twoharborsblog

Buster Recovers

2009-01-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

To continue and expand on my December update, Buster my cat has continued recovering from his November kidney surgery. This time, unlike his first kidney stone surgery in January of 2008, the vet decided to keep him in urgent care to see if they could flush the stones out. Which would have been great: no stones, no surgery. Everybody wins. Unfortunately, after six days in urgent care, the stones had not moved, so they had to operate anyway. I will not mention the cost of six days of intensive care at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Clinic (not to mention the cost of the kidney surgery itself). I will just recommend that you avoid it if you can. His surgery was exactly two months ago today. I brought him home two days later. I took him back a couple times for checkups. No crystals in his urine, which was good; but he wasn't really gaining weight, which is not good. Until they switched him to a different kidney diet. He loves it! I bought a digital scale and started weighing him on December 16. He was 7 pounds 2 ounces that day (down from a high of 11 pounds!) He's been gaining an ounce or two every days since them. A month later, he is 8 pounds 10 and a half ounces. He's gained a full pound and a half! I'm hoping he reaches nine pounds at least. (Update - as of 2/21/2009 he's up to 9 pounds 11 ounces!!)(Another update: As of 5/23/2009 he's up to 11 pounds 10 ounces. Crazy! He's gained 4 pounds 8 ounces since he was at his sickest in December. I might have to put him on a diet.)

December Update

2008-12-17T15:41:00.001-08:00

Well, I didn't go to the One Take Film Festival. My cat, Buster (see earlier posts regarding his somewhat dramatic life) became very ill in November, and ended up having kidney surgery (for the second time). He recovered and is gaining strength, gaining weight, and getting over the resultant kidney infection, but it's slow. He went from 11 pounds to 7 pounds. A rather dramatic weight loss. He's back up to 7 pounds 6 ounces* (I bought a digital pet scale to monitor his progress) and loves his new kidney food, Royal Canin kidney formula. He's only 8 and a half. Luckily we have a great resource here in Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Clinic. I should mention Buster's saviors here: Dr. Dominico Bianco, vet student and soon to be Dr. Jessica Dunsmore; Dr. Elizabeth Orcutt; Dr. Maura Carney; his surgeons, Drs. Roberto Novo and Chas McBrien; and senior vet student DeAnna Fox. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FROM BUSTER AND ME!!

*Update as of 2/21/2009 - his weight is now 9 pounds 11 ounces!!

"The Quietest Sound" premieres in Europe

2008-08-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

I've just been informed that "The Quietest sound" will screen in competition at the One Take Film Festival in Zagreb, Croatia, November 20-22. And yes, the One Take Film Festival is devoted exclusively to films shot in one take, so maybe there wasn't a lot of competition for this festival. But still, a festival is a festival. I hope to be in attendance, because when will I have another excuse to travel to Zagreb?

Happy Birthdays!

2008-07-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Apropos of nothing related to my films or plays, today happens to be the birthday of two of my favorite 20th century writers: the 125th for Franz Kafka (died 1924) and the 100th of M.F.K. Fisher (died 1992). Everyone knows Kafka (The Trial, The Castle, Amerika, "The Metamorphosis") but if you're not familiar with Fisher's writing you should take a browse through some of her books. She's usually described as a "food writer," but that does her a disservice, sort of like describing Herman Melville as a "nautical writer" or F. Scott Fitzgerald as a "society writer;" food and eating were not so much her subjects as her settings. She's probably best known for three books written during the Second World War - The Gastronomical Me, Consider the Oyster, and How to Cook a Wolf. These three books, and two others, were published together in a paperback compendium in the early nineties entitled The Art of Eating. If you can find a copy of that, you'll have the best of M.F.K. Fisher. You can read her Wikipedia biography here. (And just for good measure, here's Kafka's bio.) Interestingly, Fisher's long life was as eventful, robust and wide-ranging as Kafka's short life was quiet, mundane and circumscribed.

Back to New York

2008-04-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

"Two Harbors" has been invited to screen at the third annual Staten Island Film Festival, sometime in early June. I had never heard of this festival, but someone saw the broadcast on WNET-13 in January and thought "Two Harbors" would be a good fit for their festival. They've also urged me to attend, so I might. Of course I'm also supposed to be attending the Connecticut Film Festival at the end of May when "The Quietest Sound" screens. I doubt that I'll go out twice, so I'll have to decide which one to attend. I'm leaning towards Staten Island, just because I'd rather stay in New York for a couple days than Danbury, Connecticut (which I'm sure is a very nice town....)

"Two Harbors" Screens at Home Grown Cinema

2008-04-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

"Two Harbors" has been selected to help kick off a new series of independent features here in Minneapolis called Home Grown Cinema. The film screens at 7:00pm Monday, May 12 at the Parkway Theater, 48th and Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis. Aaron Gelperin, the Director of Photography, Alex Cole, one of the stars, and I will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. The second feature that night, at 9:00pm, is "Bill's Big Pumpkins," a documentary about...some big pumpkins...that belong to a guy named Bill. That's really all I know about it. See you there!

New Website!

2008-04-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm a little late out of the gate on this post, but I have a new website (and have had it for a few months), that covers everything going on with the films, plays, and things in the works. Check it out: www.partizanpictures.com

Back to Connecticut!

2007-11-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

"The Quietest Sound" has been selected to screen at the Connecticut Film Festival the weekend of November 30th. I will try to be in attendance since I missed this festival last year when "Two Harbors" screened there. This is the fifth festival screening for the film, after the Fargo Film Festival (where Catherine Johnson won Best Actress), the Austin Film Festival, the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Industry Showcase, and the Winnipeg International Film Festival.

Television Broadcast Premiere of "Two Harbors"

2007-11-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

I was just notified that WNET-13 New York will broadcast "Two Harbors" twice during 2008 as part of their new series Reel Indies 13 (or something like that). This will be great exposure for the actors in the largest television market in the country, encompassing New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. No details yet on dates, but apparently the series will run Saturday nights at 11:00pm. WNET-13 is one of the largest suppliers of programming to public television stations around the country, so we can only hope....

Back to Oregon!

2007-09-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

I just found out that "The Quietest Sound" will screen at the Eugene International Film Festival. This is the fifth festival for the film, after Austin, Winnipeg, Beverly Hills and Fargo (where Catherine Johnson won Best Actress). "Two Harbors" (also starring Catherine) won Best Feature at this festival last year (see the previous post for a photo of the award). The festival runs from October 4th to the 6th and I hope to be in attendance. Catherine might be there, too.

"Two Harbors" - The Final Tally

2007-07-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

After two years, "Two Harbors" has finally wound up its festival run, somewhat reluctantly. I say reluctantly only because that was the primary way for audiences to see the film. Yes, it's available on DVD from a number of sites (new post regarding those sites soon), but it's not all that easy to stumble upon most of those sites and then decide, hey, I want to see that film "Two Harbors" even though I've never heard of it. It will help when it's available on Amazon, and there's a link from imdb.com. But until then....oh well.

