Rollin @ Sundance from Amanda Vallo on Vimeo.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Carmo, Hit the Road
Hello,
I'm back to share some of the fun and happenings of my trip to the Sundance Film Festival.
to start, i thought i'd share my thoughts on the film Carmo, Hit the Road. As i've mentioned with some concern, this was the only show i could find (from a list of over 200 offerings) that included direct representation of a person with a physical disability.
Synopsis:
Carmo, a sassy young woman who is tired of a small town spends her nights running from reality and into the gritty embrace of alcohol and uncouth men in hot sweaty bars. One night she is cornered by a drunk who is trying to take advantage of her...THIS is when Marco comes to her rescue. Marco is an unlikely hero taking on all challengers from the seat of his wheelchair. Marco is no saint. Carmo is more than any man's handful. Lives change and hearts desperately smolder as they wind their way (much of the time in Marco's dilapidated truck) across the beautiful South American countryside in a daring and dangerous run for freedom.
Thoughts/Reactions
My reactions to this film come after having had the benefit of a Q&A with the films writer/director, and principle actors after the showing.
With this in mind, it was obvious the filmmaker had a friend with paraplegia as a consultant in writing the script. I think this can be seen in the accuracy of the story details.
There were no miracle cures, no Marco spinning out into depression or angry rants at God over his misfortune. Marco just lived. (emphasis period).
Others hardly seemed to notice Marco's chair. People did not extend to him any handouts or acts of Good Samaritanism. If in fact I hadn’t heard the story conceptualization from the screenwriter and director, I would have argued that the opposite were true. They were trying to mistreat him in all the ways a protagonist can be physically challenged: shot at, chased, beat up and left for dead, the object of an attempted rape...
Also interesting in this film, the actor who played Marco was not disabled but clear he had taken the time to research his character and learn about life in a chair. Specifically, he said he spent a great deal of time learning how to balance back on two wheels (pop wheelies) and make believable looking transfers. As an audience member, the only problem I had here was that as a complete para he had overdeveloped muscles in his legs. Hardly something anyone could change though. No way even the most devout or serious thespian could arrive at the characteristic muscle wasting. I also found it a bit unrealistic that he was transferring without any assistance into the cab of a standard sized pick-up truck.
Random Thoughts:
Other thoughts I had about this film I'd like to leave open for discussion at another time. perhaps when others on this site have had a chance to catch it on Netflix or some other distribution (e.g. maybe it will show in small art theaters?)
Marco was his truck. that is his truck serves as a symbol of who he was as a person. it was a "disabled" vehicle. it was rough and ready to rumble at a moments notice but...when pushed to the limit it broke down.
Marco- paraplegia. Marco was a multi-dimensional character. Although I still envision him as primarily an angry character he was also vulnerable to Carmo. This could be seen most easily about 1/3 of the way through the film when the love story really began to develop. (e.g., he allows Carmo to take him into the river for a roadside bath and she holds him gently playing in the water).
In summary:
I would recommend you see this film. I found the emotions raw, accurate and real. I hope you too will notice the frustration and anger...Marco gets tired of always having to get the chair, of always needing Carmo to do that extra little thing for him when he just want to get up and GO!!!
...or i just need to chill a little? : )
On the down side this film is still rough and VERY gritty at times. Be prepared for an African American gay character who is represented as a homosexual pervert who wants to sleep with (rape) all straight men. As a general rule?...throughout the film there is a lot of unflattering, violent sex.
oh yes, and last thing. for reason to encourage you too watch this film...
Carmo & Marco- finally do have a sex scene!
wohoo!
I'm back to share some of the fun and happenings of my trip to the Sundance Film Festival.
to start, i thought i'd share my thoughts on the film Carmo, Hit the Road. As i've mentioned with some concern, this was the only show i could find (from a list of over 200 offerings) that included direct representation of a person with a physical disability.
