MD Film Fest '08 Wrap-Up
The 10th annual Maryland Film Festival took place this past weekend, and, boy, did I have a good time. I had such a great time that I needed a day to recover. I didn't per se get into a lot of screenings this year, but there was so much going on between screenings, workshops, networking and partying at the tent village that I got a full experience. I even went to the Closing Night party, drank, talk to many friends, danced a bit, and managed to get back home at an indecent time.
Here's what I saw at the festival:
--'Medicine For Melancholy'--I hear about this indie film from DC filmmaker/blogger Sujewa Ekanayake, and also from Indiewire.com's SXSW festival coverage. San Francisco filmmaker Barry Jenkins made this touching, sensual, and polemical film about an african-american couple hooking up, disconnecting and re-connecting again during a long Sunday day. The film looked great with a de-saturated color palette to the point it was almost black-n-white. Also, the piece gives you a lot to think about with its characters' discussions on race, cultural identity, indie culture, and gentrification of San Francisco. It sounded great with a soundtrack composed of original music as well as select indie rock tracks.
--'Waiting For Hockney'--I think this was my favorite screening of the entire weekend. A made-in-Baltimore docu, 'Hockney' traced the wondrous journey of artist Billy Pappas, a MICA (Maryland Institute and College of Art) graduate, who spent 8 years obsessively creating a pointillistic portrait of Marilyn Monroe. All that time, he's completely supported by his family, and even bank-rolled by a local architect (to the cost of $300,000.00!). Once he's done, he and his support team become convinced that the only way to properly bring this work of art into the world-at-large is by showing it exclusively to post-modernist artist David Hockney. The rest of the documentary traces their stranger-than-fiction quest to gain an audience with the re-known artist. Not only is the subject matter of this piece highly enthralling, but it was also the work of a first-time documentarian named Julie Checkoway.
I had to miss the subsequent screening of a film called 'Chop Shop', because Pappas was in attendance, along with his masterful drawing. There was a very long line waiting to view his work. I waited on it, and it was worth it. The drawing was magnificent; so realistic, you could almost touch Marilyn's face. To truly admire its detail, you need to pour over the work with a magnifying glass. I spoke to Pappas for a minute, and he was a very charming, intelligent man. I wish him the best in finding his great work a suitable home. This docu was so great that they should truly consider creating a fictionalized script from the story and get a good film made from it. Believe me, it would be a hit.
--'Spine-Tingler'. This was a documentary by Jeffrey Schwarz on the well-known horror producer William Castle, who produced such gimmicky (yet very succesful) films in the 60s such as 'The Tingler' and 'Homicidal'. This film was a labor of love that took several years to complete. Fans of horror, as well as classic Hollywood film fans, will find this film of high interest when it hits DVD later this year. I also watched Castle's 'Straight-Jacket' at the Saturday night free outdoor screening, truly a great piece of Camp cinema starring Joan Crawford at the outset of her career.
--'Bi The Way'. Yet another compelling documentary, this time about bi-sexuality. The filmmakers travelled back and forth on the United States to capture stories of both female and male bi-sexuals, and in the process they give the most honest look that this sexual orientation has ever gotten. The film wasn't so much racy nor graphic, but it was just honest, specially with interviews with many bi-sexuals, sex-researchers, college professors, and the like. The piece also had a focus on the openly accepting way in which the 'Whatever' generation (age 16 to 30) deals with bi-sexuality. Perhaps the best story in the whole film is that of 11-year Josh, son of filmmaker Jonathan Caouette (sp?, director/subject of 'Tarnation'), a precocious child who has started asking serious questions about his possible future sexuality at his young age. His comments were sincerely funny and disarming.