So here it is, the final accounting, festivals and awards (I'll post photos of the actual awards when I get them uploaded. The coolest may have been the glass sculpture Alex got for winning Best Actor at the Winnipeg International Film Festival last year. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it before I gave it to Alex, so maybe I'll have to see if I can get him to send me a photo. A close second was the award from Milwaukee - a large (heavy) old fashioned movie projector welded out of scrap auto parts. Very cool.)

Here's the list. 22 festivals. 9 awards. Roughly in chronological order:

2005 Fargo Film Festival

2005 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker Competition - that was sort of nice)

2005 Free Range Film Festival (in a barn near Wrenshall MN - one of my favorites)

2005 Bay Street Film Festival - Thunder Bay, ON

2005 Austin Film Festival (Honorable Mention)

2005 Nolita Film Festival - New York (I don't think this festival exists any longer)

2005 Milwaukee International Film Festival (Best Feature, Midwest Filmmaker Competition)

2005 Beloit International Film Festival

2006 Beverly Hills Fine Arts Industry Showcase (twice)

2006 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival (Silver Eddy Award)

2006 Sarasota Film Festival

2006 Victoria (Australia) Festival of Motion Image (Victoria Award for Best Feature) ("Two Harbors" was the only American film in the entire festival, so winning was sort of nice.)

2006 Mendocino Film Festival

2006 Eugene Film Festival (Best Feature)

2006 Winnipeg International Film Festival (Best Actor - Alex Cole)

2006 River's Edge Film Festival (KY)

2006 Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival

2006 Rural Route Film Festival (NY) (Honorable Mention)

2006 SoCal Film Festival (Honorable Mention)

2006 Connecticut Film Festival

2006 FAIF Film Festival (Hollywood - at Grauman's Chinese Theater!)

2006 Queens International Film Festival

And that's it. 2006 was a busy year for the film. I went to several of those festivals, and someday soon I'll write a little bit about each of them. (I posted my thoughts about some of them last year. Maybe I'll pull that into a new, complete summary of my festival activities.)

"The Quietest Sound" a Hit in Winnipeg!

2007-06-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Winnipeg International Film Festival ended on Saturday. I, alas, did not make it up for either of the screenings of "The Quietest Sound" but I just got an email from the festival's director, Parris Filbert, and it sounds as if the screenings were a success. (The photo above was taken when I was in Winnipeg in 2006 for the "Two Harbors" screening. That's Parris in one of the festival venues.) Here's Parris's email:

Hi James

The festival was a success! Attendance was good -- but on those days when the weather was hot and sunny it hurt our numbers. Your second screening was less attended because of that. But by the time the festival was wrapping up people were still talking about your movie! A good sign!Thanks again, James.

...Parris

"Two Harbors" and "The Quietest Sound" Top the Charts at B-Side Entertainment

2007-05-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Check it out. "Two Harbors" and "The Quietest Sound" are currently the two top-rated films at the B-Side Entertainment website. Nice reviews, too. Granted, there are only a dozen films so far, so obviously this will change, but as of today's date, it's pretty cool. http://www.bside.com/films

Back to Winnipeg!

2007-04-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

"The Quietest Sound" has been selected to screen at the Winnipeg International Film Festival. This is the fourth festival screening for the film, and my second trip to WIFF: "Two Harbors" screened at the festival last year. I might even stay more than one night. I really enjoyed Winnipeg. The festival runs from June 1st to the 9th. Screenings of "The Quietest Sound" will be Monday June 4 at 7:00pm and Saturday June 9 at 3:30pm. I will be in attendance for the Saturday screening. Here's a photo I took last year of downtown Winnipeg near my hotel:

An Era Ends. An Era Begins.

2007-04-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got around to selling my Canon XL-1s, the venerable camcorder we used to shoot both "Two Harbors" and "The Quietest Sound."

But never fear! This week I'm ordering Canon's newest camcorder, the high definition XH-A1. (That's the XH-A1 on the left, and the XL-1s on the right.) And not a moment too soon, since we're already (as you might have noticed from earlier posts) in pre-production for the new film, "The Nudelmans of Beaver Bay." Stay tuned for future updates.

"Two Harbors" and "The Quietest Sound" Featured at IndieFlix

2007-04-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

For a few days last week, the two films were listed four times at the www.indieflix.com home page: Both were in the current Top 5 sellers; TQS was listed as a new release; and TQS was the top selling feature for a couple days. Also, several reviews of both films were posted at their blog (they still are, but a little farther down the list). Check out www.indieflix.com. And maybe buy a couple DVDs while you're there!

New Article from Lake County News-Chronicle (in Two Harbors)

2007-04-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

‘Two Harbors’ well received at screening

Monica Isley - Lake County News Chronicle - 03/22/2007

The Community Center in Two Harbors became the site of a movie screening last Friday when a group of about 20 people gathered to munch popcorn and watch the independent film, “Two Harbors.”
Unlike other movies these people had seen, this one was accompanied by the writer/director/producer, James Vculek, who used Two Harbors for the opening shots of a production that has won eight awards.
Vculek kept a low profile before the film started, watching from the sidelines and, admittedly, enjoying the audience’s reactions.
“It’s fun watching with an audience,” he wrote a few days later in an email. “A very different experience than just watching it on a monitor, as I did numberless times while editing it, and not knowing how it would be received.”
After the showing, when the applause died down, Vculek hung around to answer questions. He said that although he has written a few plays and had them performed onstage in the Minneapolis area, “Two Harbors” was his first film.
The film, about a jaded junk dealer who believes in extra-terrestrials and the sweet, vulnerable young woman who believes in him, is based on a true story that took place on the Gunflint Trail in 1983.
At that time, a woman, and a man who “belonged to a space cult,” according to Vculek, sat in a car for six weeks and eventually died, waiting for aliens to arrive.
Vculek wrote the film without a title, until he drove through Two Harbors one day and decided the name fit the idea of two lost souls finding a harbor in each other, albeit with tragic results. The bleak, winter shots added to the sober feel of the movie’s end.
However, it didn’t prevent the humorous moments from shining through, and the audience’s delighted laughter at well-written and well-delivered lines were undoubtedly music to Vculek’s ears.
Alex Cole and Catherine E. Johnson, as Vic and Cassie, seemed to fit the leads. In fact, Vculek said that he rewrote the female part to suit a younger woman after watching Johnson in a stage production.
He admitted that for a first film, this one was a bit overwhelming. Independent films are often shot with low budgets using personal funds and with few people involved.
“We had to run all over the place to film this,” Vculek said.
The two characters in the film meet when Vic leaves his booth in an antique store and discovers Cassie in another booth, selling the only two of her collection of handmade dolls that she can bear to part with. The dolls--all 250 of them--show up again in the poignant last scene.
Inevitably, the question arose: where did the dolls really come from? Vculek smiled before he answered.
“My mother made them” he said.
The film’s art director came up with the pattern for the six-inch dolls, and some of the crew tried their hand at making them. They learned it wasn’t their forte.
So, Audrey Vculek was recruited, and in one week she had produced nearly all of the button-eyed creatures.
“Two Harbors” is available online at www.indieflix.com. Click on “drama” and scroll down to read what others say about it.

