Tag: SXSW 2024

Liz Carpenter was a force of nature who, throughout her 89 years (1920-2010), was often front and center where history was unfolding. leaving her own indelible mark on events. She was a journalist, White House official, Women’s Rights activist, best-selling author, and humorist. Directors Christy Carpenter, Liz’s daughter, and Abby Ginzberg weave candid modern-day interviews with Dan Rather, Bill Moyers, Gloria Steinem, Luci Johnson and others into an entertaining and informative 77-minute World Premiere that took place at the Zach Theatre on March 10th at SXSW 2024.

Liz Carpenter in action.

Born in Salado, Texas, five days after the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution granted women the right to vote in 1920, Liz’s family moved to Austin, the state capitol, when she was 7 years old. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas in 1942 and headed straight to Washington, DC, intent on starting her journalism career in the midst of WWII. .

At 22 years of age, she was attending press conferences held by both President Franklin and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt despite barriers against allowing women reporters to be present.

SUPPORTING LBJ

She began covering the political rise of Congressman Lyndon Johnson for the Austin American-Statesman. This developed into a lifelong friendship with LBJ and his wife Lady Bird.

Liz’s reputation as a dogged reporter quickly spread and, by the late 1940s, she and husband Leslie Carpenter established the Carpenter News Bureau. They covered Capitol Hill and the White House for more than a dozen newspapers. She was also known as “the funniest woman in Washington, D.C.,” which made her an in-demand speaker.

In 1954, she was elected president of the Women’s National Press Club, a platform she used to attack barriers to participation in the males-only National Press Club, the foremost journalistic organization in Washington D.C..

LIZ AND JFK’S ASSASSINATION

Christy Carpenter, daughter of Liz Carpenter and co-director of “Shaking It Up: The Life and Times of Liz Carpenter” at SXSW.

In 1960, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird persuaded Liz to join his campaign for vice president. Once elected, LBJ convinced Liz to join his staff as the highest-ranking woman ever to work for a vice president. Liz Carpenter was one of a small number of his staff traveling with him to Dallas on November 22, 1963. She was riding in the motorcade, in a car behind JFK’s, when President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated.

Carpenter realized she was the only writer on LBJ’s staff aboard Air Force One. On the return trip to Washington she crafted the newly sworn-in President’s first public remarks to a shocked world. LBJ delivered these 58 words, written by Liz while on the plane, upon landing and that footage is included in the documentary:

“This is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help and God’s.”

The archival footage of the delivery of these remarks is historic.

BEAUTIFY AMERICA

Liz was appointed st aff director and press secretary to the new First Lady.

Although Lady Bird and Liz had very different personal styles, they were both women of action and vision, and together, over the next five years, they pursued an aggressive agenda including, “the most ambitious national environmental effort since Theodore Roosevelt,” according to Lady Bird biographer Julia Sweig. (I can still do a pretty fair imitation of Lady Bird Johnson saying, “Plant a tree, a shrub, or a bush,” with the Texas twang on ‘bush,'”—fodder for comediennes of the era.) The ubiquitous campaign to remove blighted highway billboards and beautify America by planting vegetation became a trademark of Lady Bird’s. A lake and park in Austin in her name perpetuate her legacy.

WAR ON POVERTY

Liz enabled Lady Bird to put a human face on LBJ’s War on Poverty by organizing strategic press tours of Head Start and Job Corps programs across the nation. My mother was then a kindergarten teacher in a small Iowa town. She fought tirelessly for the Head Start program, which, gave disadvantaged youngsters from minority and poorer homes an equal starting point with other 5-year-olds entering the system.

Liz was sometimes dubbed the “P.T. Barnum of the White House,” and was the key mastermind of Lady Bird’s historic and unprecedented Whistlestop campaign tour through the South during the 1964 presidential campaign. In the immediate aftermath of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Southern states were often far from welcoming to the wife of the man who had given Black citizens in the South the right to vote and a leg up on equal rights under the laws of the land.

AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE

Abby Ginzberg, co-director of “Shaking It Up: The Life and Times of Liz Carpenter” at SXSW on March 10, 2024.

After Johnson’s presidency ended in 1969, (with a populist anti-war backlash against Vietnam that saw my generation in the streets chanting “Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?”), Liz wrote a best-selling book about her White House years, entitled Ruffles & Flourishes. She would write other best-sellers, utilizing her storied wit and her historic experiences in government.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

Liz Carpenter got heavily involved in the growing Women’s Movement – a cause that would consume much of her time and energy until the end of her life at the age of 90 in 2010. Bill Clinton appointed her to serve on the White House Council on Aging.

In 1971, she joined feminist leaders such as Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Congresswomen Bella Abzug, and Shirley Chisholm, to co-found a new organization, the National Women’s Political Caucus. This was a nationwide effort to elect more women to public office, eliminate discrimination, and to push forward legislation to improve the lives of women. Soon Liz was campaigning across the nation, stirring up voters to elect women candidates.

THE ERA

Some fifty years after its introduction, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) finally sailed through Congress in 1972 with huge bipartisan majorities, says the documentary. (*I still have my ERA bracelet in a drawer somewhere, along with the POW bracelet of a U.S. soldier MIA in action from that era.) Sadly, however, after many early successes on the state level, the momentum for ratification began to hit speed bumps. That is putting it mildly.

PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY & EAGLE FORUM

Activist Phyllis Schlafly wearing a “Stop ERA” badge, demonstrating with other women against the Equal Rights Amendment in front of the White House, Washington, D.C.

The film doesn’t dwell much on Phyllis Schlafly and her Eagle Forum organization, but it should. That is my one criticism of this documentary. It was Phyllis Schlafly and her anti-equal-rights work compiling lists of ultra-Conservative prominent women and men who were against the ERA that defeated it. Schlafly—who had her own political agenda—smeared the entire equal rights movement as a ploy for lesbians and women libbers and an anti-family movement. That was, at best, an over-generalization, a technique often used by the GOP to gloss over the realities of issues and, at worst, a hypocritical smear job. (*See “the border issue” in 2024). Although I realize that Phyllis Schlafly’s anti-ERA work merits an entire documentary of its own, I think she should at least have been mentioned in this one, as that opponent of the ERA kept it from passing nationwide and has left it mired in oblivion.

Donald Trump’s early organizational work involved getting those lists from the Schlafly organization, which had painted a biased picture of the efforts to achieve equality for women as being “a bunch of women’s libbers bent on destroying the family,” an untrue characterization.Liz Carpenter was called on to co-chair a new organization in 1976 – ERAmerica –focused on ratification by the last hold-out states. She spent several years lobbying states’ legislators, and governors, and galvanizing grassroots support. (It didn’t work.)

