tagged w/ documentary short film
-
May 16th marks the 100th anniversary of Studs Terkel’s birth and an occasion to memorialize one of the most prolific writers and cultural critics in the history of Chicago letters. As an author, broadcaster and oral historian, legendary Chicagoan Studs Terkel celebrated the lives of ordinary Americans. Some of Terkel’s many friends and fans are hoping to return the favor with a series of events marking the 100th birthday of a man whose work is a chronicle of the 20th century.
The Studs Terkel Centenary, a group headed up by Terkel’s friends, including Chicago Tribune reporter Rick Kogan, on Saturday will rededicate the Division Street Bridge, which was named after Terkel 20 years ago. On Wednesday, The Newberry Library will host a birthday party featuring guest speakers who will share stories about Studs. Terkel’s friends will ensure that his memory lives on with a day of Studs-only programming on WFMT-FM on his birthday, with performances of passages from Terkel’s 2001 book “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” at Steppenwolf Theatre next week and by phoning in personal anecdotes about Terkel to a hotline set up by Chicago’s Hull House Museum.
This piece includes a number of photographs, an animated short and five documentary short films about the life and works of Studs Terkel.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/the-studs-terkel-centenary-chicago-celebrates-legendary-studs-terkel/May 16th marks the 100th anniversary of Studs Terkel’s birth and an occasion to... more
-
-
On Wednesday, President Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage in a television interview and took a definitive stand on one of the most politically charged social issues of the day. Includes photographs and a video of the interview.
“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Mr. Obama said in an interview that came after the president faced mounting pressure to clarify his position.
Public support for same-sex marriage is growing at a pace that surprises even professional pollsters as older generations of voters who tend to be strongly opposed are supplanted by younger ones who are just as strongly in favor. Same-sex couples are featured in some of the most popular shows on television, without controversy.
Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, called the president’s statement “a watershed moment in American history” that would aid efforts to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York said, “No American president has ever supported a major expansion of civil rights that has not ultimately been adopted by the American people, and I have no doubt that this will be no exception.”
Chad Griffin, the incoming president of the Human Rights Campaign, said that, “President Obama’s words today will be celebrated by generations to come. For the millions of young gay and lesbian Americans across this nation, President Obama’s words provide genuine hope that they will be the first generation to grow up with the freedom to fully pursue the American dream. Marriage, the promise of love, companionship, and family, is basic to the pursuit of that dream.”
This piece includes photographs and video of the interview.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/obama-publicly-endorses-gay-marriage-says-same-sex-marriage-should-be-legal/On Wednesday, President Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage in a television interview... more
-
-
“Before They Were Famous: Behind The Lens of William John Kennedy” is an extraordinary collection of images by the photographer William John Kennedy, which is currently on exhibition at the new gallery Site/109 in New York City. The collection presents a number of never-before-seen photographs of Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana, among them Warhol’s “Marilyn Monroe” and Indiana’s “LOVE,” taken by Mr. Kennedy in the mid-60′s when they were both just emerging American artists.
The fact that these early images of the two iconic American artists happened isn’t necessarily the exciting part. It’s that the amazingly early, naïve portraits of the artists with their own works were created before they were famous. These early images sat untouched for over 50 years, until Kennedy uncovered them within his archives and decided it was time to finally print this project.
This piece includes a number of photographs, a photo-gallery and two documentary short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/never-before-seen-photographs-of-the-young-andy-warhol/“Before They Were Famous: Behind The Lens of William John Kennedy” is an... more
-
-
“Toast to Freedom” is a music video dedicated to human rights activism around the world. Nearly 50 artists contributed to the video, celebrating Amnesty International’s 50th Anniversary. The basic tracks for “Toast to Freedom” were recorded at the legendary Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y. One of the last studio recordings by the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Levon Helm, it was also one of the closest to his heart.
The song continues a long relationship between Amnesty International and the creative community, which has helped spread the word of its mission almost from the start in 1961. Artists contributing to “Toast to Freedom” included: Levon Helm, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, Angelique Kidjo, Ewan McGregor, Saul Hernandez, Donald Fagen, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, Eric Burdon, Taj Mahal, Florent Pagny, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Birkin, Jimmy Barnes, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Mullins, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Gentleman, among others.