--'At The Death House Door'. This sobering docu comes from the same team (Steve James and Peter Gilbert) who brought us 'Hoops Dreams', perhaps the best documentary of the 1990s. Reverend Carroll Pickett counseled 95 different prisoners on their way to the lethal-injection chamber in Hunstville, TX between 1983 and 1995. During those grievous years of service, Pickett kept tapes of his experiences of each individual execution. His emotional and deeply spiritual journey from a pro-Capital punishment supporter to an anti-Death Penalty advocate is the subject of this very well made documentary. The film also details the heartbreaking case of Carlos De Luna, an innocent man who was wrongly convicted and executed in 1989. The piece will be shown on the Independent Film Channel later this month, and the filmmakers have made it available for advocate screenings across the country. It will surely be available on DVD sometime later this year. I suggest you watch it. It'll touch you very deeply.
And that's what I managed to enjoy at this year's fest. I truly wish I could have seen more. For example, I tried to get into the Comedy Shorts screening on Friday afternoon to catch my buddy Dave Kratz's short 'Nintendik' (which you can see on Youtube.com. Just do a search for the film title), but the screening was sold out. There was truly so much good stuff at this film festival that three individuals could have caught 10 different screenings a piece through the weekend and still have had a great time. Congratulations to Jed Dietz, Skizz Cyzzick and Eric Allen Hatch on a very well programmed festival.
I still think they need some midnight screenings on Saturday night, as well as a bit more genre work, but it was a fine festival nonetheless.
Lastly, the CAMM (Creative Alliance MovieMakers) Kegger on Saturday afternoon was a blast. I caught up with some many fiends, and we all made a toast to CAMM's continued success as the best resource for Baltimore filmmakers. Kristen Anchor, Scott Kecken, Lee Boot, Margaret Footner, Jed, and Megan have worked very hard to bring CAMM from its humble auspices at a Pep Boys storefront in Highlandtown to the gorgeous arts/film center that currently stands on the old site of the Patterson theatre. I'm very proud to be associated with these people and wish them continued success.
posted by PR_GMR @ 10:58 AM
2 Comments:
Good notes Armando. I'll link to this post from my blog this Sun or so.
- Sujewa
Can Rev. Carroll Pickett be trusted?
Dudley Sharp, Justice Matters, contact info below
Rev. Pickett is on a promotional tour for the film "At the Death House Door", a film partially about the Reverend's experience ministering to 95 death row inmates executed in Texas.
Rev. Pickett's inaccuracies are many and important.
Does Rev. Pickett just make facts up as he goes along, hoping that no one fact checks or is he just confused or ignorant?
Some of his miscues are common anti death penalty deceptions and the Reverend is an anti death penalty activist.
Below are comments or paraphrases of Rev. Pickett, taken from interviews, followed by my Reply:.
Pickett: "A great majority of them (the 95 executed inmates he ministered to) were black or Hispanic." (1)
Reply: The "great majority" were 47 white (49%) with 32 black (34%), and 16 Hispanic (17%).
Pickett: "Out of the 95 we executed only one that had a college degree. All the rest of them their education was 9th grade and under." (1)
Reply: Not even close. In a review of only 31 of the 95 cases, 5 had some college or post graduate classes and 16 were high school graduates or completed their GED. Partial review (Incomplete Count) , below.
Would Rev. Pickett tell us about the educational achievements of all the innocent murder victims and those that weren't old enough for school?
Pickett: spoke of the Soldier of Fortune murder for hire case, stating the husband got death, while the hired murderer got 6 years. (1)
Reply: In this well known case. John Wayne Hearn, the hitman, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Sandra Black.
Pickett: speaks of how sincere hostage taker, murderer Ignacio Cuevas was. Rev. Pickett states that "between 11 and midnight (I) believe almost everything" the inmates say, because they are about to be executed. (1)
Reply: Bad judgement. Cuevas lied when on the gurney, stating that he was innocent. This goes to show how Rev. Pickett and many others are easily fooled by these murderers.
Pickett: I knew (executed inmate) Carlos (De Luna) didn't do it. It was his big brown eyes, the way he talked, he was the same age as my son (transference). I felt so sympathetic towards him. I was so 100% certain that he couldn't have committed this crime. (Carlos) was a super person to minister to. I knew Carlos was not guilty. Fred Allen a guard, said "by the way he talks and acts I don't believe he is guilty, either. (1)
REPLY: Experienced prison personnel are fooled all the time by prisoners, just as parole boards are. This is simply Rev. Pickett's and Fred Allen's blind speculation. It means absolutely nothing.