LIZ’s HUMOR

One important key to Liz’s success was her dynamic, magnetic personality, including her well-developed sense of humor — reflecting her pioneer roots and Texas-sized, can-do moxie. Humor was always integral to her identity and effectiveness. Like other recognizable Texas women such as Governor Ann Richards and journalist Molly Ivins, Liz was high-energy and innately funny, with a knack for shaking things up. Her life was spent trying to create a more just, democratic, beautiful and humane world.

CONCLUSION:

The archival clips, alone, are worth seeing this well-done documentary. It is a slice of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s life and history. It details efforts— some successful, some futile— to advance equality for women world-wide, battles that Liz Carpenter helped lead.

While I have a few reservations about soft-pedaling the tactics of the opposition faced in the seemingly never-ending struggle for equality that women in the United States and the world face, this fine film goes a long way to showing how it can be done, if enough courageous, influential women remember Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s line, “And yet she persists.” See this one if, like me, you lived through it. If you didn’t, you need the history lesson,

“My Dead Friend Zoe” Screens at SXSW 2024 on March 9, 2024

By Connie Wilson

On March 17, 2024

In Movies, Reviews

“My Dead Friend Zoe” Premieres at SXSW on March 9, 2024.

“My Dead Friend Zoe” was a crowd-funded first feature film from Army veteran Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, who served 5 years in Afghanistan and used his real-life experiences to craft this film that premiered at SXSW on March 9, 2024. He is co-founder of the nonprofit organization Veterans in Media & Entertainment. It is a plus that he has cast nearly all parts in “My Dead Friend Zoe” with actual veterans. This is Travis Kelce’s first film as a producer.

KYLE HAUSMANN-STOKES

Klye Hausmann-Stokes, Director of "My Dead Friend Zoe"

Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 9, 2024 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Following its World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday, March 9^th, the Writer-Director (aided in crafting the screenplay by A.J. Bermudez and Cherish Chen) told us of how his superior when he was serving in Afghanistan, (where he served for 5 years and earned a Bronze Star), noticed his skill in shooting film of the veteran experience. That Army superior, recognizing talent, aided Hausmann-Stokes in allowing him to train at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Since then, this Madison, Wisconsin native has made films for a variety of veteran-related companies including the U.S. Air Force, UPS, the U.S. Department of Veterans, Google and IBM.

Now, Hausmann-Stokes has crafted a semi-fictionalized story about two real-life Army buddies of his, Ramirez and Ventura, who made it back home, but took their own lives, something that happens with alarming frequency. The use of actual veterans was similar to the use of real-life refugees from World War II in Europe during the filming of “Casablanca”, which helped give “Casablanca” its sense of authenticity. The performances from the cast are all totally believable.

PLOT

Natalie Morales on the Red Carpet at SXSW for her starring role in “My Dead Friend Zoe.” (Photo by Connie Wilson).

MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE, says the synopsis, is a dark comedy drama that follows the journey of Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe (Natalie Morales, “Dead to Me”), her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor, Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman), the tough love of her mother Kris (Gloria Reuben) and an unexpected love interest in Alex (Utkarsh Ambud Kar), Merit’s cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That remains the status quo until Merit’s estranged grandfather Dale Tillman (Ed Harris)—who lives at the family’s ancestral lake house—begins to lose his way mentally and is need of the one thing he refuses… help.”

The film is about a complicated friendship between Merritt (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Zoe (Natalie Morales). We know from the title that Zoe is dead, but she is very much alive in Merit’s daily life, as Merit obsesses about her. That particular plot point of Zoe’s death is carefully concealed until quite late in the film, but the scenes of Zoe’s intrusion into Merit’s daily life are both serious and comic. One line from the screenplay sums it up this way: “When you lose someone, you don’t know who you are without them.”

GRANDPA DALE

Sonequa Martin-Green on the Red Carpet at SXSW for "My Dead Friend Zoe"

Sonequa Martin-Green (Merit) on the Red Carpet for “My Dead Friend Zoe” on March 9th, 2024, at SXSW.

When Merit learns that Grandpa Dale Tillman (Ed Harris) has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s and may not be able to continue living alone at the lake house near Portland he loves, Merit returns for a visit. The ghost of Zoe says, to Merit, in a sarcastic aside, “You didn’t tell me your Grandpa lived on the set of a horror movie.” Zoe will make other such snide remarks throughout Merit’s days. Mom Kris (Gloria Reuben) wants to put Dale into Shady Acres, an assisted living facility.

Dale spent 2 tours in Vietnam and left the service as a 22-year Lieutenant Colonel. It was her Grandfather Dale’s example that initially inspired Merit to join the Army. As the script tells us of our military, “You go out and do things that nobody else wants to do.” The sacrifice that our military men and women make to keep us safe and free is not always appreciated, as Lt. Col. Dale Tillman found out when he returned home from Vietnam.

FAMILY DYNAMIC

Utkarsh Ambud Kar, who played Alex in “My Dead Friend Zoe” at the World Premiere on March 9, 2024.

Reuben’s largely unsympathetic character seems intent on sticking her father, Dale, in Shady Acres. (Above, Gloria Reuben arriving at the Red Carpet for “My Dead Friend Zoe” at SXSW on March 9th in Austin, Texas.) When Merit takes Dale to the annual Fourth of July concert in the park and (temporarily) loses him, strife ensues. Kris (Gloria Reuben) says to her daughter, Merit, “I love you, Merit, but you’ve made a mess”

At the park, Dale and Merit accidentally encounter Alex (Utkarsh Ambud Kar), the son of the first Indian family in Portland who own and operate Shady Acres. Alex is romantically interested in Merit. Grandpa Dale does not react well to accidentally finding out that others have been deciding that he should leave the home he and his late wife established many years ago. Dale temporarily goes missing, and Kris, Merit’s Mom, admonishes Merit on the phone, saying, “I love you, Merit, but you’ve made a mess.”

THE GOOD

Morgan Freeman adds his usual sense of gravitas as Dr. Cole, the leader of a PTSD therapy group that Merit is supposed to faithfully attend in order to avoid jail-time for a minor altercation that may have happened due to her PTSD. Any time you’ve got Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris, you can count on good performances from true professionals. Neither made the Premiere at SXSW, but their work onscreen is up to par. In addition, the leads all turned in believable performances with nicely nuanced humor, primarily from Natalie Morales.

The camera work shooting the beautiful area around the lake is well-done; the park scene cinematography was particularly good (Matt Sakatani Roe). The music is handled well with an original song by Kaia Kater and Dan Romer and Music Supervision by Laura Katz. The use of Rihanna’s song “Umbrella” in an early portion of the film is particularly well-chosen, when the two friends sing snatches of the song’s lyrics such as “These fancy things will never come in between,
You’re part of my entity, here for infinity, When the war has took its part, When the world has dealt its cards, If the hand is hard, Together we’ll mend your heart, Because.”