"Two Harbors" Successfully Screens in Two Harbors

2007-03-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Luckily we weren't run out of town after an audience of 30 or so locals finally got a chance to see "Two Harbors," the film about, and ostensibly taking place in, their home town. After some technical glitches the audience sat raptly through the film, and then stayed for a lively discussion. And we had stiff competition: there was a talent contest at the high school that night! Thanks for the nice reception, Two Harborites! (Two Harborians? Two Harboripolitans?) And thanks for setting up the screening, John Gregor. (Please visit John's new gallery when it opens soon in Two Harbors.)

Jana (Kramer - Production Manager) and I even had time to stop at the New Scenic Cafe http://sceniccafe.com on the way up for a very nice meal. Here's a view of downtown Two Harbors, and the community center where the screening was held.

"Two Harbors" Screens at the Varsity

2007-03-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

After the successful, near sell-out screening of "The Quietest Sound" at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis last month, they invited us back for a special return engagement screening of "Two Harbors." Not quite the turn-out as "The Quietest Sound" but a nice crowd nonetheless. Check out the pix.

Amy Salloway, Ari Hoptman (star of the upcoming feature, The Nudelmans of Beaver Bay), and Jana Kramer, Production Manager of Two Harbors

"The Quietest Sound" Packs the Varsity

2007-02-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

Many hardy Minnesotans braved the sub-zero weather last Tuesday, February 6, to attend the screening of "The Quietest Sound" at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. I was told it was the largest audience ever for their Tuesday night screening series. An enthusiastic and receptive audience stayed for the post-screening Q&A, which Catherine and I handled. Many interesting questions. If you were in the audience, thanks for coming! And thanks to John at Cinema Revolution and Erik at the Varsity Theater! (Cellphone photo by TQS cameraman Aaron Gelperin)

"The Nudelmans..." Gets Jump-Started

2007-02-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Yikes! After a few tenuous weeks of negotiations with the Friends of B'Nai Abraham Synagogue (in Virginia, Minnesota, pictured, left) about whether we might be allowed to film a crucial scene there with our eponymous hero, 'Ari Nudelman,' I was suddenly informed today that not only can we film there, but we might want to do it before February 20th, since that's when contractors are coming in to put up scaffolding and start the renovation process. Argh!! The whole point of the scene is that the synagogue has fallen into (melancholy and heartbreaking) disrepair. Workers busily restoring it to its former grandeur would just not fit that dramatic mood. So I guess it's over-drive production planning. Not to mention writing, since the scene at B'Nai Abraham is not yet written. And is Ari even available? Not to mention the rest of the cast and crew? Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of "The Nudelmans of Beaver Bay - Can They Do It?" - the making-of documentary that's being made even before the film itself.

(B'Nai Abraham will look slightly different when we're there Sunday to film, given the foot of snow and below-zero temperatures up north.)

Minnesota Public Radio Interview

2007-02-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

I was intereviewed on Minnesota Public Radio this weekend in advnce of tonight's screening. The short version of the interview ran early this morning. Here's an article and links to the long version:

James Vculek shoots "The Quietest Sound"

by Euan Kerr, Minnesota Public Radio
February 6, 2007

Listen to feature audio

Filmmakers nowadays can do all sorts of amazing things with technology, but in his newest film, a Minneapolis director decided to set all that aside and get back to basics. The film is a psychological drama called "The Quietest Sound," and gets its area premiere tonight. It's 75 minutes long and consists of just one shot. The film is receiving rave reviews.
St. Paul, Minn. — James Vculek says the inspiration for "The Quietest Sound" came in part from his first movie, "Two Harbors." That film, made on Lake Superior's North Shore, became very involved.

"With many locations, many actors, many scenes, many schleps of equipment here and there," he says. "It occurred to me that for my next film I would like to have as few locations as possible and as little moving of equipment as possible, and still try and tell a dynamic story."
Vculek (pronounced veh-CHOO-lek) also wanted to write a script for the female star of "Two Harbors," Catherine E. Johnson.

So he came up with the idea of a police interrogation.

"The Quietest Sound" opens with a young woman called Elizabeth sitting on a chair in a non-descript room. She's talking to a couple of detectives, who sit just off camera. We never see their faces.

Elizabeth's 4-year-old daughter Chloe vanished a week ago during a visit to the store. The police haven't found her and everyone is getting frustrated.
The audience sees the action unfold through the camera the detectives use to tape the interview. It focuses on Elizabeth's face, and never moves.

James Vculek says as a result there is often an "Oh, no" moment for the audience.
"I think it comes in every audience that doesn't yet know the set-up," he says. "They suddenly realize, 'Oh no! We're going to be sitting here for the entire duration and nothing's going to move. The camera's not going to move, there will be no edits. This is it.'"

An action film can have dozens of edits in a single minute. In "The Quietest Sound," the camera doesn't blink. It places the audience right in the middle of the interrogation, and there is no escape. It soon reveals that there is something amiss about the young mother's story. It keeps changing.

Vculek says it's a tribute to Catherine Johnson's acting ability that she carries the whole film. By deciding to have just one shot, he says he essentially reversed the filmmaking process.
"Most films are shot in bits and pieces, and also there is a minimum of rehearsal with most films," he says.

Vculek says his cast rehearsed for two and a half months until Johnson was ready. They set up one Saturday, prepared to do a number of takes.
"We started the camera and about two minutes into it, Catherine flubbed a line," he laughs. "I thought,'Oh, boy, this is going to be a long night.' So I said,'OK, let's shake it off. Let's put a new tape in. Let's start again.' We started the second time, and we got it on the second take, the entire thing."

"The Quietest Sound" premiered at the Fargo Film Festival last year, and Catherine Johnson took the award for best actress at the event.

It was also a hit at the Austin Texas Film Festival, where one reviewer wrote: "There are no explosions or fancy tricks, which may bother some, but for those out there that want to be brought near heart failure with only spoken words and a static camera, this film will deliver."
Like many filmmakers, Vculek now faces the conundrum of distribution. His first film, "Two Harbors," screened at 25 festivals around the country.

He's hoping that after a screening at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, "The Quietest Sound" will make a similar journey. He admits though that given the subject matter of the film, it may be a harder sell.

In the meantime he's already planning his next film, "The Noodlemans of Beaver Bay," which will star local comedian Ari Hoptman.

Broadcast Dates
Morning Edition, 02/06/2007, 6:55 a.m.

Another Great Review for "The Quietest Sound"

2007-02-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the screening on February 6, "The Quietest Sound" got a great review in the Twin Cities City Pages. See you Tuesday!

