Alex Mar’s new book Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy tells the story of one of the youngest people sentenced to death in this country’s history: a 15-year-old girl named Paula Cooper. In the spring of 1985 in Gary, Indiana, she and three other girls skip their afternoon classes and talk their way into the home of elderly Bible teacher Ruth Pelke in order to rob her; when they leave, she is dead, stabbed 33 times by Paula’s hand. Hers is a violent crime that shocks the state of Indiana,...
- 3/25/2023
- by Alex Mar
- Rollingstone.com
Rose McGowan shifted gears from actor to filmmaker years ago, and while she has yet to make her first feature, she’s already one of the decade’s most audacious feminist voices. Her victimization at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, and a willingness to speak out about pervasive sexism throughout the the film industry, is at the heart of a massive reckoning. For McGowan, however, it’s business as usual. Her outspoken brand of radical feminism may have been marginalized a few weeks ago, but in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, her rage defines the zeitgeist.
On Thursday, Twitter temporarily pulled the plug on McGowan’s account as she ramped up her accusations against male Hollywood executives. The company claimed that she had shared a phone number of an accused predator, violating its terms of service. It didn’t matter: As anger with an oppressive system reached fever pitch,...
On Thursday, Twitter temporarily pulled the plug on McGowan’s account as she ramped up her accusations against male Hollywood executives. The company claimed that she had shared a phone number of an accused predator, violating its terms of service. It didn’t matter: As anger with an oppressive system reached fever pitch,...
- 10/14/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Following her debut behind the camera with last year's short film Dawn (see clip below), Rose McGowan is making the jump to features. She'll direct the psychological thriller Pines, from a screenplay by Alex Mar.The story involves a troubled young woman who becomes involved with a dubious family of healers. It sounds like a subject that would especially chime with McGowan, who grew up in a religious cult. It's also clearly a subject that much interests Mar, whose 2010 documentary American Mystic took in three non-mainstream spiritual faiths."I felt like I was finally wearing pants that fit," said McGowan recently of her experience calling Dawn's shots. Are we witnessing the beginning of a new career? Time will tell. Pines is set for shooting next Autumn in upstate New York.
- 1/23/2015
- EmpireOnline
No voodoo happened during yesterday's screening of American Mystic, Alex Mar's documentary about modern spiritualism at the fringe. True, the filmmaker was missing at the start of the Q and A - but she ran up the stairs shortly after, apologizing for sneaking away for some fried chicken during the screening (and confessing to this attendee later that she didn't want to be there for when everything went horribly wrong). The lights went out only once, not long enough to freak out the audience. But there were pagans sitting in the fourth row. American Mystic trails three alternative-religion practitioners through their daily search for god. Kublai is a young man studying to be a medium, Chuck is a married father and 20-year-veteran of the Native American Sun Dance tradition (the one with the piercing), and Morpheus is a witch that communes with the dead. But Mar's filmmaking gives the...
- 4/24/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
In Alex Mar's documentary American Mystic, three so called alternative or non-traditional faiths are observed. I say so called, as I feel that especially with the Paganism and the Lakota Sioux tribal beliefs that these spiritual practices are more so ancient beliefs lost, forgotten and disregarded by a nation mainly fueled by the bible belt. But I digress for I don't want to turn this review into a political and social argument for why something is considered controversial or sacrilegious, why something works or doesn't etc. etc.. Mar's film thankfully shies away from this approach and instead what she gives us are three distinct portraits of young Americans.
Kublai has grown up in the Church of Spiritualism and Healing in upstate New York. Though his large, husky frame, and chopped dreads might not give it away, his gentle eyes are telling of his training in becoming a spiritual medium within his church.
Kublai has grown up in the Church of Spiritualism and Healing in upstate New York. Though his large, husky frame, and chopped dreads might not give it away, his gentle eyes are telling of his training in becoming a spiritual medium within his church.
- 4/23/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Premiering in the documentary competition at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, Alex Mar’s American Mystic is a poem of a film, following three young people in America who have chosen to make their spiritual practice the center of their lives. A pagan priestess who proudly defines herself as a witch, Morpheus has moved to the outskirts of rural California to create a pagan sanctuary on a small plot of land. Kublai, a Spiritualist medium, works on a farm in upstate New York but spends his off hours with his head in the hands of elderly women, learning to channel spirits. Chuck, a Lakota Sioux, barely scrapes by at his day job in the city, but he and his wife are raising their child with their ancestors’ way of life as their guide, taking...