“My Dead Friend Zoe” is a great feature film debut at SXSW from Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes.

Billy Preston Bio-Pic “That’s the Way God Planned It” Has World Premiere at SXSW 2024

By Connie Wilson

On March 13, 2024

In Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television, Texas

Billy Preston, the “Fifth Beatle.”

“Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned it” is a documentary from Paris Barclay (“In Treatment,” “Glee”), whose own film accomplishments put him in a class that few can match. It was co-written by Cheo Hodari Coker. This is an outstanding documentary. It will go right up there with my favorite from last year’s SXSW, “Little Richard: I Am Everything.” (Lisa Cortes) It is a tribute to the man who was multi-talented and always the best musician in the room.

Says the synopsis: “With his signature gospel sound on the Hammond B3, Billy Preston double-handedly elevated the greatest artists of his time – from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, from Aretha Franklin to Eric Clapton, from Ray Charles to Barbra Streisand to Sly and the Family Stone. In our film, we explore Billy’s career and influence on generations of musicians, as he scored several number one hits of his own and became one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. He did all of this as a soul divided — by his deep roots in the church, in constant conflict with his identity as a gay Black man, searching for a family of his own that would accept him for who he was.”

EARLY LIFE

Preston was an early phenomenon, playing piano and organ from the age of three by ear. In fact, he appeared on television for the first time at the age of 5. He sang a duet of Fats Domino’s song “Blueberry Hill” on Nat King Cole’s television show in 1957 at age 11, and from there his career went straight up, intersecting with nearly every major musical name of the past 60 years. On film, Preston says “It’s been the way God planned it for me. I’ve never gone out and auditioned.”

Preston himself said, “You don’t know how glad I am that God laid his hands on me.” But, as articulated by Billy Porter (“Kinky Boots” on Broadway), “It’s hard being queer.” Porter, born in 1969, knows how much worse it was for someone like Billy Preston, born in the forties (September 2, 1946). Porter acknowledged that his own ability to openly declare his sexuality is based on those, like Billy Preston, who came before him. Director Paris Barclay, who is President of the Directors Guild of America, is an openly gay Black director of great acclaim.

Very close to his mother, Robbie Preston Williams, the Joe Cocker hit “You Are So Beautiful To Me” was co-written by Williams for his mom. Robbie is shown playing and singing with Billy. Sadly, she didn’t protect him well enough from those who would take advantage of the youth. Billy was repeatedly molested by a piano player when he was working for the “Amos ‘N Andy” radio show. His mother either didn’t believe him or didn’t want to deal with it. That’s the way it was in 1955. He also went on a European tour with Little Richard in 1962 when only 16, an experience that he would never discuss.

BEING GAY IN AMERICA

Billy Porter (“Kinky Boots” on Broadway) appears onscreen commenting. Porter dismissed the idea that early sexual abuse would cause the young boy to become gay. Regardless, the sexual abuse when young did leave Billy Preston psychologically scarred. Preston was very careful not to discuss his sexual orientation. In the era that he grew up in, that was the way it was. It is not something he should have had to do. Porter tells us “God wouldn’t be so narrow-minded.” But I lived through those years. I understand his decision. (Think Liberace and his many lawsuits against those who publicly called him out.)

Narrow-minded defined the growing-up years that Billy Preston was ascending to fame and fortune. His talent was undeniable, but, on a personal level, he suffered. Part of it was his struggle with his sexuality. The Black church, so important in his life, said homosexuality was a sin. But Preston also suffered because he lost his older brother. His brother entered his home smoking a lighted cigarette. He was killed in the explosion that resulted from a gas leak.

Preston did not talk about his brother. He did not discuss the repeated abuse when he was nine. He simply threw himself into music, saying, “Music is my life.” When not playing with the most famous names of the day he had a ranch in Topanga Canyon and rode horses, a stress-reliever that he shared with the documentary subject whose life story kicked off SXSW 2024, Stormy Daniels. (“Stormy”).

It would take a large book to list every famous musician who worked with Billy Preston. Onscreen we hear from Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger. There is archival footage, showing Billy collaborating with the Beatles, whom he met in 1963 when touring Europe with Little Richard. The man was a dynamo, playing, singing and dancing.

1960s

When Billy returned to America, he did not talk about the Little Richard Tour, but he did talk about the Beatles. Preston developed a special friendship with George Harrison. Olivia Harrison, George’s widow, is one of the principal cast members speaking onscreen.

In the sixties Billy collaborated with the Beatles on the Abbey Road Album and is the only artist given a credit on a Beatles album for “Get Back:” The Beatles With Billy Preston. Preston was dubbed “the Fifth Beatle.” Preston played keyboards on the Beatles very last performance from the New York City rooftop on January 30, 1969. He also appeared on television’s “Shindig” as musical director.

1970s

In 1971, Billy would leave Apple for Herb Alpert’s A&M records. He wanted to step out of his identity as just an instrumentalist and be able to do more, including more solo and singing performances.

In 1972, he won a Grammy for “Outa-Space’ as the Best Pop Instrumental Performance. (He was nominated for 9 Grammies and won 2, including Album of the Year in 1973.) In 2021 he was inducted into the rock-and-roll Hall of Fame for musical excellence.

Billy Preston was the Rolling Stones primary touring keyboardist from 1973 to 1977. I saw him on their Bridges to Babylon tour two times, once in Chicago and once in Minneapolis. Mick Jagger appears onscreen and admits to teasing Preston about the many wigs he wore onstage. They allowed the musician to wear a trademark huge Afro onstage, but remove it and become relatively anonymous.

CRACKS IN THE CAREER

Paris Barclay, Director of “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” at SXSW 2024.

There may have been a romance with a woman named Kathy Silva in the early 70s. If there is a criticism of this documentary, it is how much this was soft-pedaled in the narrative. Whatever the relationship between Preston and Silva, it ended badly when Preston returned home to find her in bed with Sly (of Sly and the Family Stone). Some sources say that Preston swore off women from that point on.

It couldn’t have helped that Silva married Sly onstage in Madison Square Garden shortly afterwards. The film’s point-of-view is that Preston had both male and female lovers; everyone within the loop knew he was gay. His talent was so unparalleled that his homosexuality was not an issue. Perhaps accurate, but such a public betrayal had to cut deep and leave the artist feeling betrayed.

