Arthur Kanegis

Film

Commercials

Education

• Earlham College, BA Political Science, Richmond Indiana, 1969
  

Training

• American Film Institute, Los Angeles,CA, Film Production, Garry Prebula
  
• American Film Institute, Los Angeles, CA, Making The Story Work, Linda Seger
  
• University of Maryland, Rockville Maryland, How to Write and Sell your Screenplay, Michael Hague
  
• UCLA/The Law Review, Los Angeles CA, 'Negotiating Contracts in the Entertainment Industry, Neil Braun of Ron Howard's Imagine Films et. al.
  
• UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, Film and Television Financing, Alan Gadney; and "Investing in Films" with Dick Bishirjian, former senior counsel at Columbia Pictures, and Elvin Feltner of Bankers Trust and Paramount
  
• The Washington School, Washington, DC, Documentary Film Making, Saul Landau
  
• Geogetown University, Washington DC, Televesion News Coverage, Les Kretman, NBC Assignment Editor
  
• Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, Broadcast Journalism, TV Broadcastors from KYW, etc.
  

Awards

• New York International Film Festival, Best Global Documentary, 2010
  Award Ceremony Nov 11, 2010 - in LA!
• World Peace Film Awards, Best Film, 2008
  Films from around the world competed in the festival, award announced February 2008 for the festival held in 2007. http://www.wmgd.net/peacefilm/results07.html
• Moondance International Film Festival, Columbine Award for Best Screenplay, 2005
  COVERAGE BY: Cynthia Butler, M.A; 6-18-08 SCREENPLAY: ONE! THE GARRY DAVIS STORY WRITER: Arthur Kanegis Setting: Post World War II, U.S. and Europe Genre: Comedic drama Plot: Based on true story, engrossing, inspiring Characterizations: Excellent: main characters are appealing, warm, human Dialogue: Very good: natural, consistent with time period, funny Structure: Well structured: very effective opening and closing Logline: A Broadway comedian turned WWII bomber pilot becomes so enraged by the devastation of war that he determines to become a “citizen of the world,” encourages others to do so also, and battles to end war worldwide. COMMENTS: (Note to reader: This script was submitted previously and in 2005 won the to Moondance International Film Festival Columbine Award. It has since been revised, and re-submitted. Comments below refer to this version. This script has evolved through various incarnations to become something quite special. Taking elements from recent history, accounts from newspapers and living people’s memories and cobbling these into a good story designed for the Big Screen is no simple task. But here the elements work together harmoniously. The story is unusual, interesting—not easily guessed---and well structured. The opening scene grabs our attention immediately as Garry pilots a B-17 high above Germany, his finger on the firing button, his psyche transfixed in a crisis of conscience: Can he/ should he/ must he release the bombs on the countryside and people below? Must he obey orders? Shouldn’t he obey his conscience? The scene is riveting. Likewise the ending works well as a kind of counterpoint. In the opening scene, Garry is “imprisoned” in the cockpit above Germany in this horrifying situation; in the end, many years and events later, Garry and cohorts are released from a de facto German prison. And in gaining his freedom, we sense that Garry has at last resolved his terrible inner conflict over the death of Laura and those whose lives and homes were destroyed by the bombs and is now in all senses of the phrase, a free man. Garry’s romantic relationship with Laura and then later with Esther is beautifully done. It reveals him as human, warm, and loving, rather than some distant obsessed idealist. In this version, the ending arrives as Garry and Esther begin their life together (with a mutual dream and a dog in tow). This makes for a much happier, more satisfying ending than earlier versions. The dialogue is well written. The characters sound natural and there is a nice balance in presenting the various characters’ points of view (eg, Meyer’s political views and the various officials Garry has to fence with), plenty of devil’s advocates, and some very entertaining humor—even in the most unexpected places. (eg, Garry singing “Love Makes the World Go Round” in German to the guards who accost him and are about to kill him but conclude, “This one is too weird to shoot.” ) Humor works very well in these scenes not just for Garry to defuse the intense animosity, but also to lighten things up for the audience, providing some relief from the deadly seriousness of the issues. In short, this version of One! is by far the best and stands on its own merit, regardless. The story is well structured, the dialogue well written, and the characters vivid, warm, and interesting. Garry, Meyer, Laura, Ginny and Esther are characters that most audiences can relate to and identify with. They seem like real people. The political themes are presented effectively in realistic tough one-on-one dialogue that avoids preachiness and candidly examines the real political dilemmas regarding boundaries, violence, and warfare. ONE! THE GARRY DAVIS STORY appears to have good potential as a thought-provoking, entertaining, even inspiring film.
• Ions Film Festival, Honorable Mention
  
• Beverly Hills Film, TV and New Media Festival, 2010