Synopsis:
Carmo, a sassy young woman who is tired of a small town spends her nights running from reality and into the gritty embrace of alcohol and uncouth men in hot sweaty bars. One night she is cornered by a drunk who is trying to take advantage of her...THIS is when Marco comes to her rescue. Marco is an unlikely hero taking on all challengers from the seat of his wheelchair. Marco is no saint. Carmo is more than any man's handful. Lives change and hearts desperately smolder as they wind their way (much of the time in Marco's dilapidated truck) across the beautiful South American countryside in a daring and dangerous run for freedom.
Thoughts/Reactions
My reactions to this film come after having had the benefit of a Q&A with the films writer/director, and principle actors after the showing.
With this in mind, it was obvious the filmmaker had a friend with paraplegia as a consultant in writing the script. I think this can be seen in the accuracy of the story details.
There were no miracle cures, no Marco spinning out into depression or angry rants at God over his misfortune. Marco just lived. (emphasis period).
Others hardly seemed to notice Marco's chair. People did not extend to him any handouts or acts of Good Samaritanism. If in fact I hadn’t heard the story conceptualization from the screenwriter and director, I would have argued that the opposite were true. They were trying to mistreat him in all the ways a protagonist can be physically challenged: shot at, chased, beat up and left for dead, the object of an attempted rape...
Also interesting in this film, the actor who played Marco was not disabled but clear he had taken the time to research his character and learn about life in a chair. Specifically, he said he spent a great deal of time learning how to balance back on two wheels (pop wheelies) and make believable looking transfers. As an audience member, the only problem I had here was that as a complete para he had overdeveloped muscles in his legs. Hardly something anyone could change though. No way even the most devout or serious thespian could arrive at the characteristic muscle wasting. I also found it a bit unrealistic that he was transferring without any assistance into the cab of a standard sized pick-up truck.
Random Thoughts:
Other thoughts I had about this film I'd like to leave open for discussion at another time. perhaps when others on this site have had a chance to catch it on Netflix or some other distribution (e.g. maybe it will show in small art theaters?)
Marco was his truck. that is his truck serves as a symbol of who he was as a person. it was a "disabled" vehicle. it was rough and ready to rumble at a moments notice but...when pushed to the limit it broke down.
Marco- paraplegia. Marco was a multi-dimensional character. Although I still envision him as primarily an angry character he was also vulnerable to Carmo. This could be seen most easily about 1/3 of the way through the film when the love story really began to develop. (e.g., he allows Carmo to take him into the river for a roadside bath and she holds him gently playing in the water).
In summary:
I would recommend you see this film. I found the emotions raw, accurate and real. I hope you too will notice the frustration and anger...Marco gets tired of always having to get the chair, of always needing Carmo to do that extra little thing for him when he just want to get up and GO!!!
...or i just need to chill a little? : )
On the down side this film is still rough and VERY gritty at times. Be prepared for an African American gay character who is represented as a homosexual pervert who wants to sleep with (rape) all straight men. As a general rule?...throughout the film there is a lot of unflattering, violent sex.
oh yes, and last thing. for reason to encourage you too watch this film...
Carmo & Marco- finally do have a sex scene!
wohoo!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
sundance in song...
Good Morning,
I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things here in C-bus. The two-inch layer of ice i chiseled off the windshield and the promise of "two more months of winter!..." suggested i needed to do something fun today.
in this clip, i hope you will see i had an amazing week, consulting with college students working on a short doc film about some aspect of culture & disability, videobloging, and interviewing two program managers for a short film on access and disability.
Peace,
Amanda
*music by Lenka- "The Show"
I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things here in C-bus. The two-inch layer of ice i chiseled off the windshield and the promise of "two more months of winter!..." suggested i needed to do something fun today.
in this clip, i hope you will see i had an amazing week, consulting with college students working on a short doc film about some aspect of culture & disability, videobloging, and interviewing two program managers for a short film on access and disability.
Peace,
Amanda
*music by Lenka- "The Show"
Monday, January 26, 2009
reporting from Sundance 09...