Disputes over money led to Preston’s departure from the Rolling Stones. In 1975 he was also the very first musical guest on the very first airing of “Saturday Night Live.” In 1978 he was cast as Sergeant Pepper in Robert Stigwood’s musical treatment of the famous Beatles album. It involved an all-star cast; it was a failure, which also bothered Preston.

1980s

With the dawn of the eighties and the emergence of disco, Preston’s star began to fade. He was Gospel, rhythm and blues, rock-and-roll—not disco. He became addicted to illegal substances and drank too much. A nighttime program built around comedian David Brenner, “Nightlife,” hired him to be musical director. The program tanked after one season (1986-1987).

1990s

Preston was asked to tour with The Band in 1991. He did, but he was sentenced for cocaine and assault in 1991. That was the end of his ability to tour. In August, he was sentenced to 9 months in drug rehabilitation (in Malibu) and given 3 months of house arrest. In 1992 he was given 30 days in jail on another offense. There was a sex charge involving a 16-year old youth. (Think Kevin Spacey).

Preston’s intense for money to feed his drug habit became so great that he burned his own house down. When apprehended, he pled guilty to the $1 million insurance fraud and was ordered to prison and to pay $60,000 in restitution.

At this point, the film brings on the judge who sent him to prison, Bernard J. Kamins, a judge in Los Angeles District Court (who said it was his first interview in 80 years). The court appearance was in 1992. Billy Preston was 44 years old and had various probation violations. Although 7 (of 8) charges were dropped the judge felt that if the musician didn’t clean up his act, he’d soon be dead (the Mayo Clinic agreed.) He was sent to Avenol State Prison for a term that ended up being much less than the 4 years for which he was sentenced. However, his health—especially his kidneys—were failing.

BLOWS TO THE MUSICIAN

George Harrison, Billy’s great and good friend, died in 2001. (Preston participated in the Concert for George in November of 2002). His beloved mother Robbie died in 2005 (1917-2005). Even his good friend Eric Clapton said, “I had to let him go” (Clapton tears up after that comment).

Clapton was a kindred soul and wanted to help Billy heal from his addiction, but it wasn’t happening. Billy’s last session was with Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave). Randy Jackson (of “American Idol”) fame is seen in the footage. We also see Sam Moore and Billy Preston flanking Paul Shaffer on a “Letterman” gig. Preston appeared on one “American Idol” segment.

Billy Preston called his last manager and revealed that he had finally told the others in group therapy that he was gay, something he had refused to do his entire life. He lapsed into a coma four days later, dying on June 6, 2006, in Scottsdale, Arizona (site of a Mayo Clinic facility) at age 60.

CONCLUSION

As one of Preston’s oldest friends, interviewed onscreen said, “How did we let someone like Billy Preston slip away?” She added (to spontaneous audience applause), “Can you imagine if church was really what it says it is?”

Do yourself a favor and make it a double-feature night. Watch the Little Richard documentary (“Little Richard: I Am Everything”) and follow it with “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It.” The documentary is an absolute gem and extremely well-done.

TV Pilots Screen at SXSW 2024

By Connie Wilson

On March 11, 2024

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television, Texas

Six TV Pilots screened at SXSW 2024 on Sunday, March 10th. Here are descriptions of four of them.

“Tossers” TV pilot at SXSW.“Tossers” TV pilot featured a young girl applying for a job at two different pizza delivery services. Pizza Dome features a manager weird enough to drive Sophia from the joint and over to the competitor, Tossers Pizza. The overly attentive manager at Pizza Dome wants to give Sophia “the GT” or Grand Tour. He talks about Domeo & Juliet and hassles a working employee to make sure that there are exactly 13 pepperoni per pie. There is talk of “slinging some za.” A yellow Gremlin car has a prominent role when Principal Thomson of Salt Lake Middle School calls in to order 125 pizzas by 1 p.m. due to the hot lunch supplies having gone bad. The task seems insurmountable, but, thanks to the emergency run to Foodies to buy more Mozzarella cheese. The showrunners/screenwriters/directors were Chase Block and Bryce Van Leuven and it was dedicated the loving memory of Papa T. It had its moments. My favorite line came when Sophia (who is told she needs to work for free for two weeks as “a trial,” which is a scam to avoid paying the help) assists in delivering a pizza, riding shotgun on the back of a motorcycle. The elderly customer takes one look at her and says to her companion, “She looks slutty.” Sophia, in a perfect deadpan voice, responds, “I’m wearing a helmet.” A relatable concept well executed.

“Marvin Is Sorry” TV pilot at SXSW 2024.

“Marvin Is Sorry” was the story of 25-year-old YouTube influencer Marvin Weaver who accidentally kills one of his fans during the filming of a YouTube video. The stunt was part of Marvin Weaver’s Ice Cap Refreezing Project. The participants are trying to see who can hold their breath the longest underwater. [Having just watched “7 Beats Per Minute” about freedivers who make deep dives without oxygen by holding their breath for more minutes than kills Marvin’s non-winner, the choice of 6 minutes seemed too little.] Marvin, well-played with elan by Sam Song Li, is sorry, as the film’s title suggests—at least at first. Marvin has 35 million subscribers to his YouTube channel but now that is gone. He is told “No one with morals and a pulse wants you on his show.” Tag Taggart, a far right talk show host with 10 million watchers, however, does want Marvin to guest on the Tag Taggart Show. Pushed to near extinction by the backlash from the stunt gone wrong, Marvin finally gives in and makes an appearance on Tag Taggart’s show. Taggart, says the synopsis, is bent on “cultural domination.” The Tag Line is “life begins before conception.” Cinematographer was Ben Berkowitz. Director Clint Pang should have told his cinematographer that there are microphone booms visible in the upper left screen a lot of the time. The lead (Sam Song Li) saved the project with his personality.

“Neo-Dome” TV pilot screens at SXSW 2024.

“Neo-Dome” is a futuristic violent pilot about a woman traveling alone to the utopian dome on the horizon. It is a post-apocalyptic America, suffering economic collapse. Monica Dawes (Anna Camp) stops a car driven by Larry, whose shirt says Homestead Mechanic, his moronic sidekick, and what appears to be an old man asleep in the back seat (but is really a corpse). Monica tells the sketchy duo that she can give them a full tank of gas if they will give her a ride to her car, further down the road. The men are suspicious that Monica is not telling the truth and bargains back-and-forth with them, until things go South and bullets are exchanged. This Texas premiere was written by Matt Pfeffer and directed by Bonnie Discepolo. Producers were Anna Camp, Michael Johnson, and Matt Pfeffer. Cast was Anna Camp, Michael Mosley, Nicholas Logan, Anthony Discepolo. With only Monica still alive, one assumes that a series (of which this was the pilot) would involve other adventures that Monica would have on the road to the Neo-Dome, where the motto is “Trust no one on the road to the Neo-Dome.”