Pickett: believes that, no way, could someone, so afraid of lightning and thunder, such as Carlos De Luna, use a knife (in a crime). (1)
Reply: Rev. Pickett talks about how important his background is in understanding people and behavior and he says something like this, destroying his own credibility on the issue. If the lightning and thunder event occurred, we already know what De Luna was capable of. In 1980, "De Luna was charged with attempted aggravated rape and driving a stolen vehicle, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 2 to 3 years. Paroled in May 1982, De Luna returned to Corpus Christi. Not long after, he attended a party for a former cellmate and was accused of attacking the cellmate's 53-year-old mother. She told police that De Luna broke three of her ribs with one punch, removed her underwear, pulled down his pants, then suddenly left. He was never prosecuted for the attack, but authorities sent him back to prison on a parole violation. Released again in December of that year, he came back to Corpus Christi and got a job as a concrete worker. Almost immediately, he was arrested for public intoxication. During the arrest, De Luna allegedly laughed about the wounding of a police officer months earlier and said the officer should have been killed. Two weeks after that arrest, Lopez was murdered." (Chicago Tribune) Being a long time criminal, we can presume that there were numerous additional crimes committed by De Luna and which remained unsolved. Was De Luna capable of committing a robbery murder, even though he had big brown eyes and was scared of lightning? Of course. This goes to Pickett's poor judgement or something else.
And there is this major problem.
In 1999, after Rev. Pickett had left his death row ministry, he was asked, "Do you think there have been some you have watched die who were strictly innocent?"
His reply: "I never felt that." (3)
PIckett: "In my opinion and in the opinion of the convicts, life in prison, with no hope of parole, is a much worse punishment (than the death penalty)." "Most of these people (death row inmates) fear life in prison more than they do the possibility of execution." (2)
REPLY: That may be Rev. Pickett's opinion, but we know that isn't the opinion of those facing a possible death sentence of those residing on death row. This gives more support to my suspicion that Rev. Pickett is putting words into the inmates' mouths. His assertion is totally contradicted by the facts.
Facts: What percentage of capital murderers seek a plea bargain to a death sentence? Zero or close to it. They prefer long term imprisonment. What percentage of convicted capital murderers argue for execution in the penalty phase of their capital trial? Zero or close to it. They prefer long term imprisonment. What percentage of death row inmates waive their appeals and speed up the execution process? Nearly zero. They prefer long term imprisonment. This is not, even remotely, in dispute. How could Rev. Pickett not be aware of this? How long was he ministering to Texas' death row? 13 years?
Pickett: stated that "doctors can't (check the veins of inmates pending execution), it's against the law." (1)
Reply: Ridiculous.
Pickett: Pavulon (a paralytic) has been banned by vets but we use it on people. (1)
REPLY: This is untrue and is a common anti death penalty deception. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA): "When used alone, these drugs (paralytics) all cause respiratory arrest before loss of consciousness, so the animal may perceive pain and distress after it is immobilized." Obviously, paralytics are never used alone in the human lethal injection process or animal euthanasia. The AVMA does not mention the specific paralytic - Pavulon - used in lethal injection for humans. These absurd claims, falsely attributed to veterinary literature, have been a bald faced lie by anti death penalty activists.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, their euthanasia protocol is as follows: A coma is first induced by intravenous administration of 20 mg/kg sodium thiopental (Nesdonal) (NOTE-the first drug in human lethal injection) in a small volume (10 ml physiological saline). Then a triple intravenous dose of a non-depolarizing neuromuscular muscle relaxant is given, such as 20 mg pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) (NOTE-the second drug, the paralytic, in human lethal injection) or 20 mg vecuronium bromide (Norcuron). The muscle relaxant should preferably be given intravenously, in order to ensure optimal availability. Only for pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) are there substantial indications that the agent may also be given intramuscularly in a dosage of 40 mg.
Just like execution/lethal injection in the US, although we give a third drug which speeds up death.