Good Morning,
Well, I did not get to meet Robert Redford (or make my apologies) BUT instead i did meet Ann...the Sundance volunteer. : )
Here's a little clip of some of the very raw footage we shot last week.
Happy Monday,
Amanda
Well, I did not get to meet Robert Redford (or make my apologies) BUT instead i did meet Ann...the Sundance volunteer. : )
Here's a little clip of some of the very raw footage we shot last week.
Happy Monday,
Amanda
Monday, January 19, 2009
A blography of Robert Redford
Good Morning,
In a little over 24hrs. assuming no delays or heroic glider landings in the Ohio River my plane will touch down in Salt Lake (again please not IN the Lake)...
i am excited and sporting new luggage which i will happily ditch or NOT try to remove from the overhead bin should frigid waters be rushing up past my ankles...
quick question...i am not trying to lesson the significance of this by all accounts modern day miracle but...how did the lady who broke both of her legs exit the plane? we've heard about the mother cradling her infant and walking over seats but nothing from her. how the heck did she get off the plane?
anyway...
what will not be lost on me is the importance and significance of this day in our nation's history...on the heels of the day we celebrate the birth of a great leader and memorialize him with his speech. we will welcome in without apology the man who has revolutionized hope--THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BARACK OBAMA!!!
i am easily overwhelmed in the mix of such strong emotion...the fear, relief, excitement, hope, inspiration...
it leaves me feeling like i need to make an apology.
this morning i'd just like to issue a "public" apology to the man himself
...Robert Redford.
i apologize for referring to him as old warty face (they're moles)
it was 1983. i was 8 years old. ABC's Sunday Night at the Movies...
my parents put away their disco shoes, mom pulled out the popcorn maker, i snuggled up to the Kerosene heater and my brother lay on the "kick-fight" couch...
it was the best of all worlds after a long day of Nerf basketball and sweatpants wedgies
that is until the show began and my brother and i realized we'd AGAIN been snookered into watching
The Thornbirds...another in a series of widely popular tv miniseries. while the adults swooned and clinked the scotch glasses, those of us with the 9pm bedtime were left with...
an old lady who did not know how to take Communion (she's closing her mouth too fast...putting her lips on the priest's finger!)
and a man too handsome to really be a priest who kept picking up this little girl named Megan (i had a cousin named megan).
we'd already endured Shogun and Winds of War...6 successive February Evenings of pain. my parents had tried to bribe us to behave with Pepsi Free and cigar pretzels. tonight this wasn't going to work...
i whole heartedly hated this feathery haired man who was keeping me from watching my favorite show--Real People! i yearned to watch a feathery haired Sarah Purcell marching out in a pantsuit.
instead of watching the giant silver globe spin and Byran Allen report on...a man who could walk up a 20ft. wall or if we were lucky the lady who could put her chin in her nose
we were left with a man wearing a black dress and a little girl named megan...(i had a cousin named megan!)
i sucked in my breath, cried, and went to my room to read a book about a boy and his dogs that ended badly. i cursed old warty face (again i'm told they're moles NOT warts)
i blamed him for all of this...then came Out of Africa (1985) and the VCR with 24hr. video rentals. the Academy Award winning cinematography, the beauty of the land, a tragic love story...
it had a running time of 322 minutes. watched only once it is 161 min. but watched consecutively on a loop. in the evening and then again in the morning for a 2nd showing...
it's 10 year old torcher!!!
Tom Booker! now we're talking (i was 23yrs.) a cowboy, 2 pretty ladies and a traumatized horse...1998 The Horse Whisperer. Pilgrim and Grace get hit by a truck...all i can remember is the sexiest sexless sex scene i have ever seen. the slow dance of felt emotions, lightly touching skin, a caress of breath on the ear...
everything is said not even whispered with a kiss everything just felt and held in the moment, teetering between strength and submission...the song's so soft...they can feel the passion rising up between them so strong...makes them so dizzy, they'd cross that line if brushed with a feather...
nope couldn't stay with it because old warty face somewhere in the deepest recesses of my brain was responsible for the tHORNYbirds...and my slight enduring fear of priests.
this Friday is my birthday. i was told this is my day to do whatever i wish...
i've decided my sundance experience should include searching for Robert Redford to see if he’d like to hire me as a ranch hand and/or include more disabled people in his movies.
always come prepared!
hmm, Robert Redford was not in Thornbirds. Richard Chamberlain was...oh, oops.
so, sorry.