- 4/22/2010
- by Alicia Van Couvering
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Hard Rock Havana Tff 2010 might be starting today, but we jumped the gun a bit last night and threw a special party at the Bowery Hotel for our homegrown NY filmmakers, sponsored by our friends at Company 3. Filmmakers in attendance hailed from Queens to Brooklyn, the Bronx to Manhattan. (Staten Island, were you represented?) What did they all have in common, in addition to being from the greatest city in the world? They were ecstatic that the Festival is finally here, and they cannot Wait to show their films to the best audience in the world: Tribeca's. American Mystic Tribeca filmmakers in attendance included Keith Bearden (Meet Monica Velour), Ahmed Ahmed (Just Like Us), Alex Mar (American Mystic), Nicholas Brennan (Hard Rock Havana), and Francisco Bello (The Spirit of Salsa), to name just a few. Bello described his hopes for his big screening at the Tribeca Drive-In on Thursday...
- 4/21/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
Yes boys and girls we're just a few days out from the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival here in New York City, which I will be attending all by my lonesome. If there are any New York readers who happen to attend a film and would like to contribute to the coverage, than drop me a line at: benumstead@gmail.com
On the evening of Wednesday, April 21st, things kick off with the world premiere of... uh... Shrek Forever After. Yeah, Ok... while that may not be totally twitch inducing, the fest has some eclectic offerings from April 22nd - May 2nd, that I'm sure will float yer boats.
From established fest successes making one last hurrah before release, like Neil Jordan's latest fairy tale twist, Ondine, and J Blakeson's Isle of Man set thriller The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, to premieres like longtime Shane Meadows' collaborator Paul Fraser's debut,...
On the evening of Wednesday, April 21st, things kick off with the world premiere of... uh... Shrek Forever After. Yeah, Ok... while that may not be totally twitch inducing, the fest has some eclectic offerings from April 22nd - May 2nd, that I'm sure will float yer boats.
From established fest successes making one last hurrah before release, like Neil Jordan's latest fairy tale twist, Ondine, and J Blakeson's Isle of Man set thriller The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, to premieres like longtime Shane Meadows' collaborator Paul Fraser's debut,...
- 4/20/2010
- Screen Anarchy
For tonight’s Tribeca Film Festival Preview, we’re showing you a trailer for a film that Rudie has actually already seen, and discussed on our most recent episode. For Episode 30, we discussed “rites of passage” for our “variations on a theme,” when featuring Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout. For his film choice, Rudie discussed Alex Mar’s film, premiering this month at Tribeca: American Mystic.
In Alex Mar’s American Mystic, we follow the spiritual lives and growth of three Native American people, showcasing various rituals and beliefs. From the looks of the trailer, it is treading on somewhat controversial territory, while holding on to it’s subjects and presenting them honestly. American Mystic will be screening on April 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 30th. For a complete list of screenings and venues, visit the official Tribeca page for the film. You can become a fan of the film on Facebook,...
In Alex Mar’s American Mystic, we follow the spiritual lives and growth of three Native American people, showcasing various rituals and beliefs. From the looks of the trailer, it is treading on somewhat controversial territory, while holding on to it’s subjects and presenting them honestly. American Mystic will be screening on April 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 30th. For a complete list of screenings and venues, visit the official Tribeca page for the film. You can become a fan of the film on Facebook,...
- 4/14/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Alex Mar, a Harvard-educated avant garde filmmaker turned journalist, came up with the title for her first feature-length film, the documentary American Mystic, over drinks. "You know that really corny story of Godard [and] how he decided to do Breathless, it was like he wrote an idea on a matchbook or something and it became the film? I actually came up with the title of American Mystic over drinks one night, really frustrated, like, how could I not have an idea for a feature film? And so with just literally the title on a napkin, I quit my job [laughs] and we started the process of finding the right cast for the film," she told TribecaFilm.com. With that, she quit her job and, along with her production partner Nicholas Shumaker, went on a hunt for the subjects of this unique documentary. American Mystic is about three very different people seeking answers...
- 4/12/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
While most eyes are on Austin, Texas this week for SXSW, many people on the East Coast eagerly await a closer show as this year’s Tribeca Film Festival kicks off on April 21st. The festival is mainly for indie pictures, rather than the larger, blockbuster films, but is also a great place for up-and-coming directors and writers to showcase their work.
With the festival coming up in just over a month, they are already rolling out this year’s schedule and have announced the first 34 films out of a total of 85 feature length and 47 shorts screening at this year’s fest. Among the titles were those submitted to the World Narrative and Documentary competition, as well as the Showcase and Special Events.