The Quietest Sound
Varsity Theater, Tuesday at 7:00p.m.
Twin Cities-based director James Vculek’s indie psychodrama sucks you in from the get-go. The first shot is the view of a police interrogation room as seen through a surveillance camera; the subject is the worn and devastated-looking Elizabeth (Catherine E. Johnson), whose young daughter was, she says, abducted days before from a Wal-Mart and hasn’t been seen since. For the next 70 minutes, we see a single continuous shot of Elizabeth, who seems to be unreasonably persecuted by an off-camera good-cop/bad-cop tag team (Michael Tezla and Chris Carlson) – until discrepancies pile up in Elizabeth’s story, and the interrogators begin to pursue an entirely different agenda. Johnson is totally commanding as the desperate young mother, revealing flashes of paranoia and evasiveness behind convincing despair. Towards the end of the proceedings, a mysterious videotape arrives, and Elizabeth’s mental labyrinth begins to unravel. Yet just when the police (and those in the audience) think they’ve solved the puzzle, a final twist appears to recast all that came before in a completely, tragically unexpected light. The Quietest Sound is a spare, Spartan little film, tough as nails in its way and as fascinating as it is discomfiting. I haven’t seen it with an audience, but I can imagine the collective gasp that runs through the room as Vculek reveals his final, totally silent frames. The Quietest Sound screens as part of Cinema Revolution’s monthly “Cinema des artistes” series. – Quinton Skinner

"The Nudelmans of Beaver Bay" begins production

2007-01-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

We're currently in pre-production on a new feature length comedy. The film will be released in the second half of 2007. Starring Ari Hoptman, Sam Landman, Alex Cole, Alayne Hopkins, Anatoly Liberman and Charles Brin among others, "The Nudelmans of Beaver Bay" is a heartbreaking comedy about family, home, loss, and middle High German prosody, featuring Ari Nudelman, an instructor of linguistics at a large midwestern university, who also does a little acting on the side. When someone will let him. (Believe it or not I couldn't find a photo on the internet of Beaver Bay, Minnesota, so I had to settle for this one - Lake Superior near Beaver Bay. Or maybe that's actually the bay. Yeah, in fact it is. Yep. That's the bay. Beaver Bay.)

Someone asked, "What's up with the North Shore theme? First Two Harbors, now The Nudelmans of Beaver Bay." Actually it was Aaron Gelperin, my cameraman, who asked. But what is up with that? I don't know. Maybe I'm making a North Shore Triology, or something. Although Nudelmans and Two Harbors could not be more different. So never mind.

The film will eventually have its own website here: www.nudelmans.com, featuring news, reviews, photos, a production blog and more, so check it often. I will also have summary updates here.

"Two Harbors" Screens in....Two Harbors!

2007-01-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

After a long trek through 22 festivals, five countries and three continents, "Two Harbors" is coming home to its (more or less fictional) location. As many of you know, although the story is set in Two Harbors, and we have a few montages of that charming town on the North Shore of Lake Superior, we really didn't shoot any of the actual film there. But that hasn't stopped the good people of Two Harbors, Minnesota from demonstrating a healthy amount of curiosity about just what might take place in a film named after their little harbor town. So on Saturday, March 16th they'll finally have their chance. The screening is being organized through the kind efforts of Two Harbors-based photographer John Gregor. Thanks, John! More details to follow.

California Premiere of "The Quietest Sound"

2007-01-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

"The Quietest Sound" will have its West Coast premiere on Saturday, February 17 at 5:30 P.M. at the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Industry Showcase. This is the same festival that screened "Two Harbors" twice last spring. I hope to be in attendance for the post-screening Q&A. The Beverly Hills Fine Arts Theater is located at 8556 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, 90211 (one block west of La Cienga).

This will be the third festival screening for "The Quietest Sound." At its first festival appearance, as part of the Fargo Film Festival, Catherine E. Johnson was named Best Actress. It has also screened at the Austin Film Festival, where it received a rave review (see 9 November post, below).

If you live in the L.A. area and would like to see the film, email me and I will put your name on the guest list. See you in February!

Minnesota Premiere of "The Quietest Sound"

2006-12-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

My new feature, "The Quietest Sound" (see 9 November entry below for review) will have its Minnesota premiere on 6 February 2007 at the Varsity Theater in the Dinkytown (University of Minnesota east bank) area of Minneapolis at 7:00pm. It screens as part of their Cinema des Artistes series. Most of the cast and crew will be in attendance for the post-screening Q&A. Admission is only $5, and food and drinks (alcoholic and non-) can be purchased. See you there!
(As mentioned earlier, Catherine E. Johnson won Best Actress at the 2006 Fargo Film Festival. Here's a (somewhat dark and grainy) still from the film.)

First review of "Angelina Jolie is a Zionist Whore! or, Plan 9 from Baghdad"

2006-11-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, now this blog is really drifting far afield. Started originally at the 2005 Austin Film Festival to follow the festival perigrinations of "Two Harbors" (as the blog title would indicate) I have since added news on the festival activities of my second feature, "The Quietest Sound." And now, to confuse matters even more, I'm posting a recent review of my new play, currently running at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater in Minneapolis. The review appears at a theater review site called Steve on Broadway:

Angelina Jolie is a Zionist Whore! or, Plan 9 from Baghdad

As incendiary as its title is, perhaps another more appropriate subtitle for this droll, rapid fire satire on the insurgency in Iraq could be "Out of the mouths of boobs."Director and playwright James Vculek has made a name for himself at film festivals worldwide for his quirky little award-winning film "Two Harbors." Further burnishing his idiosyncratic credentials, Vculek becomes provocateur in suggesting a rampant incongruity among even the most incompetent "hapless boobs" within insurgent cells and their interest in all things West. Whether they're musing about the long-term prospects of the eponymous actress with Brad Pitt or the strategery linked to Ed Wood's infamous sci-fi movie -- or even wearing an ironic "I [heart] New York" T-shirt -- this comedy keeps the laughs coming.

And if this bungling trio of would-be kidnapper insurgents doesn't cause you to recollect the antics of Colonel Klink & Co. from "Hogan's Heroes," perhaps -- in a most ironic twist -- you'll be reminded of a certain Administration steadfastly requiring suspensions of belief to trust their leader's modus operandi.In this case, a cell in "the fifth year of the insurgency" attempts to regroup after their last kidnapping attempt has been botched. Seems the video their leader Samir (Steve Lattery, looking and sounding more like a U.S. Marine than an Iraqi) shot simply wasn't good enough for Al Jazeera. His every dictate is questioned by cohorts Bashir (precision-perfect Sam Landman) and Margaret -- yes, Margaret, thanks to her parents' schooling in England (played with winning conviction by Alayne Hopkins) -- although she would prefer to be called "Revolutionary Sister in Jihad Suba," but must settle for simply Suba. All three are largely fearful that their ongoing ineptitude will result in their selection for suicide martyrdom.