Happy Monday,
Amanda
p.s. 1998 Robert just missed out on the Academy nomination and apparently the award for best celebrity moles...
http://www.skinema.com/Skinnies1998.html
In a little over 24hrs. assuming no delays or heroic glider landings in the Ohio River my plane will touch down in Salt Lake (again please not IN the Lake)...
i am excited and sporting new luggage which i will happily ditch or NOT try to remove from the overhead bin should frigid waters be rushing up past my ankles...
quick question...i am not trying to lesson the significance of this by all accounts modern day miracle but...how did the lady who broke both of her legs exit the plane? we've heard about the mother cradling her infant and walking over seats but nothing from her. how the heck did she get off the plane?
anyway...
what will not be lost on me is the importance and significance of this day in our nation's history...on the heels of the day we celebrate the birth of a great leader and memorialize him with his speech. we will welcome in without apology the man who has revolutionized hope--THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BARACK OBAMA!!!
i am easily overwhelmed in the mix of such strong emotion...the fear, relief, excitement, hope, inspiration...
it leaves me feeling like i need to make an apology.
this morning i'd just like to issue a "public" apology to the man himself
...Robert Redford.
i apologize for referring to him as old warty face (they're moles)
it was 1983. i was 8 years old. ABC's Sunday Night at the Movies...
my parents put away their disco shoes, mom pulled out the popcorn maker, i snuggled up to the Kerosene heater and my brother lay on the "kick-fight" couch...
it was the best of all worlds after a long day of Nerf basketball and sweatpants wedgies
that is until the show began and my brother and i realized we'd AGAIN been snookered into watching
The Thornbirds...another in a series of widely popular tv miniseries. while the adults swooned and clinked the scotch glasses, those of us with the 9pm bedtime were left with...
an old lady who did not know how to take Communion (she's closing her mouth too fast...putting her lips on the priest's finger!)
and a man too handsome to really be a priest who kept picking up this little girl named Megan (i had a cousin named megan).
we'd already endured Shogun and Winds of War...6 successive February Evenings of pain. my parents had tried to bribe us to behave with Pepsi Free and cigar pretzels. tonight this wasn't going to work...
i whole heartedly hated this feathery haired man who was keeping me from watching my favorite show--Real People! i yearned to watch a feathery haired Sarah Purcell marching out in a pantsuit.
instead of watching the giant silver globe spin and Byran Allen report on...a man who could walk up a 20ft. wall or if we were lucky the lady who could put her chin in her nose
we were left with a man wearing a black dress and a little girl named megan...(i had a cousin named megan!)
i sucked in my breath, cried, and went to my room to read a book about a boy and his dogs that ended badly. i cursed old warty face (again i'm told they're moles NOT warts)
i blamed him for all of this...then came Out of Africa (1985) and the VCR with 24hr. video rentals. the Academy Award winning cinematography, the beauty of the land, a tragic love story...
it had a running time of 322 minutes. watched only once it is 161 min. but watched consecutively on a loop. in the evening and then again in the morning for a 2nd showing...
it's 10 year old torcher!!!
Tom Booker! now we're talking (i was 23yrs.) a cowboy, 2 pretty ladies and a traumatized horse...1998 The Horse Whisperer. Pilgrim and Grace get hit by a truck...all i can remember is the sexiest sexless sex scene i have ever seen. the slow dance of felt emotions, lightly touching skin, a caress of breath on the ear...
everything is said not even whispered with a kiss everything just felt and held in the moment, teetering between strength and submission...the song's so soft...they can feel the passion rising up between them so strong...makes them so dizzy, they'd cross that line if brushed with a feather...
nope couldn't stay with it because old warty face somewhere in the deepest recesses of my brain was responsible for the tHORNYbirds...and my slight enduring fear of priests.
this Friday is my birthday. i was told this is my day to do whatever i wish...
i've decided my sundance experience should include searching for Robert Redford to see if he’d like to hire me as a ranch hand and/or include more disabled people in his movies.
always come prepared!
hmm, Robert Redford was not in Thornbirds. Richard Chamberlain was...oh, oops.
so, sorry.