This piece includes a number of color photographs, as well as the “Toast to Freedom” HD music video, the “Making of Toast to Freedom” HD video and the “Toast to Freedom” (Long Version) HD music video.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/toast-to-freedom-a-celebration-of-amnesty-internationals-50th-anniversary/“Toast to Freedom” is a music video dedicated to human rights activism... more
-
-
Fred Hakim, last of the old-time Times Square hot-dog vendors, has died at the age of 83. Mr. Hakim’s family owned a hole-in-the-wall hot-dog counter in Times Square, which was the last of its kind when in the 1990s the city began condemning dozens of establishments like it in order to revitalize the area. The Grand Luncheonette was a seven-seat, 250-square-foot piece of Edward Hopper streetscape on West 42nd Street, which Mr. Hakim’s father had opened in 1941 and wryly named the Grand Luncheonette.
The Grand Luncheonette lived on 42nd Street for 58 years, grandly offering its greasy ambiance to the passing crowds in Times Square, proudly wrapped in shining chrome beneath the rotted marquee of the old Selwyn Theater. Mr. Hakim tried to keep the place open as a sort of living museum-like tribute to the golden age of Times Square’s hawkers, strippers and honky-tonks. But New York’s urban planners had other ideas, and after a two-year fight, he finally was evicted on Oct. 19th, 1997.
Writing about the demise of the Grand Luncheonette, a “New York Daily News” journalist pessimistically concluded: “This is bigger than 42nd Street, bigger even than the Disney Corp. This is about New York being colonized by The Gap and Banana Republic and Starbuck’s and all the rest. If new and improved Times Square is any indication, the standard for Italian cuisine will be the Olive Garden chain.”
This piece includes a number of photographs and the nostalgic, touching documentary short film, “Grand Luncheonette.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/the-grand-luncheonette-sadly-no-place-left-at-the-table-for-42nd-street-diner/Fred Hakim, last of the old-time Times Square hot-dog vendors, has died at the age of... more
-
-
Camilo José Vergara has spent more than thirty years documenting poor, urban and minority neighborhoods across the United States. His projects emerge from a large archive of images he has made since 1977 of the nation’s largest ghettos. His exhaustive research has taken him to Camden and Newark, New Jersey; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Gary, Indiana; Maine; New York; and Los Angeles. Vergara takes his camera to places plagued by the drug trade, and to neighborhoods filled with homeless shelters, prisons, and drug treatment facilities. He is a prolific photographer who continues to live in New York City. Vergara has been the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant.
Vergara describes his approach as interdisciplinary, using techniques from fields that include sociology, architecture, photography, urban planning, history and anthropology. He has focused upon the gradual erosion of urban neighborhoods by photographing the same structures repeatedly over decades in order to capture the process of of urban decay. The photography presented here is from Vergara’s project entitled “Invincible Cities.” He returned to the same intersection in Harlem and photographed the changes in one building for 38 years. The images create a composite, time-lapse portrait of one of New York City’s most vibrant and distinctive areas.
This piece includes a number of color photographs, a photo-gallery and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/invincible-cities-harlems-painted-lady-on-east-125th-street/Camilo José Vergara has spent more than thirty years documenting poor, urban... more
-
-
Levon Helm, legendary singer and drummer for the Band, died on April 19th in New York of throat cancer. He was 71. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his friends and bandmates, A very sad note signed by his daughter and wife had appeared Tuesday on the official website for multiple Grammy winner Levon Helm, the drummer-singer of the acclaimed and influential rock group, the Band. “Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer,” says the note. “Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey. Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration…he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage.”
Levon Helm had reached the final stages of his battle with cancer, which was first diagnosed in the late 1990s. He recovered, but it took him many years to recover his singing voice. At last Saturday’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland, former Band guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson told the audience, “We all need to send out love and prayers to my Band mate Levon Helm.”
Mr. Helm, a native of Arkansas whose father was a cotton farmer, was an important member of the Band, lending his steady beat and weathered voice to the group’s signature hit songs, such as: “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Weight,” “Rag Mama Rag” and “Daniel and the Sacred Harp." The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
This piece includes photographs, slide shows, two music videos and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/legendary-levon-helm-drummer-and-singer-of-the-band-dead-at-71/Levon Helm, legendary singer and drummer for the Band, died on April 19th in New York... more
-
-
A very sad note signed by his daughter and wife appeared yesterday on the website for Levon Helm, the drummer-singer of the acclaimed and influential rock group, the Band. “Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer,” says the note. “Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey. Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration…he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage.”
Levon Helm, the drummer and singer with the Band, has reached the final stages of his battle with cancer, which was first diagnosed in the late 1990s. He recovered, but it took him many years to recover his singing voice. At Saturday’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland, former Band guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson told the audience, “We all need to send out love and prayers to my Band mate Levon Helm.”