In the midst of their arguments walks in American "Food Network" correspondent Wheeler (played with great gusto and bombast by Alex Cole) looking literally and figuratively for a pot to pee in. While the triumvirate take Wheeler hostage, they learn that if they can produce a more air-worthy video of a kidnapping victim, Al Jazeera might just broadcast it thanks to a last minute opening on its news schedule. As the captors practically beg Wheeler for his cooperation during their taping, he becomes their worst nightmare.

Without spoiling the plot, suffice it to say that the show concludes with what amounts to a terrorist blooper reel as the trio tries to meet the Arab television network's deadline.Clocking in at a mere 65 minutes (counting the video sequence and ten-minute intermission), it often seems as though you're watching an extended version of a clever "Saturday Night Live" sketch. There's little in terms of character development as all four roles remain solidly one-dimensional. Although perhaps that was the intent since this is an inside-out parody of the Bush White House. Nevertheless, even if the title makes you wince, this Angelina Jolie offers up some smart dialogue and plenty of laughs.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

First review of "The Quietest Sound"

2006-11-09T06:01:00.000-08:00

The following review appears at the www.filmschoolrejects.com website. I reprint it in its entirety.

AFF 2006 Review: The Quietest SoundNovember 8th, 2006
By Cole Abaius

Release Date: TBA
For most, the recent environment of cinema is the unthinkable mix of brilliant innovation and boring stagnation. The former, is characterized by filmmakers like Gondry and Aronofsky who are brave enough to play around with storytelling styles and camera work. The latter is characterized by the majority of films that can be found on the marquee at your local 800-screen mega-multiplex-o-rama. This situation has created high demand for independent films that take a different slant, but it seems that many of these films - admittedly amateurish - either rely solely on a hook or bypass being interesting in hopes of selling out. The Quietest Sound does not fall into these categories. With a shockingly innovative narrative style bolstered by an intense storyline, this film satisfies in a way most films can’t.The Quietest Sound has guts. It is one, seventy-five minute long, continuous shot of a woman as she sits in a police interrogation room. There are no cut-aways, no fade outs, no punch ins. What you see is what you get for over an hour. If that’s enough to get you to the screening, great. If it sounds like it might get boring, it doesn’t. Plus, the director, James Vculek, was smart enough to explain the gimmick within the story - it’s the camcorder tape that the detectives made of her interview, and they can’t turn it off or they risk facing scrutiny of falsification once the tape is used in a court of law. By this point in the movie, you realize you’re not watching a gimmick, you’re watching a great film.
Elizabeth (Catherine E. Johnson) is frantic. Brought into the police station for another round of questioning about her missing four-year old daughter Chloe (Eleanor Koster), she cannot understand why the police are wasting time recounting her details instead of out looking for the creepy man she saw just moments before losing her daughter in a Wal-Mart. On the other side of the table are Blake (Michael Tezla) and Ryan (Chris Carlson), the policemen trying to get to the truth. After a winding path of frustration, doubt, allegations of child abuse, unreliable details, and police bullying, the interview leads to a startling climax and a twist ending that leaves the audience ice cold.
One thing I can’t do enough is praise the concept of the film, but its execution is really what deserves the credit. Too often, films are made to stand on the legs of some clever hook alone. Too often, critics claim that an idea behind a film is good, but could have been done better. Too often, independent films stay below the radar because they deserve it. The Quietest Sound defies all of these to take a gripping story, tell it in a fascinating, different way, and tell it using capable actors. Catherine E. Johnson does an outstanding job as the worried young mother dealing with a missing child. She’s dynamic - vulnerable and submissive, but she grows in determination and then fluctuates between emotions as the policemen guide her along. It’s also impressive to see an actress handle herself on screen for over an hour and never lose an audience’s interest.
Oddly enough, there’s not much more to talk about - editing and cinematography don’t exist. But that’s a great thing. Imagine a film where storytelling, great storytelling, is the only focus. There are no explosions or fancy tricks, which may bother some, but for those out there that want to be brought near heart failure with only spoken words and a static camera, this film will deliver. It’s realistic, gritty, and a great mystery thriller that relies on its situation to shock. Considering the current movie environment and its lack of creativity or follow-through, more films like The Quietest Sound need to be made.
The Upside: A completely different narrative style, done well.
The Downside: It takes a few moments to dig into this movie, and the rolling time/date marker at the camcorder’s bottom left corner is a nice touch, but it’s also a bit distracting.
On the Side: It was filmed entirely in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Final Grade: A

Back from Austin!

2006-10-29T22:09:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, "The Quietest Sound" screened at the Austin Film Festival on October 21 and 23. I flew down for Saturday's screening. There was a great crowd because of the enticing synopsis the AFF wrote for their program and website (see previous post). The Q&A following the screening was pretty lively, too. Also attending the screening were my Austin friend Kristi and her neighbor Maria, who I developed an immediate crush on. Wait a minute. This is a film blog, not some kind of personal blog. So forget that last bit.

Before the festival I was interviewed by the festival marketing director, so I've included the interview below for what it's worth.

Next up is the Queens International Film Festival in November. Wait, that's "Two Harbors" I think. Having two films screenings gets a little confusing. If I go I will report back.

Speaking of reporting back, the highlight of Austin was again the LBJ Library on the University of Texas campus. I love that place. There was a special exhibit on rural electrification of the Texas hill country and believe it or not it was fascinating. I could almost live in Austin I think, red state stuff notwithstanding. The other highlight was the new art museum on the UT campus. Kristi and I spent a couple hours there on Sunday. Great 20th century American and Latino art especially. Maybe I'll post a report just on that museum. Anyway, here's the interview:

How did the initial idea for this story come about? How did it develop?

In the summer of 2004 I was in the process of finalizing the edit on my first feature, "Two Harbors." That had been a typical no-budget indie shoot, with multiple locations, many of which were shot on the fly, shooting around everyone's work schedules, etc. That film also starred Catherine E. Johnson, who was terrific, and I sensed in her work a capacity for a really subtle and heartbreaking quality that was not fully explored in "Two Harbors." I also wasn't crazy about the way the final film looked. I mean, it looked okay, but it didn't look like film and it didn't look like video exactly, either. It looked like we were trying to emulate a film look. Which of course we were. So the three criteria for my next film were: the simplest location possible, starring
Catherine, and a film that justified being shot on video. That all came together with the idea of a long videotaped interrogation of a mother whose daughter has disappeared.

What made you decide to do the entire story in one take? How did your actors feel about the challenge?

The idea of the long videotaped interrogation pretty much mandated the format. The actors all rose to the challenge, realizing that we would need to rehearse it much more like a play than a film (where you often have little or no time for rehearsals). We rehearsed for two and a half months in the room we knew we were going to shoot the film in, so the cameraman and I had plenty of time also to try different lighting and sound schemes. I videotaped most rehearsals so I could review exactly how it looked and sounded, and adjusted accordingly. We picked a date we thought we were all able to get through the 75 minutes of the script flawlessly, although that had never happened yet. After one mishap about one minute into the first take, we started over and, miraculously, got the entire 75 minute film in the second take.

Has the finished product caused you to see what you wrote in a different way?