"Lucy & Sara" TV Pilot screens at SXSW 2024.

“Lucy & Sara” has Texas Premiere at SXSW on March 10, 2024.

“Lucy & Sara” – Showrunner/Director Screenwriter was Susan Park. Cast included Susan Park, Nicolette Morrison, Jeremy Joyce and Mark Holgate for this Texas premiere. The synopsis says it is “a darkly comedic exploration of two unlikely sisters learning to lean on each other after the death of their beloved father in spite of their seemingly toxic relationship.” It was really about one sister urging the other sister to commit suicide, as she seems to be under the impression that her sister is simply “crying wolf.” I once saw George Carlin do a stand-up bit about suicide. People were streaming for the exits. For me, suicide isn’t funny. Especially in today’s climate of girlfriends urging boyfriends (or vice versa) to “just do it” (and some have) the topic seems sketchy. I can’t recommend this one.

“Audrey” Has World Premiere at SXSW 2024

By Connie Wilson

On March 11, 2024

In Interviews, Local, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

“Audrey” at SXSW 2024.

First-time Australian feature director Natalie Bailey has crafted a tale of a dysfunctional family from a Lou Sanz script. It had its World Premiere at SXSW on March 10^th, 2024. The synopsis for the film : “Self-appointed Mother of the Year, Ronnie has given her daughter Audrey everything, so when Audrey selfishly falls into a coma, Ronnie has no choice but to keep their dreams alive by assuming her identity.”

BACKGROUND

Some background for what initially sounded like a comedy: Ronnie Willis Lipsick is the married mother of two daughters, Audrey and Norah. Norah, the youngest, has cerebral palsy. Audrey, the eldest, is a rebellious teenager who has a poor relationship with her mother.

Ronnie, portrayed by New Zealand actress Jackie VanBeek, won awards appearing as a young actress in “Jillaroo.” That was 18 years ago. Now, Ronnie seems to be attempting to live her life over through her daughter, Audrey. It isn’t going well.

Audrey (Josephine Blazier) , rather than appreciating her mother’s helicopter parenting, is a surly, sullen teenager with a bad attitude. Audrey’s rebelliousness brings comments from Mom like, “I don’t want you diddling away your time with boys,” Or, “The future is not something you find in the back seat of a car.” Audrey is fairly representative of 50% of American teenage daughters. (Trust me on this; I raised one).

AUDREY VERSUS NORAH

Norah and Audrey in “Audrey” (SXSW, 2024).

Audrey says things to her mother like, “You’re a shit actress, and you know it. You just quit before anyone else realized it.” Audrey also posts a video on her social media account ridiculing Mom that goes viral. It reduces Ronnie to tears.

Since Norah (Hannah Diviney) is confined to a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy, she is left alone by Mom. That may be why she comes off as the more likeable of the two sisters. Although Norah has her moments, as evidenced by her behavior when she sits bedside next to her comatose older sister in the hospital. Norah doesn’t express any affection for Audrey, even when encouraged by Mom.

Dad Cormack (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) initially seems to be almost a non-factor in the family dynamic. As the plot progresses, Audrey falls from the roof and ends up in a coma; (not sure I’d use the adjective “selfishly.”) Cormack’s part takes on surprising new dimensions beyond the role of grieving father. He seems to be sexually out-of-control, in a kind of creepy fashion.

THE GOOD

Lou Sanz’s script had some great lines. My own personal favorites were: “If there’s one thing your Mom can do, it’s make a killer lemonade,” and “I’m going to take care of you, like any good mother would.”

The cinematography by Simon Ozilin is equally good, especially in the climactic scenes when the camera cuts from Ronnie playing Medea onstage (“Oh, doomed children of an unloved mother…”) to what is going on back at the house between Audrey and her friend Max.

THE BAD

“Audrey” and Mom Ronnie in the Australian film “Audrey” at SXSW.

The adult Ronnie misrepresents herself as her teen-aged daughter at an audition. That presents obvious problems. For Ronnie, trying to portray ages 13 through 25 is a stretch. Initially, I thought this would be addressed with an all-out comic tone.

However, the plot, described as “an exploration of the human psyche” never really goes for funny. It goes for (more-or-less) serious with a few comic situations. Again, not sure I’d say someone “selfishly” fell off a roof, but that sort of adjective choice in the synopsis led me to think this was going to be a funny movie.

TONE

For me, the subject matter didn’t really go far enough in either direction. It’s either going to be a light-hearted examination of the mother/daughter relationship when the daughter is difficult (think “Lady Bird”) or it’s going to be a serious, touching drama that examines the statement, “We need to take the time to acknowledge that our lives aren’t always as we would wish.” (“American Beauty”). It tries to keep a foot in both worlds.

I was at a performance of George Carlin’s in Chicago when Carlin was performing a sketch about suicide. (In his defense, it was near the end of his career and his health was not good.) The attempt to make comedy out of such a serious subject did not work. It caused many in the audience to streak for the exits.

The resolution of “Audrey” has the same problem. Despite some great scripted lines from Lou Sanz, when I asked Director Natalie Bailey about the film’s tone, she responded, “Morally, you have to choose where you stand. “ An interesting position, which reminds of this line from the script: “The world’s a broken place these days.”

CONCLUSION

Audrey's parents at the hospital after she falls from the roof.

“Audrey” at SXSW 2024.

I could relate to the situation the film explores. I’m the mother of a teenaged daughter (and was once a rebellious teenager, myself). However, I couldn’t embrace Ronnie walking away Scott-free at film’s end. Just as the audience for Carlin found his comic premise unacceptable, while I enjoyed the acting and the expert execution by this first-time feature director (especially the finale), I was disappointed by the moral position the film chose to take.

Maybe the recent court case in my home town area where a mother was found to have stuffed the dead body of her elementary school-aged son in a trash can in the garage for months played into my moral position. To say it was shocking is putting it mildly. The resolution of that case (in Rock Island, IL) did not point to child abuse or murder, however, as the death itself seems to have been an accident that the mother was made aware of (child playing with gun) only after the fact. She wasn’t even home when it happened. Still, respect for life and protecting one’s child at all costs and—if the worst happens—providing a decent burial or decent treatment for the youngster seemed the least a parent (no matter how shocked or unprepared for the event) should do. Somehow, a different ending for this one seemed like a better (or more acceptable?) idea.

(Whatever happened to happy endings?)

“Resynator” Documentary at SXSW 2024 Showcases Electronic Music Pioneer

By Connie Wilson

On March 10, 2024

In Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

Director Alison Tavel.

