequence. The central performances balance each other out beautifully and I think some really brave artistic choices have been made throughout the production of the piece.” Elizabeth Boag – Actor

Although the film is very dialogue heavy, the performances were strong enough to carry it off. Russell’s portrayal of Reverend John was natural, utterly convincing and at times very moving. Cadwell, brought an energy to the nameless Fighter, that’s not often seen on the screen. The Fighter’s dialogue being lyrical and almost rap-like…this powerful energy brought the angry, troubled character to life. The film is superbly shot and they make full use of the dereliction of the building and the features inside. A grand piano covered in water stained dust sheet says everything about this supposed sanctuary surrounded by gritty inner London. Online ‘Frost’ Magazine – Genevieve Sibaya 

Festivals and Screenings so far:

Official selection ‘John Paul II Independent Film Festival‘, Miami, Florida, November 2012.
Official selection and opening film of the ‘London Independent Film Festival’ April 2012.
Official selection ‘Cornwall Film Festival’ November 2011. UK Premiere

Frank Brennan (Jp2IFF):Are you working on any current projects or developing ideas for future projects?

Tony S Ukpo(Director): I’m finishing up post-production on another feature film, a sci-fi drama I wrote and directed called After the world ended, and working on other scripts. I’ve got quite a few projects on the go, or ready to go, so I guess it’s just seeing where the wind takes me. It all depends on various factors falling in to place, and then I work according to what those factors dictate in many ways, but the idea is to always keep productive, and try new things.

David Whalen: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer these questions regarding the screening at the John Paul II International Film Festival.
Mario Xavier: How would you pitch your movie to an audience?
David Whalen: Men of La Mancha is a spiritual road trip film in the vein of Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries, but instead of a call to political revolution, it is a nudge for an internal revolution to help the needy in the great adventure of life.
b. Two men leave their professions in California, a lawyer and an engineer, to film Americans living in Central America that serve the poor, orphaned, prisoners and the dying, while at the same time recovering a smashed motorcycle. Taking their roles as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza they pass through the Mayan lands of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, experiencing both incredible adventures and maddening misfortunes. They bring hope to others and to themselves but also find great sadness and tragedy on the way and in the days ahead.
Mario Xavier: In your opinion, how does your film fit into the 2012 theme, REVELATION. This question applies to the film itself as well as its production process.
David Whalen: In my opinion, even though I filmed, directed and edited, I did not “make” Men of La Mancha; instead I found it in the footage, in the obscure and apparently random events, I found Men of La Mancha as I went through the footage and as the events unfolded. It reminds me of what they say of Michelangelo’s sculptures (without at all comparing Men of La Mancha to his great works): that he found his sculptures in the rock. Men of La Mancha was undoubtedly a revelation in that it was revealed to me, rather then me forcing the story; even the name of the company came to me in revelation, a sort of awake dream. Revelation is a particularly appropriate word to use to describe the moment when I saw the Don Quixote Trail sign (scene in the film) in the middle of nowhere, in the midst of the surrounding heartbreaking events; for me, it was the biggest sign for the proof of God’s existence and action in my life and in the world.

Mario Xavier: How did you hear about the festival?
David Whalen: I heard about the John Paul II Film Festival because I noticed it was one of the awards the film The Human Experience won. Applying to festivals as a first time filmmaker is very challenging since there are thousands of them and I had no idea who would want to show this film. So I looked at other films that shared similarities to see where they were selected and I applied to these and others.

Mario Xavier: I ask this question of all documentaries;  How many hours of footage did you shoot and cut down to make this feature?
David Whalen: I had about 80 hours of footage. I also had dozens of hours of separately recorded high quality audio since my camera had poor audio recording. I recorded dual sound in much of the film and all of that had to be synced up before editing. This took weeks. It also took weeks on a super computer to transcode some of footage to a compatible editing format. All of this had to be done before editing. I had footage in several different formats from my own cameras, from Mike’s camera, and some of the shots from Tim Tam’s camera and others.

Mario Xavier: How have you been making money off your charity videos?  How do you profit and keep going?
David Whalen: I need to bifurcate the answer to this question between charity videos and the documentary film Men of La Mancha. I started the company La Mancha Media, a public charity, to make a documentary film while at the same time making charity videos for free to give to poor organizations so that they can use them to raise money for themselves.

I used my own money to fund La Mancha Media and to give away these videos. I had hoped other organizations and donors would see the value of making these small videos but to date, I have not found any substantial donors. So because I no longer have money to give away free videos, I now approach it differently: if a person has a favorite charity and they want me to make a video I tell them how much this will cost. I ask for a donation to La Mancha Media just to cover the costs: plane ticket, cost of filming for few days/weeks, cost of editing for a few days/weeks and music licensing. The last video I made like this was for a charity in Colombia called Messengers of Peace and which is on the website, lamanchamedia.org. It has helped that organization tremendously.

The movie Men of La Mancha is different. I would like to make money from the film in order to fund La Mancha Media if possible. It is my hope that the film will make some money so that La Mancha Media will have enough funds so that we can provide more charity videos for free, without charge to anyone. It would be a dream come to true to have enough funds to make 6, 12, or even more charity videos a year, from charities all around the world, being able to fly to them, spend 4 or five days filming, and then editing and trying to help promote them, all at no cost.