I've learned that actors always bring much more to a script than I ever saw in it when I wrote it, and this was no exception. I can't say I really directed Catherine at all. I wrote it for her, knowing she could create a memorable and believable character. And that she could pull off a 75 minute monologue on film. But I was constantly surprised by the character that emerged. She was much more than the words on the page. Acting is very mysterious to me. But I'm lucky enough to keep
finding actors like Catherine who fill in the blanks between the words.

Were there other films that inspired you when making this one?

Two very different - but equally great - films resonate sort of in the background of "The Quietest Sound." The more obvious one is Carl Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc," a silent film that consists almost entirely of close-ups of Maria Falconetti as Joan of Arc as she is questioned at her trial. The other is a famous avant-garde film from the sixties, Michael Snow's "Wavelength," which consists of a single slow 45 minute zoom in a New York loft. It sounds like an empty exercise in film technique but it's actually full of life and mystery and everything else you watch a movie for.

"Two Harbors" is also a mystery, though different in subject matter and tone. What draws you to mystery stories? Are you likely to continue making films in that vein?

I once read an interview with Wim Wenders and he was asked the same question, and I've always liked his answer: "Every story is a mystery."

Back to Austin!

2006-10-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

I just received a phone call from the programming director at the Austin Film Festival, where "Two Harbors" screened last year (and won Alex Cole an Honorable Mention for his performance as Vic): they have selected "The Quietest Sound" to screen at this year's festival! That's sort of amazing: back to back screenings at Austin, a top 10 festival, with our first two features. Plus Austin was my favorite festival from last year (and where this blog began - so we've come full circle). Even better is Austin's description of the film, which I will quote in its entirety (since I like it so much):

Regional Premiere
2005 AFF alum James Vculek (Two Harbors) returns to the Festival with a riveting drama about the abduction of a four-year-old girl and the efforts of a pair of detectives to locate her. Shot in one 75-minute take, The Quietest Sound offers a narrative experience unlike any other film at the Festival. The film doesn't rest on a gimmick, however -- a serpentine plot and an exceptional performance by Catherine E. Johnson (also from Two Harbors) keep viewers guessing right up to the picture's end.

Screening info for upcoming festivals

2006-09-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Connecticut Film Festival

"Two Harbors" will screen three times at this festival, as follows:

Wednesday 4 October, 3:00pm at the Center for Senior Activities, Westport CT (FYI: Paul Newman, who lives nearby, has just opened a restaurant in Westport. It's a small town so I assume it would be easy to find. Check it out if you go to this screening.)

Thursday 5 October, 9:30pm at the Garden Cinemas, Norwalk CT

Friday 6 October, 4:00pm, Bethel Cinema, Bethel CT

I might be in attendance at the Thursday evening screening. if I can find a cheap flight. Venue information can be found here: http://ctfilmfest.bside.com/?_view=_venues

FAIF International Film Festival

Only one screening here, but it's at the Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, next door to Grauman's Chinese Theater. Which is sort of cool. Thursday 12 October, 4:30pm. Catherine E. Johnson and Alex Cole, stars of the film, will be in attendance for the post-screening Q&A. So be nice to them if you go. And ask good questions. I won't be there.

"The Quietest Sound"

2006-09-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Even though this blog is called "twoharborsblog" to blog, obviously, about our film "Two Harbors," I decided, rather than creating a new blog for the new film, "The Quietest Sound," I would just start adding blogs for TQS here. Makes sense? Maybe I'm just lazy. But I figured if someone is interested in the first film, they might be interested in the second film.

Anyway, "The Quietest Sound" has been having a harder time of it on the festival circuit than "Two Harbors" for some reason. Phil Geller, executive producer of both films, thinks it's simply because, due to subject matter and technique, "The Quietest Sound" is harder to watch. He may be right. In any event, the only festival screening so far was at the 2006 Fargo Film Festival, where Catherine E. Johnson (who also played Cassie in "Two Harbors") won Best Actress. So someone appreciates the film. On some level.

Speaking of Catherine, she and I will be at a screening of the film Wednesday, September 27th, in Northfield, Minnesota. The screening is co-sponsored by Carleton College (of which Catherine is an alumna) and ArtOrg, a community-based arts organization in Northfield. Details of the screening, for those of you in the vicinity of southeastern Minnesota, are: Boliou Hall 104 at 7:00pm, with a Q&A to follow. (Boliou Hall is the art building on campus, if that helps.) I hope someone shows up. Catherine and I went down for a screening there last spring of "Two Harbors" which was somewhat under-attended. But it turns out it was finals week. That should not be the case this time.

Our 21st Festival

2006-08-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

"Two Harbors" has just been invited to its 21st film festival - the Connecticut Film Festival, October 3 to 8. (Incidentally, this exceeds my (secret) goal of 20 festival screenings for the film.) It's a multi-venue event, with films screening at theaters throughout the state. That doesn't strike me as the best idea, but I'm not complaining. It's just that the best festivals I've experienced (and read about) have been able to build a lot of buzz in a central location.

The other big plus about this festival is that the programming director formerly programmed films for the Sundance Channel. I've always felt that "Two Harbors" would be a perfect fit for the Sundance Channel or IFC. So let's see if I can work this connection to the film's advantage.

Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival

2006-08-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

I ended up not going to this festival, with some unexpected (and unpleasant) consequences. My flight was for 10 August, which of course was the day the new terror plot was uncovered in London. The prospect of 4 hour waits at the airport, and who knows what coming back on Sunday, was enough to get me to cancel. Luckily I can use the flight for the FAIF International Film Festival in October. (And I was not charged for the hotel or car rental.) Alex did go, however, with his wife Mary. He reported back Saturday afternoon after the screening. A great crowd, he said, very responsive. But small.

By that point, however, I was completely uninterested in the film or the festival, because the unexpected consequence had occurred the night before: my cat, Buster, who had never been out of the house before, somehow got out. And I didn't realize it until 5:00am Saturday morning. I was pretty frantic, walking the neighborhood looking for him. Adding to my frenzy was the knowledge that I had taken his collar off the day before! I often did this on weekends just because he seems more comfortable without it, and since I was around, what could possibly happen? Then I realized I needed to get organized. So I went home, made some flyers with the best photo of Buster I could find, and headed out. By that time, Phil Geller (Executive Producer of "Two Harbors" - just to keep this blog totally focussed on the film's festival experiences) showed up to help me search and put up flyers. We searched the neighborhood in ever widening radii until about noon, when I sent Phil home. I printed up a bunch more flyers and got a little more systematic, travelling the neighborhood by bike. I continued until it got dark, with no sign of Buster. I tried to stay on the porch Saturday night as late as I could, in case he came home. He didn't.