Alison Tavel has directed a film about her father’s invention, the Resynator, one of the first synthesizers and a step forward into electronic music. Her father, Don Tavel, died in a car crash in 1988 when Alison was 10 weeks old. Don, a trailblazer in the field of electronic music, was, by all accounts, a genius in pioneering electronic music efforts.

Don Tavel began working on the Resynator at the age of 25, after graduating from the University of Indiana. Don played 17 different instruments, started the University of Indiana’s department of electronic music engineering in what a professor called “a seminal moment for music technology.” Don’s goal was to push the musical envelope and create a way for a musician to “play” or sing into the machine and have it electronically altered in a way that also retained some semblance of the musician’s input, unlike other synthesizers that simply mimicked the sound of a particular instrument.

Alison, who works for singer/songwriter Grace Potter, is involved in music herself, and, in the course of this journey back in time to attempt to discover who her father really was, she speaks with musicians like Kenny Aronoff (drummer for John Cougar Mellencamp), Peter Gabriel, Ornie McIntyre of the Average White Band, Butch Vig (Nirvana, Garbage), Money Mark of the Beastie Boys, Fred Armison, and Rami Joffee of the Foo Fighters. All her life, Allison had heard stories about her father’s encounters with famous artists like Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, and Paul McCartney. She had never known whether these stories were true or merely family legends.

The film starts out as a mystery about the electronic instrument Don Tavel invented. It was abandoned for 25 years and ended up stashed away in a box in Don’s mother’s attic in Indianapolis, Indiana. The discovery of this “lost Indiana Jones-like item” begins as a straightforward investigation. Utilizing old family film of her father and using voice-over, Alison shares the many positive stories about her award-winning father that she has been told over the years.

Then, things take a very different turn and the information shared with her by Don’s former friends, family and colleagues lead to a very different place—a place that is real, raw, and honest.

There are so many things about Don’s family that emerge and puzzle us. For instance, Don had an identical twin brother, R.J., but Allison has never met him. In fact, when Ron tells Alison, “When Don died, our Mom wrote me out of her life.” Who does that? Why does someone do that?

Investigating the Resynator electronic instrument.

Allison Tavel, Grace Potter, and Michael Tavel.

For the first time, Alison learns less-than-positive things about her genius father. His mercurial temperament had never been discussed before. Letters that Don left say things like, “I must not allow myself to ruin the last half of my life. I felt unloved my entire life…Instead of love, I got awards. I have never been able to make you love me.” These gut-wrenching peeks into the psyche of Don Tavel reduce Alison’s mother, Tamara, to tears at one point, and Allison herself ends up transporting the Resynator all the way to Minca, Columbia, and, later, to such venues as the Midwest Acoustics Conference and the NAMM show, where it was demonstrated in 1980, 44 years earlier.

We learn that only 2 completely workable Resynators reached the public, although there were 6 prototypes and 200 ordered, but not produced (3 by Peter Gabriel). Colleagues share stories of how Don seemed to lose enthusiasm for the project after a 1982 trip to London to demonstrate the instrument for Paul McCartney did not yield fruit. The friction between Tammy and Don is fully revealed to Alison for the first time; there are more questions than answers.

At various points, clever animation is used to fill in the story blanks. Danny Madden did a fine job with the animation, and the music, supervised by Chris Ruggiero, is excellent. Especially touching is audio of Alison’s father singing Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” at film’s end.

“Resynator” at SXSW 2024 on March 10, 2024.

This was a true revelation, as the synopsis doesn’t really reveal the revelations to come. Don Tavel crashed his car on November 28, 1988 and was declared brain dead at age 36 on December 3, 1988. Alison had just reached 2 and ½ months of age on September 14, 1988. By all accounts her life growing up with her mom and stepfather Alen Rosenberg, who entered her life in 1997, was idyllic.

The film is both enlightening, informative, and interesting on a psychological level. While it is true that tekkies might be less thrilled with the personal stuff, cut the one hour and 36 minute film some slack. It is a major achievement for this musician/filmmaker and it makes us hope that the Resynator will rise, Phoenix-like, from the ashes 35 years later and potentially achieve the acclaim that was denied Don Tavel during life.

“Lions of Mesopotamia” World Premieres at SXSW 2024

By Connie Wilson

On March 9, 2024

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture, Texas

Director of “Lions of Mesopotamia,” Lucian Read, one of the very best—if not THE best— documentaries at SXSW 2024.

One of the more riveting World Premieres of a documentary at SXSW was “Lions of Mesopotamia,” directed by Lucian Read. The film screened on Saturday, March 9^th, at 7:15 at SXSW. It outlines the victory of the Iraqi National Soccer Team at the Asia Cup in 2007, a win over Saudi, Arabia.

THE GOOD

More importantly, the win is referred to as “the Miracle of 2007.” It was definitely on a par with the U.S. hockey team Miracle on Ice victory over Russia in 1980. That was a tremendous and unexpected sports victory, but it didn’t take place against the backdrop of both an 8-long war (between Iran and Iraq) nor the March 20, 2003 invasion of Baghdad by George W. Bush. Civil insurrection then befell the war-torn country.

Iraqi National Team members, 2007.

Players from the original team speak about the overthrow of Saddam Hussein as we see the effect of the U.S. bombing (“Shock and awe”) of Baghdad. As the President of Jupiter Entertainment, which produced the film, Patrick Reardon said of the Iraqi team’s defeat of Saudi, Arabia in the Asia Cup Finals, “It’s quite possibly the most incredible heartfelt sports story that very few know.”

The players themselves describe how football (soccer) was “an escape in life for the Iraqi people.” As one commentator says, “Other than that, what else is there to make the Iraqi people happy?” One player describes how, after sanctions were imposed on the country by the U.S., he and his family had, literally, only one shirt to wear. It was worn by the player to his practices, by his sister to work, etc. It was the only shirt they owned. He says, simply, “Football was all I had…We were sanctioned, tormented and starving.”

There is some history of the vicious treatment of the national team members by Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday, who once made the team play soccer with a ball made of concrete, as punishment for not winning. The players describe receiving 10 lashes for a bad pass, 20 lashes for a yellow flag, being locked in “the red room” if their play was not up to the dictator’s standards.

Bombing of Baghdad, 2003.

Mashat Akram, a mid-fielder, is quoted, as are other players like Arwa Damon, Hawar Mullah Mohammed and their revered coach, Ammo Baba— a national figure in the sport who begged the occupying U.S. forces to give the country back its soccer field. The field had become a parking lot for U.S. tanks. U.S. envoy J. Paul Bremer did return the use of the soccer field to the Iraqi players. The result was a national team made up of Sunni, Shia and Kurdish players, the sons of sworn enemies battling in a bloody war, uniting their country in its darkest hour.