A side note however: I researched early on about documentary films, and I knew that most do not make money. Even the Academy Award winning directors of the film Born into Brothels only broke even. So I never expected to make money. But I did expect to gain both exposure for La Mancha Media and to obtain the skills to make more movies as a professional. I hoped this film would convince others that I can continue in this profession as a great documentary story teller. Since all of my skills before this film were as a lawyer, making this film was like earning a degree in filmmaking without having to go to school to get yet another degree and to pay all the student loans that go with it.

Mario Xavier: How did your equipment handle the conditions (i.e.; heat and humidity)?  The DVX?  The Canon?
David Whalen: My equipement did fine. My first camera was a Canon HV30 which uses mini DV tapes. I traveled with dozens of tapes and a Blu-ray burner in a laptop. The HV30 tapes were fine, I never even knew about issues of humidity at the time; in fact I never operated a video camera before and was still reading the manuals to learn about the camera the first day of filming.

I knew the risks of danger were high while travelling in developing countries, so I made copies of the tapes and sent the Blu-ray backups to the States in case the police or robbers confiscated my equipment. My second camera was the Panasonic GH1. The DSLR revolution had just begun. There is no tape, only SD cards, so the heat was no big deal. We made double hard drive backups which we hid in the car in case corrupt cops stopped us and tried to confiscate, or in case robbers broke into our car (of which we had huge locks and large steel boxes holding all our gear safe). The GH1, being a first generation low budget DSLR camera had many limitations while shooting in full 1080. The 720 footage was great though, this is the reason the master is in 720 even though much of my footage is in 1080.

Mario Xavier: What would you recommend for anyone going out there and shooting an on the road movie?
David Whalen: Recommendations for making road films: try to be calm and not control everything. I was going through the footage after the trip and I kept hearing me in the background barking at Mike to film this and film that, this mountain, that bird, etc. And in the end I used very little of all of that, and it made me feel bad to hear me barking at him constantly. The key scenes are human interactions, not just nature buzzing by (though it is also important). I apologized to Mike after the trip after hearing myself. Just remember not to overdue it, or take yourself too seriously as a director. Calm down. Another issue is food and gas, food can sour your stomach if not careful and bad gas to blow an engine (which actually happened though it is not explained in the film).

Mario Xavier: This reminded me of “The Human Experience”, which was similar in style.  What groups would you recommend for young people who are excited to get out there and do this sort of work?
David Whalen: Thank you for saying so about The Human Experience; however it has a much different tone than Men of La Mancha. To me, that film had many experts explaining what life is about and telling you how to live a good life. Men of La Mancha never tells anyone what to do or how to live a good life. Only one time is there any moralizing, the scene on the beach when we talk about self giving, helping others, and the politics of communism vs. giving. Men of La Mancha is just a story about events and people, not about philosophy, in my opinion.

Men of La Mancha appeals to many diverse groups in my opinion. I have shown the film to Christians, Catholics, Atheists, Jews, etc. And each one had a very different take on it but all loved it in their own way. I think it may appeal to people that love road trip movies, but also to people that serve the poor both at home and abroad. I think it also appeals as just a pure story of human life and the dreams we all have. To me it is an appeal to dreamers, those people in the world that are often criticized for not being practical, the Don Quixotes in the world, like those men and women who set off on an adventure that has no money or power attached to it, but pure adventure, and love for the adventure of life, in and of itself.

Our film panelist Mario Xavier got the chance to talk with with Chad Ahrendt, writer and director of the award winning film “Reconciliation”.  Reconciliation won the 2011 People’s Festival Award, an award voted by the audience as the best film of the festival. It will be shown at the 2012 JP2 International Film Festival once again as a special screening and to close out the 2012 event. You can find out more information and purchase tickets to the event here: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/918717

Mario Xavier: Are you working on any other projects at the moment?

Chad Ahrendt: Currently I’m working on a few true life story projects.  Not certain which one will go first, but they are all different and amazing!  One that people at JP2IFF might recognize has to do with a very well known Christian singer/songwriter – his testimony and songs have moved and encouraged millions worldwide.

Mario Xavier: You attended and won the big prize at the 2011 JP2IFF. What was your favorite part of your JP2IFF experience?

Chad Ahrendt: My favorite part of JP2IFF was meeting and talking with all the people – organizers, staff, other filmmakers and audience members.  It is a great atmosphere for like-minded people to gather and share openly.  JP2IFF was the first time I had screened the film for a public audience and the reactions – all the tears and conversations afterwards – were humbling and encouraging.

Mario Xavier:  Since 2011 how has the film been received?

Chad Ahrendt: JP2IFF was our first film festival and since then the film has won 7 “Best Film” awards at festivals nationwide.  At each screening, without fail, half of the audience is always in tears because we all have a broken relationship that need mending, forgiveness and reconciliation and the film really tugs at the heart to take action.  We have screened the film at over 60 churches in North America and the response has been greater then we ever expected.  It’s simply amazing and humbling to watch the film with a new audience and see how the Lord is working in hearts!

RECONCILIATION – NOVEMBER 17th, 2012 at 10PM at
FIU School of International and Public Affairs 11200 SW 8th Street
SIPA 125
Miami, FL 33199

SPECIAL TICKET PRICE: General Admission – $7

Log onto www.jp2filmfestival.org form your Android device and download the APP for free. You will find that you are able to browse our 2012 Official Selections, watch trailers, purchase tickets, GPS Venue locations, track our social media feeds, view photos and track the festival live via Instagram!

Our Iphone and Ipad APP is on its way so stay tuned!

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We will see you at the festival!

NOVEMBER 8th-17th, 2012 in MIAMI, FLORIDA!