For your reading pleasure, here’s some non-A Life’s Work work. Here’s a link to a short interview I conducted with Ross McElwee for Filmmaker Magazine. And my review of McElwee’s most recent film, Photographic Memory for Extra Criticum. The short version: … Continued
Previously, on A Life’s Work blog In a previous post I wrote about the process of editing a clip from the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project Program section of A Life’s Work. Since I’ve been working on the subsequent section of … Continued
Before I get to the clip, some background. My first meeting with Bob Darden of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project was in Chicago, August 2009. During our sit down interviews it became clear very quickly that I would have … Continued
I recently saw Los Straitjackets perform (with special guests the World Famous Pontani Sisters, a burlesque act) here in NYC. I’ve seen them several times before and they always manage to entertain. But somewhere in the middle of one of … Continued
What’s that saying? It’s better to be lucky than good. But being lucky is one thing, you then have to recognize what you stepped in. I’m not always lucky, but one day on my shoot in California’s White Mountains . . … Continued
Dear Filmmaker, Are you interviewing experts who are critical of your subjects’ work? If yes, who? If no, why not? N.E. Dear.N.E. This is an excellent question. I am not interviewing experts. I decided early on that though the projects … Continued
I’m reposting Kate Hill Cantrill’s guest stint because her short story collection, Walk Back from Monkey School, is NOW AVAILABLE, and that’s how we treat our guest bloggers here at A Life’s Work headquarters. Kate Hill Cantrill’s writing has appeared in … Continued
Robert Darden’s excellent book, People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music, is one of those books that educates and entertains. If you’re interested at all in gospel music or American roots music, this is a must read. … Continued
Over on the Filmmaker Magazine web site you can find an interview I conducted with documentary filmmaker Kathy Leichter. Kathy’s film, Here One Day, was born out of grief, as was A Life’s Work. Though our inspiration may have been the same, we … Continued
When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. The second best time? Today. – Chinese proverb This proverb could easily have accompanied this photo.