As the players relate, they were initially happy to see Saddam’s regime fall: “We wanted freedom, but we lost security.” Chaos reigned in the city, with blatant kidnappings, especially of soccer idols. Many players left the country as a result, but the team that was put together at the last minute and had only about 16 days to prepare under a new coach (he was only given a 40 day contract) felt that: “We all believed that the team was a symbol that the nation could follow.” After the regime fell, sectarian violence broke out in a civil war that caused the deaths of many. The players were almost ready to stop playing, due to the violence that occurred during celebrations of their victories. A mother who had lost a young son to violence sent the message, “I will not accept condolences for my son until the Iraqi team brings the cup home.”

That spurred the team on to victory. It reminded Iraqis that they are better together than apart. As one former player said, “The goal sparked joy in wounded Iraq.”

THE BAD

Tearing down of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad, Iraq in 2003.

There really is no “bad” to point out. It’s a tremendous film, emotional and inspiring. The footage of the fall of Baghdad is historic, including the infamous pulling down of the statue of Saddam Hussein. Eleven soccer players came together to heal their country when diplomats could not achieve unity.

Special mention should be made of the music (Mark Bartels and Jace Blayton), an underlying current of tension, culminating in a rap song that is part in English, part in the native tongue. The ending with a participant breaking down in tears over the import of the Asia Cup historic win is touching. The cinematographer (Adam Carboni) and editor (Lucas Harger) have done a great job in helping bring Director Lucian Read’s little-known story to the screen.

CONCLUSION

See “Lions of Mesopotamia” when it inevitably sells to a streaming service. It’s great! If you’re also a soccer fan, you’ll enjoy it even more. The historic significance should not be downplayed. It shows how George W. Bush’s decision to take us to war on two fronts during his terms in office did not help the U.S. win friends and influence people. As one participant says, “It’s horribly painful what’s happening in this country.” Many lessons can be learned about the need to stand united as a people, and not allow any country to devolve into destructive sectarian violence.

“An Army of Women” Profiles Sexual Assault in Austin, Texas on SXSW Opening Night

By Connie Wilson

On March 8, 2024

In Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Movies, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

Director of “An Army of Women” Julie Lunde Lillesaeter.

Norwegian director Julie Lillesaeter has directed a documentary about 3 Austin (Texas) women attempting to seek justice for their rapes or sexual assaults. Ultimately, the 3—Amy, Marina, and Hanna—join 12 other women in a groundbreaking federal class-action lawsuit. It is the first lawsuit to argue that sexual assault isn’t prosecuted enough, primarily because it is a crime that predominantly affects women. The plaintiffs also made clear that they were frequently not believed, despite proof that one perpetrator went on to assault 5 other people after raping one of the victims.

Three, in particular are highlighted: including Mary Reyes and Marina Garrett. Lawyers Jennifer Ecklund and Elizabeth Myers charged, in the original 2018 lawsuit, violations of survivors’ Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The women are shown addressing the Austin City Council about the failure to prosecute their cases in a timely fashion. One of the women had been fighting for justice for 15 years, since 2008. Their rallying cry: “We’re here to force change in a system that seems to be incontrovertibly broken.”

At the time, Norwegian director Julie Lunde Lillesaeter was living in Austin. It was 2019. She told Sarah Marloff (Austin Chronicle) “I was really shocked. I was naively thinking that when assaults happen, there’s a system in place to handle it properly, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. :When I learned about the lawsuit, I realized the system is really failing spectacularly. And there doesn’t seem like anyone in charge wants to fix it.”

THE GOOD

Lillesaeter felt the cause was worthwhile and that the David versus Goliath elements would spark European interest. She said, “I think it’s really hopeful, as serious as it is. It’s a sort of a story that show you can change systems. Even if it’s an Austin story, it feels very relevant no matter where you are.” The documentary has already sold in Germany, France and the Scandinavian countries.

Ultimately, the women persist and change the system, winning these concessions:

Enhanced training for police department and prosecutors.
Adding staff to the Austin Police Department sex crimes unit.
Notification of survivors about progress in ongoing cases.
Creation of a soft interview room.
Releasing data to the public about cases involving sexual assault.
Survivor involvement in policy decisions.

Each plaintiff in the case got $75,000 with $100,000 toward legal fees, and $4,670,000 was assigned for policy improvements.

The women’s group also targeted then District Attorney Margaret Moore and helped elect current Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza (who is currently running for re-election.)

THE BAD

“An Army of Women” at SXSW highlights failures in the Austin, Texas, system for prosecuting sex offenders.

The film is slow-moving. It primarily takes place in courtrooms and the 84 minutes move very slowly. Since that is the point of the lawsuit, perhaps that is appropriate.

When one of the women, Marina, was awarded $20,000 after years of struggle in courtrooms, she seemed extremely excited about how much money she would be receiving. Marina’s story involved her drinking on 6^th Street and being dragged into an alley and raped against her will. She said that the police did not believe her.

Even one of the lawyers said that she felt the amount ultimately awarded Marina was “pretty disappointing from a messaging standpoint,” despite the fact that Marina was exulting, saying, “I am so excited about the settlement.”

It seems clear that the Austin Police Department fell down on the job. The plaintiffs had high hopes that the new Travis County District Attorney (Jose Garza) would be a better listener and would do more in office to prosecute sexual assault than his female predecessor had done. (Recent ads during this primary election season run by Garza’s Republican opponents suggest failure(s) on Garza’s part in this department, but that would be standard operating procedure in elections.)

One of the plaintiffs (Hanna Senko) used a pseudonym at the outset of the film, calling herself Amy Smith, Victim #1. By the end of the film, she is willing to use her real name. Her case involved being drugged and date-raped by a man she knew. Difficult to know what the reasoning was for initially concealing her true identity. Marina Garrett, by contrast, began advocating for change back in 2016 when the city’s rape kit backlog made headlines. Several members of the Austin City Council also apologized to the women for how they had been not been believed and how long it had taken for justice to be achieved. Receiving an apology from the city was important to the women plaintiffs.

CONCLUSION

One reason the film seemed so long is that the subject matter is unwieldy. As Director Lillesaeter acknowledged, shaping the story into a concise narrative was a challenge. She said, “There’s so much more that could have been said…When you make a film like this, you have to make choices.”

It’s an important fight and it took too long a time for the long-suffering women to triumph, but the pace of this film also took too long a time.

“7 Beats Per Minute” At SXSW on March 8th, 2024: Cinematically Gorgeous

By Connie Wilson

On March 8, 2024

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

7 Beats Per Minute (Canada)

The documentary “7 Beats Per Minute,” helmed by Canadian/Chinese/Mongol director Yuqi Kang screened at SXSW on March 8^th, Friday. The director of “A Little Wisdom,” which was named the Best Canadian Feature and is available on Amazon Prime, has done a cinematically gorgeous job with this World Premiere.