Happy Monday,
Amanda
p.s. 1998 Robert just missed out on the Academy nomination and apparently the award for best celebrity moles...
http://www.skinema.com/Skinnies1998.html
Monday, January 12, 2009
my SunDANCE card
Good Morning,
I never thought I would have to come up with a metaphor for selecting films.
One of the first things I have learned in my Sundance Adventure is that there are entire blogsites devoted to how to get tickets.
There are at least 5 unfriendly ways to get tickets
1. arrive at daybreak to try to get a "Day of the Show Ticket"
2. elbow your way into the waitlist line to get a number
3. etc...
I've learned the least common way to get a ticket is to "Show up at the Box Office and purchase your ticket."
So...
I am happy to say I currently have tickets to 8 shows. Selecting these tickets was like standing on a shifting pier and trying to throw darts. Good news though, as long as you hit something on the board you really can't miss.
I thought you might enjoy seeing what I have right now on my dance card. : )
THE CARTER
Despite my appreciation for the development of Women’s Studies Departments…I am hella crunk happy to cold chill and catch this doc on one of my current favorite rap artists--Lil Wayne.
Listen carefully here for his unique artistic styling of rape
(lyrics)
Its nothin to a big dog
And I'm a Great Dane
I wear eight chains
I mean so much ice
They yell skate Wayne!
She wanna f**k Weezy
But she wanna rape Wayne (uhh huh)
And I’m gonna let her
So…rape. A desirable act one may permit for intense self pleasuring?
hmmm... : ( no i don't like this.
GOOD HAIR
One of the festivals hottest tickets. Comedian Chris Rock goes in search of the colorful history and stories of African American hair culture. (I am willing to stay up all night for some Good Hair and risk late morning bed head!)
WHY WE LAUGH
The evolution of black comedy. Black comedians (Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy) takes on black comedy.
BOY INTERRUPTED
A mother who documents the demise of her son and his illness...because it probably wouldn’t be a good documentary film festival if you didn’t leave feeling a little depressed.
KILLING ROOM
A mistake on my part. I thought I’d be watching a disturbing yet fascinating replication of the Stanley Milgram experiment. A famous study in psychology where ordinary people demonstrate the extent to which they would harm another simply because a person in authority tells them to.
This is actually NOT a documentary it's a "psychological thriller/horror"- 4 unwitting volunteers sign up for a psych experiment and get "eliminated" based on...their ability to do math?
CARMO, HIT THE ROAD
An action-packed film with a leading man in a wheelchair. I really want to see the car chase scene where we pause and wait as he transfers himself and the high tech chair lift is activated…one one-thousand, two one-thousand. Nope haven’t hit the road yet…three one-thousand...
PAPER HEART
i was completely sucked in by the premise and the picture of the cute little girl in the film guide wearing the little bridal gown and chunky glasses
WORLDS GREATEST DAD
Robin Williams in a more subdued role- I'm hoping this is a mix of Mr. Holland’s Opus and Good Will Hunting.
EARTH DAYS
...because when on site of a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering free and independent causes you must do something earthy. This film recounts the history of the modern environmental movement.
okay, that's all for now. Happy Monday.
Amanda
*OUTRO- http://homepage.mac.com/amv12/iMovieTheater52.html
I never thought I would have to come up with a metaphor for selecting films.
One of the first things I have learned in my Sundance Adventure is that there are entire blogsites devoted to how to get tickets.
There are at least 5 unfriendly ways to get tickets
1. arrive at daybreak to try to get a "Day of the Show Ticket"
2. elbow your way into the waitlist line to get a number
3. etc...