Mr. Helm, a native of Arkansas whose father was a cotton farmer, was an important member of the Band, lending his steady beat and weathered voice to the group’s signature hit songs, such as: “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Weight,” “Rag Mama Rag” and “Daniel and the Sacred Harp.” The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
This tribute to Levon Helm includes color photographs, a slide show, a music video and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/a-tribute-for-levon-helm-with-prayers-and-love/A very sad note signed by his daughter and wife appeared yesterday on the website for... more
-
-
On April 16, 2012, “Denver Post” photographer Craig Walker was awarded his second Pulitzer, The 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, for his photo-essay “Welcome Home: The Story of Scott Ostrom.” Previously, Walker had been named Newspaper Photographer of the Year in the Missouri School of Journalism’s Pictures of the Year International Competition for the collection of photographs he took over 27 months about soldiers engaged in the Iraq war, which included the stunning images documenting the struggles of PTSD sufferer Brian Ostrom.
After serving four years as a reconnaissance man and having deployed twice to Iraq, Ostrom, who is now 27, returned home to the U.S. with a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Since his discharge, Ostrom has struggled with the demands of daily life, from finding and keeping employment to maintaining healthy relationships. But most of all, he’s struggled to overcome his brutal and haunting memories of Iraq and his guilt for things he did and didn’t do, while fighting a war in which he no longer believes.
This piece presents a number of stunning color photographs, a photo-gallery and a very touching documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/welcome-home-the-story-of-scott-ostrom-awarded-2012-pulitzer-prize/On April 16, 2012, “Denver Post” photographer Craig Walker was awarded his... more
-
-
“Caine’s Arcade” is a sweet, heartwarming documentary short film by the award-winning filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, about a 9 year-old boy’s cardboard arcade. Young Caine Monroy built an elaborate cardboard arcade in the front room of his dad’s used auto parts store in a desolate industrial part of East Los Angeles. Eventually Caine’s Arcade grew in size, taking over almost the whole store, while his father sold auto parts on eBay in the back.
Day after day, Caine would set up his arcade and sweep the sidewalks in front, but the deserted street got almost no foot traffic, so Caine’s chances of getting a customer were very small. The few walk-in customers that did come through were always in too much of a hurry to get their auto parts to play Caine’s Arcade. But Caine never gave up.
One day, by chance, Nirvan Mullick walked into Smart Parts Auto looking for a used door handle for his ’96 Corolla. What he found instead was the elaborate handmade cardboard arcade manned by a young boy who asked if he would like to play. Mullick asked Caine how it worked, and he said that for $1 you could get two turns, or for $2 you could get a Fun Pass with 500 turns. Mullick got the Fun Pass.
Charmed by Caine and his arcade, Mullick asked Caine’s father if he could make a film about the arcade, and the answer was yes. But the father warned Mullick that Caine didn’t get many customers. “Well, actually, it’s kind of like a joke around here because you are his only customer,” he says in the film. But Mullick changed all that. In the film, Mullick explains how he decided to create a flashmob of people who would arrive at Caine’s Arcade eager to play some games. He created a Facebook event for the mob, which got posted on Hidden LA, and then got posted on Reddit, and suddenly people from around the world were lamenting that they weren’t able to go to Caine’s Arcade.
It’s worth watching the video just to see Caine’s reaction to the huge crowd of people lined up outside of his cardboard arcade, but we suggest you have a box of tissues nearby. When it was all over, Caine told his dad that it was the best day of his life.
In the past four days, millions of people have watched the short film. And if this story isn’t sweet enough, Mullick set up a scholarship fund for Caine, which has already raised more than $150,000.
This piece includes color photographs and the wonderful documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/caines-magical-cardboard-arcade-hits-150000-jackpot/“Caine’s Arcade” is a sweet, heartwarming documentary short film by... more
-
-
“New York Faces 1940-'50s” is a wonderful documentary short film created by filmmaker Leo Bar, a nostalgic piece that features the many “faces” of New York City, as seen while taking a ride on the now torn down Third Avenue Elevated Railway. Many of the vintage NYC images shown in the film were taken by the reclusive Vivian Maier, who was a nanny and street photographer in New York City and Chicago from the 1950-'90s. Other photographs were sourced from the New York Public Library. The music is “Hey Now” performed by Red Garland, released on “Red Garland Revisited!” (1957).