The next day, Sunday, was much the same. Except now there were intermittent strong storms and heavy rain. Where could he be in such weather? He must be freaking out, I thought. Or possibly it was a grand adventure for him, and only I was freaking out. By now I was joined in the search by Jana Kramer (Production Manager on "Two Harbors" - the point of this blog. Remember?) We got our first break Sunday afternoon when some people about five blocks north of my house said they had seen Buster under a car Saturday evening at 8:00pm. A break, perhaps, but that was 20 hours before. Does this mean he's heading north? Or that he was already farther north and was now heading home? At least he was still on my street. Maybe he knew his street? But of course he couldn't have recognized anything because he had never seen any of it before, not even my house; not from the outside, at least. So how could he possibly find it? Anyway, this became our new ground zero, and we spread out from there. I met a woman and her daughters and their friends nearby. The woman jumped into action and assigned each child a street or alley, which we then walked down for six blocks. When we reconnoitered back at her house 40 minutes later, nothing. No one had seen any sign of Buster. I was getting increasingly pessimistic, despite Jana's constant assurances that he would turn up. I was not convinced. Jana went home and I continued until about nine, getting a report of one more possible sighting from the day before, about 2 blocks from the first sighting.

Sunday night I couldn't sleep so I went out on the porch every half hour or so calling Buster's name. I must have dozed off because at 4:00am Monday morning I woke with a start when I heard a faint scratching at the front door. I flew down the stairs and unlucked the door, not even letting myself hope. But as I opened the door, in walked Buster, casual as could be. Not a scratch on his body, not a hair out of place. Not even slightly damp. I hugged him so hard I think he was about ready to run away again. Luckily he didn't. He was plenty hungry although not famished. Maybe someone had fed him? Maybe someone had been taking care of him? I'll never know. But late Monday I got a phone call from someone who had seen Buster on the same corner where he had first been spotted Saturday evening. And what should we do with him? We're holding him on our porch. What?! So clearly, Buster has a double who lives in that neighborhood; we had focussed our search there on bad intel. Two calls I got later made more sense: he had been positively ID'd on a corner two blocks from my house Saturday morning, either lounging on the front lawn, or trying to get someone to let him in their house. Which seems more in character for Buster. He apparently never got far from home, and maybe spent Sunday on someone's porch. Needless to say, I put his collar on him the moment he walked in, and it will never come off again. Not that it matters. He will NEVER get out of the house again, as god is my witness. And even if he's not.

And that's the report on the screening of "Two Harbors" at the Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival.

Festival update

2006-08-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting this blog big-time since it was created last October for the Austin Film Festival. But now I'll start adding to it regularly. So here's a brief recap of life on the festival circuit for "Two Harbors" for the past year or so. 18 festivals and 8 awards, in roughly chronological order:

Fargo Film Festival (My very first festival screening ever, so I'll always have a soft spot for it. Plus I was there with my mother and Jana Kramer, production manager and friend. Screened in the Fargo Theatre, a large, nicely restored Art Deco theater in downtown Fargo. Great sound system and great audience. They also gave me a Fargo Film Festival scarf. Which I've never worn)

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (This was only our second festival screening, and the theater - one of the Lagoon theaters in the Uptown neighborhood of south Minneapolis - was packed, so I'm glad Catherine E. Johnson and Alex Cole, the two stars of the film, were there to do the post-screening Q&A with me. I skipped the awards ceremony on the closing night of the festival because what were the odds? And then we won Best Feature! Alex was there to pick up the award for me. A painted eggshell.)

Free Range Film Festival (Wrenshall, MN - one of my favorite festival experiences. Films screened in a big barn, on a perfect summer evening. I only wish the new film - "The Quietest Sound" - had gotten in this year. Oh well.)

Bay Street Film Festival (I drove up to Thunder Bay for this festival - about a five hour drive - and stayed at the Prince Andrew Hotel. My room had a great view of the Sleeping Giant out in the bay. What's the Sleeping Giant? google sleeping-giant and thunder-bay and you'll see. Oddly, when I showed up for my screening, no one was there to introduce me, and there was no post-screening Q&A. Oh well. I still enjoyed seeing Thunder Bay for the first time, and was very happy to be at the Canadian premiere of the film.)

Austin Film Festival (Where this blog began. See reviews, interviews, etc. I loved Austin. It was my first visit. Highlights: the bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge, the LBJ Library on the UT campus, and visiting with my friend Kristi and her dog Cleo. I skipped the awards luncheon since it was the only time I had to see the LBJ Library. Luckily Alex was in attendance because he got an Honorable Mention for his acting.)

Milwaukee International Film Festival (The festival popped for my hotel room so I drove over the day before the screening. This time I did go to the awards ceremony and we won. Best Feature. And they handed me the award - a large replica of an old movie projector welded together from rusty car parts! I'm not kidding. It must weigh twenty pounds. The next day was another screening in the new wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is very cool. Especially strong in their contemporary collection, I thought. Unfamiliar (to me) works that really worked together in the way they were displayed. My friends Doug, Steve and Roseanne drove up from Chicago for the screening, which was nice of them. (Here's a photo of the entrance atrium of the new part of the museum, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed building in the United States. It's amazing.)

Beloit International Film Festival (I didn't go to this one. But thanks, BIFF.)

Beverly Hills Fine Arts Industry Showcase (The film actually screened twice at this venue. Alex attended both screenings. I missed them.)

Sarasota Film Festival (You have to like this festival - they paid for my airfare, hotel room, and the filmmakers' lounge had so much free food I don't think I spent a penny the entire weekend. Plus, they had limos taking filmmakers wherever they wanted to go! I hope I go back there some day. Although I did get stiffed on a couple of t-shirts. But that's a long story. Also, for whatever strange reason, I was selected to appear one morning on the CBS affiliate's morning show. That meant getting up at 4:30am, sitting in the green room for an hour, and then trying to look intelligent on-camera at 6:00am. Luckily I didn't have to watch it, so I have no idea how it went. And did you know that television studios have no cameramen? I mean, they must be there, in a control room, but the cameras themselves - in this case at least four - are remotely operated, and move noiselessly around the studio like lumbering aliens. Very weird. But very cool, too. And a little alarming, when it's time for your segment and suddenly a couple of the camera-automatons turn and slowly and silently come at you.) That's a photo of the Ringling house in Sarasota, which is part of the Ringling Museum of Art, where I spent a pleasant few hours. The art is displayed in a separate museum building, but the house is also open for tours.

Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival (We needed an Iowa connection to get into this festival, and Jana provided it. She's a graduate of Grinnell. I didn't attend but we won the Silver Eddy Award. Which is very cool - they mailed it to me. A large 35mm film reel mounted on a wooden base, inscribed with my name and the title of the film. Again, if I ever figure out how to post photos....)

Eugene Film Festival (The festival director urged me to attend, and I tried, but I could never find a reasonable plane ticket. So sure enough, we won Best Feature. And another cool award - a black glass tile inscribed with "Two Harbors - Best Feature" and the name of the festival. Photo some day.)