I've learned the least common way to get a ticket is to "Show up at the Box Office and purchase your ticket."
So...
I am happy to say I currently have tickets to 8 shows. Selecting these tickets was like standing on a shifting pier and trying to throw darts. Good news though, as long as you hit something on the board you really can't miss.
I thought you might enjoy seeing what I have right now on my dance card. : )
THE CARTER
Despite my appreciation for the development of Women’s Studies Departments…I am hella crunk happy to cold chill and catch this doc on one of my current favorite rap artists--Lil Wayne.
Listen carefully here for his unique artistic styling of rape
(lyrics)
Its nothin to a big dog
And I'm a Great Dane
I wear eight chains
I mean so much ice
They yell skate Wayne!
She wanna f**k Weezy
But she wanna rape Wayne (uhh huh)
And I’m gonna let her
So…rape. A desirable act one may permit for intense self pleasuring?
hmmm... : ( no i don't like this.
GOOD HAIR
One of the festivals hottest tickets. Comedian Chris Rock goes in search of the colorful history and stories of African American hair culture. (I am willing to stay up all night for some Good Hair and risk late morning bed head!)
WHY WE LAUGH
The evolution of black comedy. Black comedians (Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy) takes on black comedy.
BOY INTERRUPTED
A mother who documents the demise of her son and his illness...because it probably wouldn’t be a good documentary film festival if you didn’t leave feeling a little depressed.
KILLING ROOM
A mistake on my part. I thought I’d be watching a disturbing yet fascinating replication of the Stanley Milgram experiment. A famous study in psychology where ordinary people demonstrate the extent to which they would harm another simply because a person in authority tells them to.
This is actually NOT a documentary it's a "psychological thriller/horror"- 4 unwitting volunteers sign up for a psych experiment and get "eliminated" based on...their ability to do math?
CARMO, HIT THE ROAD
An action-packed film with a leading man in a wheelchair. I really want to see the car chase scene where we pause and wait as he transfers himself and the high tech chair lift is activated…one one-thousand, two one-thousand. Nope haven’t hit the road yet…three one-thousand...
PAPER HEART
i was completely sucked in by the premise and the picture of the cute little girl in the film guide wearing the little bridal gown and chunky glasses
WORLDS GREATEST DAD
Robin Williams in a more subdued role- I'm hoping this is a mix of Mr. Holland’s Opus and Good Will Hunting.
EARTH DAYS
...because when on site of a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering free and independent causes you must do something earthy. This film recounts the history of the modern environmental movement.
okay, that's all for now. Happy Monday.
Amanda
*OUTRO- http://homepage.mac.com/amv12/iMovieTheater52.html
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sundance '09 Trip
Good Morning,
Time to get out my Cuddle Duds! I'm gettin' ready to rub elbows with the stars!!! I've been lucky enough to get invited to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. From January 20 thru the 26th, I will be hanging out with a class of college students studying documentary film-making and serving as a "special consultant" on their group project. In theory, the students will be making a 60 min. film on some aspect of disability and culture.
While I'm excited to have this important opportunity to help mold young minds, I'm perhaps a little more excited to be working on my own project while I'm there. I'm planning to do some video blogging for my Monday Morning News & the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation site.
In preparation, I've been doing a little research. I thought you might enjoy some of these interesting facts.
1. average temp in Park City for January- 18F (...what?)
2. average snow in Park City for January- 73 in. (huh?!?)
3. base depth "snow already on the mountain..."- 53'in.
(oh no no no...)
4. each year more than 50,000 people attend screenings...in addition to discovering filmmaking's newest talent...Festivalgoers experience...
(frostbite? maaaan that's cold)
5. here's the link to the Sundance Film Guide on-line if you'd like to see this years line-up.
http://festival.sundance.org/2009/
Happy Monday!
Amanda
p.s. ...Walking Times Egyptian Theater to Eccles Theater. 2.5 miles 50min...
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