Some of the titles look to be quite intriguing, and could include some of the bigger names of the next decade. Be sure to check out the...
With the festival coming up in just over a month, they are already rolling out this year’s schedule and have announced the first 34 films out of a total of 85 feature length and 47 shorts screening at this year’s fest. Among the titles were those submitted to the World Narrative and Documentary competition, as well as the Showcase and Special Events.
Some of the titles look to be quite intriguing, and could include some of the bigger names of the next decade. Be sure to check out the...
- 3/11/2010
- by Matt Raub
- The Flickcast
9th Annual Festival to Present 85 Feature-Length and 47 Short Film Selections from April 21 – May 2, 2010
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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach
New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.
The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...
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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach
New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.
The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...
- 3/10/2010
- Makingof.com
The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival has announced its scheduled lineup -- and just like its home, New York City, its got a little bit of everything.
The Festival will kick off with the world premiere of DreamWorks' 3D "Shrek Forever After."
But then it launches into a darker realm with documentaries like Alex Gibney's latest. The Oscar-winning director ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will screen his new untitled doc on the former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 due to a sex scandal, as a work-in-progress. The film will screen as one of three special events that festival organizers announced Wednesday (Mar. 10).
The Special Events section also includes another work-in-progress screening of "The Western Front." This documentary follows its writer/director and Marine, Zachary Iscol, who returns to his battle site in Iraq's Al Anbar province. David Lean's 1965 classic "Doctor Zhivago" got a make-over for its 45th anniversary,...
The Festival will kick off with the world premiere of DreamWorks' 3D "Shrek Forever After."
But then it launches into a darker realm with documentaries like Alex Gibney's latest. The Oscar-winning director ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will screen his new untitled doc on the former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 due to a sex scandal, as a work-in-progress. The film will screen as one of three special events that festival organizers announced Wednesday (Mar. 10).
The Special Events section also includes another work-in-progress screening of "The Western Front." This documentary follows its writer/director and Marine, Zachary Iscol, who returns to his battle site in Iraq's Al Anbar province. David Lean's 1965 classic "Doctor Zhivago" got a make-over for its 45th anniversary,...
- 3/10/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Tribeca International Film Festival announced the first 34 feature films of the 2010 festival slate. “This year’s competition, the core of the Festival, represents contemporary international filmmaking at its finest, bringing together fresh voices with established storytellers. These stories will leave audiences engaged, as well as entertained, which is what our Festival is all about,” said David Kwok, Director of Programming for the Tribeca Film Festival.
Representing 8 countries, this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition will be an international film collection created by many first- and second-time directors. 7 of the films here in this section are World Premieres. Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal will be screened in ‘Showcase’ section of the festival. The lineup is as follows:
World Narrative Feature Competition "Buried Land," directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids.
Representing 8 countries, this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition will be an international film collection created by many first- and second-time directors. 7 of the films here in this section are World Premieres. Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal will be screened in ‘Showcase’ section of the festival. The lineup is as follows:
World Narrative Feature Competition "Buried Land," directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids.
- 3/10/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Alex Gibney's latest documentary, a portrait of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 because of a sex scandal, will be spotlighted at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York.
The currently untitled film from the director of the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," will screen as a work-in-progress as one of three special events that festival organizers unveiled today.
"I think people will be really surprised," said David Kwok, the festival's director of programming. "It doesn't just focus on the scandal. It's more comprehensive than that, looking at Eliot Spitzer as a person and at his entire career."
Also playing in the fest's Special Events section are David Lean's 1965 epic "Doctor Zhivago," marking its 45th anniversary with a new restoration that will be released by Warner Home Video, and a work-in-progress screening of the doc "The Western Front,...
The currently untitled film from the director of the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," will screen as a work-in-progress as one of three special events that festival organizers unveiled today.
"I think people will be really surprised," said David Kwok, the festival's director of programming. "It doesn't just focus on the scandal. It's more comprehensive than that, looking at Eliot Spitzer as a person and at his entire career."
Also playing in the fest's Special Events section are David Lean's 1965 epic "Doctor Zhivago," marking its 45th anniversary with a new restoration that will be released by Warner Home Video, and a work-in-progress screening of the doc "The Western Front,...