Mendocino Film Festival (At a certain point I decided to start submitting to festivals in places I always wanted to visit, hence Mendocino. Again the festival provided my hotel room, which turned out not to be in Mendocino but up the coast highway a few miles. I'm not complaining. Mendocino is a beautiful little coastal town, albeit a little touristy. Unfortunately it rained both days I was there. The screening itself was in the historic Portuguese Workers Hall, or something like that. Very quaint. It wasn't large but it was packed for the screening, with maybe the best audience the film has yet had. They just didn't want to stop talking about it afterwards, at the Q&A. Finally we were sort of chased out for the next screening.)

Winnipeg Film Festival (I drove up for this festival because I'd always wanted to visit Winnipeg. And I wasn't disappointed - it has a French Quarter, a Chinatown, an Arts District. Plus striking architecture - old European buildings next to gleaming modern skyscrapers. And I had an incredible meal in a French restaurant. Best of all, Alex won the Sullivan Statue for Best Actor! Just coincidentally, I got the Sullivan Statue in the mail today from Winnipeg. It's a beautiful replica of the statue on top of the state house, or whatever it's called. A glass statue. A breakable glass statue. Which it did. Break I mean. Into six or seven pieces. I haven't told Alex yet. But it's the thought that counts, right? Maybe super glue.... Incidentally, this festival rounded out "Two Harbors'" six-state/province sweep of the upper midwest: it screened at festivals in Minnesota (twice), Wisconsin (ditto), Iowa, North Dakota, Ontario and Manitoba. And won four awards in the process. I never found a festival in South Dakota.) Photos are random scenes from the French Quarter in Winnipeg.

Victoria (Australia) Festival of Motion Image ("Two Harbors" was the only American film to screen at this entire festival, in any category; most were from Australia, Asia and Great Britain, and we won the Victoria Film Award for Best Feature in the Open Category! Again, I was not in attendance. Alex wasn't either, this time. But they said they would mail it to me. I hope it's not glass.)

Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival (Tomorrow I fly to San Francisco. I'll stay in the city at my favorite hotel, the Hotel Kensington Park [I even have a favorite room, room 80; not sure if I'll get it this time] until Saturday morning, when I'll rent a car - actually a Ford Escape - and drive to Sonoma for an afternoon screening. Alex and his wife, Mary, will also be there.)

River's Edge Film Festival (Upcoming from August 17 to 20. I'm trying to figure out how I can make it to this festival because it looks like fun, and everyone says Paducah, Kentucky is an interesting town. We'll see.)

FAIF International Film Festival (This one's coming up in October. I might have to go, since the screenings are in Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. I'll report back if I do.)

I know I'm forgetting a couple festivals. I'll update this list when I remember them. And that's it so far. More festivals pending (I hope).

Director interview

2005-10-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

Read Christopher Holland's interview with director James Vculek:

http://www.stomptokyo.com/chris/blog/2005/10/james-vculek-on-two-harbors.html

reviews

2005-10-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

The latest review posted at imdb.com:

"Cerebral Kevin Smith", 9 September 2006Author: psychomatronic from United States

Okay, maybe the summary isn't how everyone would take this film, but for me, the Black and White photography echoed that of CLERKS while the dialog seemed very Smith-like.Vic (Alex Cole, who looks very much like he could be Al Franken's brother) is a sarcastic, mean spirited guy who spends his time selling Sci-Fi collectibles at a flea market, verbally abusing most anyone he comes in contact with, and trying to discover signals from extraterrestrial beings. One day, he crosses paths with Cathy (played expertly by Catherine E. Johnson) , another seller at the flea market. She sells cloth dolls and seems slightly naive, but very sweet. At first, he treats her with his usual banter, but something about her softens him up a bit.As their friendship grows, Vic becomes convinced of a link between Cathy and the extraterrestrials.

Without giving anything away, let's just say the film takes a turn that I was not expecting.I viewed this film at the River's Edge Film Festival in Paducah, Kentucky and it was, hands down, one of the best there. James Vculek shows that he has a great gift for writing, especially allowing us to believe and identify with the characters, even if we don't necessarily like them (refering to Vic). The understated, amateurish acting actually makes the characters more believable. Emotionally, this film took me for a ride, which is very difficult for a low budget film to do. It just goes to show you that it's not the budget or the presence of big names that makes a film engaging, it's the STORY and the CHARACTERS, both of which this TWO HARBORS is rich with.

If I had to pick one word to describe the true theme of the movie, that would have to be, "obsession." TWO HARBORS is still showing at festivals and I hope that a distributor will pick it up and give it a decent release, even if only on DVD. It is just too good a film to fall through the cracks of the festival circuit.If anyone is interested in buying a copy of this film, check out http://www.indieflix.com/FilmDetail.aspx?tid=2267.

Can't decide whether to see "Two Harbors" at the Austin Film Festival, because, well, you've never heard of it? Here's some help from people who have:

from the AFF preview at www.stomptokyo.com:

"'Two Harbors' (competition feature) – This one is a little rough around the edges but it's actually one of my favorite pictures (of the ones I've seen during screenings) so far. It centers around a flea-market action-figure dealer who is on a personal crusade to locate extraterrestrial intelligence, and the young woman who begins selling dolls in a nearby stall. She's a little lost in life and quite possibly deranged, but they strike up an unsteady friendship – until he starts to receive signals on his home satellite rig whenever she's around. Contains one of the best demonstrations of "collectible" supply and demand I've ever seen. Director James Vculek in attendance."

from the Minnesota Daily:

"'Two Harbors' is an unusual, engaging and ultimately beautiful expression."

from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival program:

"A remarkable performance by Alex Cole anchors this strange and subtle tale."

from Minneapolis City Pages:

"The film employs a bleak black and white ambience to tease out the inscrutable despair beneath little lives spent in a little place, applying moments of humor and sweetness to make it a uniquely genre-ignoring exercise."

from the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"A darkly comic love story involving junk stores and extraterrestrials that takes two or three weird hairpin turns from realistic comedy to surreal humor to tragedy. The performances are stellar. Alex Cole, the lead actor, is phenomenal, and his co-star, Catherine E. JOhnson, is great with him."

from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival Executive Director Jamie Hook:

"'Two Harbors' took the top prize [Best Feature, Emerging FIlmmaker] because it had the strongest writing and acting."

from an imdb.com review:

Wow! Way better than I expected., 7 April 2006Author: Ace_of_Sevens from Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
I caught this movie at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. It's one of the better movies I've seen in a while. I hope someone picks this up and I very much want to buy it. It is the story of a grumpy middle-aged seller of antique action figures, Vic, who meets a sweet, very vulnerable young woman, Cassie, who sells dolls in a booth in the same center. He has been trying for years to catch the notice of extra-terrestrials, apparently because no one down here notices him and she goes along with it because she has the same problem. It was at once funny and tragic. It does a great job of making its two major characters very real, despite their general bizarreness and likable, despite Vic's abusiveness to almost everyone he meets. It's not perfect, but it's about as close as you can get for a movie made for so little money. The fact it was a first film for the writer/director makes it all the more amazing. The hope of finding something like this is the reason I go to independent film festivals. Buy it if it ever comes to DVD.