Pickett: said an inmate said "its burning" "its burning", during an execution. (1)
REPLY: This may have occurred for a variety of reasons and does not appear to be an issue. It is the third drug which is noted for a burning sensation, if one were conscious during its injection. However, none of the inmates that Rev. Pickett handled were conscious after the first drug was administered. That would not be the case, here, as the burning complaints came at the very beginning of the injection process, which would involve a reaction where the burning would be quite minor. Has Rev. Pickett reviewed the pain and suffering of the real victims - the innocent murdered ones?
Pickett: "Most of the inmates would ask the question, "How can Texas kill people who kill people and tell people that killing people is wrong?" That came out of inmates’ mouths regularly and I think it’s a pretty good question to ask." (2)
REPLY: Most? Would that be more than 48 out of 95? I simply don't believe it. 10 out of 95? Doubtful. I suspect it is no coincidence that "Why do we kill people to show that killing is wrong" has been a common anti death penalty slogan for a very long time. I suspect that Rev. Pickett has just picked it up, used it and placed it in inmate's mouths. Furthermore, we don't execute murderers to show that murder is wrong. Most folks know that murder is wrong even without a sanction. The murder is wrong and there are various sanctions for committing that wrong, including execution.
------------
Incomplete count
this is a review of 31 out of the 95 death row inmates ministered by Rev. Pickett
21 of the 31 below had some college or post graduate classes (5)
or were high school graduates or completed their GED (16)
-----------
1) Brooks 12
3) O'Bryan post graduate degree - dentist
41 james russel 10th
42 G Green sophomore college
45 David Clark 10th and GED
46 Edward Ellis 10th
47 Billy White 10th
48 Justin May 11th
49 Jesus Romero 11th and GED
50 Robert Black, Jr. a pilot (probably beyond 12th)
55. Carlos Santana 11th
57 Darryl Stewart 12th
58 Leonel Herrera 11th and GED
60) Markum Duff Smith Post graduate College
33) Carlos De Luna 9th
95 Ronald Keith Allridge 10th and GED
93 Noble Mays Junior in College
92 Samuel Hawkins 12th
91 Billy Conn Gardner 12th
90 Jeffery Dean Motley 9th
89 Willie Ray Williams 11th
86 Jesse Jacobs 12th
85 Raymond Carl Kinnamon 11th and GED
84 Herman Clark sophomore college
83 Warren Eugene Bridge 11th
82 Walter Key Williams 12th
72 Harold Barnard 12th
73 Freddie Webb 11th and GED
75 Larry Anderson 12th
77 Stephen Nethery 12th
79 Robert Drew 10th
Dudley Sharp, Justice Matters
e-mail sharpjfa@aol.com, 713-622-5491,
Houston, Texas
Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS , VOA and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O'Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.
A former opponent of capital punishment, he has written and granted interviews about, testified on and debated the subject of the death penalty, extensively and internationally.
Pro death penalty sites
homicidesurvivors(dot)com/categories/Dudley%20Sharp%20-%20Justice%20Matters.aspx
www(dot)dpinfo.com
www(dot)cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DPinformation.htm
www(dot)clarkprosecutor.org/html/links/dplinks.htm
www(dot)coastda.com/archives.html
www(dot)lexingtonprosecutor.com/death_penalty_debate.htm
www(dot)prodeathpenalty.com
www(dot)yesdeathpenalty.com/deathpenalty_co
yesdeathpenalty.googlepages.com/home2 (Sweden)
www(dot)wesleylowe.com/cp.html
1) "Chaplain Discusses 'Death House' Ministry", Interview, Legal Affairs, FRESH AIR, NPR, May 19, 2007.
2) THE FAILURE INTERVIEW: REVEREND CARROLL PICKETT—AUTHOR OF "WITHIN THESE WALLS: MEMOIRS OF A DEATH HOUSE CHAPLAIN" Interview, by Kathleen A. Ervin
www(DOT)failuremag.com/arch_history_carroll_pickett_interview.html
3) "The Execution: Interview with Reverend Carroll Pickett", PBS, FRONTLINE, 1999
www(DOT)pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/pickett.html
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