- 3/10/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Few films have divided the Dread Central staff like the Funny Games remake did, but one thing we all agreed on was how great its two young co-stars, Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet, were. Apparently we're not alone as Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz (Calvaire, Vinyan) has tapped Corbet for the lead in his next project, which is tentatively entitled More.
Shooting begins in March, 2010, and according to Twitch Film, Corbet's part is described by Du Welz as "truly a breakout role. He's a bright young actor, full of potential. As soon as I met him, I had a strong feeling." More is the director's second English-language film (after Vinyan) but marks his first Us production.
As for More's storyline, it's a dark psychological thriller set in downtown New York. [According to Du Welz] the movie is "another exploration of the world of madness." [It was] penned by 22-year-old newcomer Zachary Wigon [and] is being produced by...
Shooting begins in March, 2010, and according to Twitch Film, Corbet's part is described by Du Welz as "truly a breakout role. He's a bright young actor, full of potential. As soon as I met him, I had a strong feeling." More is the director's second English-language film (after Vinyan) but marks his first Us production.
As for More's storyline, it's a dark psychological thriller set in downtown New York. [According to Du Welz] the movie is "another exploration of the world of madness." [It was] penned by 22-year-old newcomer Zachary Wigon [and] is being produced by...
- 9/12/2009
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz ( Calvaire , Vinyan ) has lined up his next project and it will find him working on U.S. soil. Described as "another exploration of the world of madness," the psychological thriller is called More and he's pulled in Brad Corbet ( Funny Games ) to star. Du Welz will re-team with director of photography Benoit Debie. Shooting is expected to begin in the U.S. in March. Du Welz tells ShockTillYouDrop.com he can't reveal plot details at this time, however, "It's based on real event, it's gonna be extreme and it's happens in the art world in New York." More is penned by newcomer Zachary Wigon and is being produced by Alex Mar and Nicholas Shumaker of Empire 8 Productions, in conjunction with Michael Gentile of Paris-based...
- 9/12/2009
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Ski jumper Jessica Jerome. Photographs by Mia Tran. The free-flowing rum drinks helped you handle the many incongruities earlier this week on the third floor of Norwood, a private club in downtown New York City, but they were still pretty acute. In the main party room were numerous socialites (male and female), two expert ski jumpers, members of the art scene, and Rachel Dratch, of Saturday Night Live, while in a small side room (what the townhouse’s 19th-century floorplan would call the nursery, I think) a television crew for Telemundo had tucked itself. On and near the bar lay large platters of cubed cheese, dried apricots, and pickles, ringed by sunflower sprouts and prunes. The biggest puzzle of the evening, however, was the party’s official focus: why elite female ski jumpers have been prevented from competing, as men do, in the winter Olympics, including those to be held next year in Vancouver,...
- 4/17/2009
- Vanity Fair
Actress Virginia Madsen is producing a documentary that follows female ski jumpers on their bid to be included in the exclusive for men Winter Olympics sports.
Empire 8 Productions and Screen Siren's "Fighting Gravity" will follow 15 female athletes challenging the International Olympic Committee's decision to block them from participating in the upcoming Games in Vancouver.
Only men compete in the ski jumping games. A petition to include the other sex in the 2010 Winter Olympics had been rejected by the International Olympics Committee (Ioc) in 2006. The case is currently in Canadian court.
Madsen will produce with Title IX Productions partner Karly Meola, while Alex Mar will direct.
Empire 8 Productions and Screen Siren's "Fighting Gravity" will follow 15 female athletes challenging the International Olympic Committee's decision to block them from participating in the upcoming Games in Vancouver.
Only men compete in the ski jumping games. A petition to include the other sex in the 2010 Winter Olympics had been rejected by the International Olympics Committee (Ioc) in 2006. The case is currently in Canadian court.
Madsen will produce with Title IX Productions partner Karly Meola, while Alex Mar will direct.
- 4/9/2009
- icelebz.com
Variety reports that Virginia Madsen is teaming with Empire 8 Prods. and Vancouver-based Screen Siren on Fighting Gravity , a documentary about women ski jumpers' ongoing battle for the right to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. The film, which is currently in production, follows 15 athletes challenging the International Olympic Committee's decision to bar them from the upcoming Games in Vancouver. The Ioc has rejected a decade-long effort to include women jumpers in the Games, making ski jumping the only Olympic sport exclusively for men. The case is currently making its way through the Canadian court system. Madsen and Karly Meola are producing through their Title IX Productions. Alex Mar, a former producer for "MTV News" and editor at Rolling Stone , will...
- 4/9/2009
- Comingsoon.net
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