The documentary tracks Chinese freediver Jessea Lu (Lu Wenjie) as she attempts to break the world record in freediving. Jessea Lu has won 15 Gold Medals in international competition. She seems to have a compulsion to go deeper and force herself “so close to death and close to the abyss.” Freediving seems less a sport than a compulsion to risk death. Jessea Lu trains herself to hold her breath for long periods of time and, during her world dive attempt, blacks out and is unconscious for nearly 8 minutes after reaching the surface. Her near-death experience causes her to return to the scene of what she later refers to as her “rebirth” in the Bahamas at the Blue Hole.

Every frame of this story of freedivers is like a stroll through a world class exhibit of paintings/photographs. The gorgeous cinematography is by a team of cinematographers (including underwater photography) supervised by Kalina Bertin and Alex Lampron. Filmmaker Yugi Kang followed Jessea Lu for five years. They became close. Yuqi seems to be trying to get Jessea Lu to answer the question, “What is this need to go deeper?”Jessea Lu’s near-death experience causes her to return to the scene of what she later refers to as her “rebirth” in the Bahamas at the Blue Hole.

THE GOOD

“7 Beats Per Minute” at SXSW.

The images in this documentary are phenomenally beautiful. They are absolutely striking. Whether it is Jessea Lu standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean or the moon through a dark, cloudy sky, every image is beautifully shot and framed. Visually, it is a gorgeous film. The original music (Frannie Holder, Mario Sevigny, Lauren Belec) and sound design (Sasha Ratcliffe) contribute to the film’s appeal with whale-like noises.

The question of what compels Jessea Lu to dive ever deeper is answered somewhat by her response that she feels the existence of herself shrinking when in the water. In the water she feels safe and content. She especially feels that way when surrounded by the safety divers who accompany a freediver to the surface. These safety divers saved her life in 2018 at the Blue Hole in the Bahamas.

THE BAD

There are characters who wander into frame and speak. There is no identification of who “Francesca” is. “Kirk” is onscreen making several questionable pronouncements, yet not really very well identified, either. We eventually figure out that Kirk runs the school to train safety divers.

Kirk makes several remarks that seem tenuous at best.

For one, he says that the critical point of hypoxia is getting to the surface, but, because of the safety divers, “it’s not having to worry about your safety.”

WHAT?

Just a few minutes later the dialogue onscreen (subtitles) remarks that “the tension is heavy and contagious” and that “fear is magnified.” Another Kirk pronouncement is “It’s absolutely a mental game.” I would agree that the diver’s mental state contributes to success or failure, but not breathing is much more a physical game than a mental game. The body fights for oxygen. During a deep dive like these, the diver feels that he/she is suffocating. That is physical, and not a “game” at all.

So, the gorgeous photography is breathtakingly beautiful. The attention to the details of who is speaking at any given moment: less impressive.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL

Jessea Lu and Yuqi Kang in “7 Beats Per Minute” at SXSW on March 8, 2024.

Naturally, the near-death dive in 2018 is the climactic high point of the film, providing its most dramatic moments. I found it odd that, after Jessea Lu nearly dies during her attempt at breaking the world record and lies there, on deck, unconscious for nearly 8 minutes, the film later shows the team celebrating that day as her “rebirth.”

Jessea Lu even changed her birth date on her social media platforms to reflect the day she almost died in the Bahamas. Jessea Lu operates much differently than I do in memorializing days when bad things happened to her. I have blocked out the exact dates of my parents’ deaths, because it is so painful to remember. Jessea Lu has embraced the date on which she almost died and celebrates it. We can argue that she DID live and, therefore, it is a happy day for her, but is it really?

Because Yuqi, the filmmaker, is constantly probing to find out what makes Jessea Lu tick, we learn much, much more about her potential motives for freediving. Jessea Lu recounts a first suicide attempt at the age of six.

Her mother and father split when she was young. Her mother told Jessea Lu when she was eight, that she would be better off if Jessea Lu were dead. Words that describe Jessea Lu are “lonely” and “heartbroken.” Jessea Lu says “I was always miserable growing up.” She describes verbal and physical attacks as a youngster and received no physical intimacy from her mother in the form of hugs, etc. Keep in mind that Jessea Lu is the product of China’s “one child” policy years, when boys were much preferred. Jessea Lu is describing a broken soul. She wants and needs someone to fill that void from her childhood. She wants to be able to do whatever she wants to do with someone 100% devoted to protecting her life.

It is this deep desire for autonomy, plus someone checking on her, someone in her corner, that motivates Jessea Lu. She convinces filmmaker Yuqi Kang to become her safety diver and dive with her in an out-of-the-way spot near the Blue Hole, out of competition. Yuqi will later question whether a line has been crossed between director and subject, saying, “I’m here to support you, but at some point it becomes too much.” The tone of voice reveals that there is (as we say in the U.S.) “trouble in River City.”

Much of the conflict within the film focuses on the relationship between the diver (Jessea Lu) and the filmmaker (Yuqi Kang). Yuqi says, “Perhaps I have become an intruder, emotionally stuck in a dark place…I feel stuck, but I move forward with Jessea Lu because we are a team.”

CONCLUSION

The film is so beautiful in its gorgeous imagery that the question of Jessea Lu’s emotional status doesn’t immediately emerge. We see Jessea Lu presented as a national TV star on Go Fighting, which is streamed to 10 million Chinese viewers, and celebrates Jessea Lu’s status as a Freediving Goddess.

Jessea Lu says that her goal in freediving (which she did not take up as a sport until the age of 30) is “to help myself have a more enjoyable life.” To survive her early psychological abuse, she learned to focus on surviving and not allowing her mother’s hurtful remarks to damage her—(although it obviously has). Yuqi has followed Jessea Lu’s exploits for 5 years. (It would be interesting to see whether the duo still have a friendship/partnership in 5 years’ time and, if so, what it is like.)

At film’s end, Jessea Lu (who says she has not seen her family members back in Changzhou, China for years) receives a message from her mother that acknowledge that “home should not be a war zone.” Jessea Lu has a PhD in Pharmacology, but she seems to need a Significant Other in her life. She lays out “20 years of the struggle in my heart” and frightens us with talk of how the ocean, like the amniotic fluid that sustains a child before birth, might be “beckoning forgotten children to return.”

But, by film’s end, she expresses a desire to “connect to the force of life,” to let “the natural flow of life force” dominate her future.

We wish her well as this outstanding 1 hour and 40 minute documentary concludes.