Enjoy the railway ride as it travels through the old neighborhoods of New York City!
This piece includes a number of black-and-white vintage photographs, a photo-gallery and the short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/a-ride-on-the-third-avenue-elevated-railway-new-york-faces-1940-50s/“New York Faces 1940-'50s” is a wonderful documentary short film... more
-
-
The ghostly Polaroids that filmmaker Jem Cohen has taken of New York City over the past 30 years remind him of “a sleepwalker’s view of the city.” The impressionistic images, filled with vaporous landscapes, acid colors, deadpan close-ups and long, lonesome vistas, could be said to capture those parts of the city its residents have forgotten, or even what the city has forgotten about itself.
The same can be observed about Mr. Cohen’s short films, “NYC Weights and Measures” (2006) and “Lost Book Found” (1996), which capture the lonely solitude that exists beneath the often deafening noise and frantic bustle of the city’s streets.
This piece includes a number of Cohen's color Polaroids, as well as two of his short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/the-lonely-ghosts-of-new-york-citys-past/The ghostly Polaroids that filmmaker Jem Cohen has taken of New York City over the... more
-
-
“Girl Walk // All Day” is the newly-released debut film from director Jacob Krupnick, a piece of visual art painted with the colors of New York City, where the residents don’t even blink when a seemingly goofy young woman in a windbreaker starts dancing like a crazy person right through a park in broad daylight. The twelve-act movie uses “All Day,” the latest album from Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis), as its narrative force. The music provides a deeply emotional soundtrack to 71 minutes of dancing, as the three main actors dance their way through New York, from the High Line to Central Park, to the subway, to Occupy Wall Street and back.
This piece includes a number of color photographs, an HD version of the full movie and the documentary, “A Day in the Life: Girl Talk.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/girl-walkall-day-an-infectious-urban-dance-marathon/“Girl Walk // All Day” is the newly-released debut film from director... more
-
-
“L’Odyssee de Cartier” is a dazzling 3 1/2-minute CGI short film directed by Bruno Aveillan, which was nearly two years in the making with a team of 50 people. The original score for “L’Odyssee de Cartier” was composed and arranged by renowned orchestrator Pierre Adenot and recorded at London’s legendary Abbey Road studios; special effects were created by Digital District.
The movie, showcasing standout creativity and innovation, centers around the iconic Cartier Panthere traveling around the world in search of inspiration. It comes to life after the lights go down in Cartier’s Paris flagship store and then takes an intricate CGI journey around the world, visiting Russian royals taking a horse-drawn carriage ride, then conversing with a dragon that becomes the Great Wall of China, and then encountering one of India’s famous roving palaces (on top of an elephant) before being flown back to France by Alberto Santos-Dumont, the aviation pioneer for whom the Cartier Santos wrist watch is named.
This piece includes a number of color photographs and the amazing HD-CGI short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/lodyssee-de-cartier-the-cartier-panthere-travels-the-world-searching-for-inspiration/“L’Odyssee de Cartier” is a dazzling 3 1/2-minute CGI short film... more
-
-
The Street Photography of Alex Webb: Sweet Home Chicago
“Photographs from the Streets of Chicago” is a wonderful video photo-essay, a collection of photographs by the acclaimed contemporary street photographer, Alex Webb. Unlike street photographers of the Chicago School (Callahan, Metzger, Sturr and Sterling), Alex Webb has chosen to photograph the city’s multitudinous character in color. Having spent most of his three-decades long career shooting outside of the United States, Webb turns his lens to Chicago during this very important election year.
This piece includes a number of color photographs and the HD video photo-essay, an exploration of Chicago and the Loop.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/the-street-photography-of-alex-webb-sweet-home-chicago/The Street Photography of Alex Webb: Sweet Home Chicago
“Photographs from the... more
-
-
The fleeting beauty of youth is captured in this spellbinding collection of raw, honest portraits of androgynous boys that documents the authenticity of youth, from London-based photographer Toyin Ibidapo. A tribute to the charged emotions of adolescence, Ibidapo’s first solo show “There’s No Such Thing as Perfect, But There’s Perfection in the Things We Love,” is currently on exhibition at the Doors Showcase Gallery in London.
Ibidapo is a fashion photographer who has collaborated with the late Alexander McQueen, super-stylist Nicola Formichetti and designer Kim Jones, as well as contributing to “Dazed & Confused,” “Arena Homme Plus” and SHOWstudio. The exhibition evolved from Ibidapo’s book “Cult of Boys,” which she describes as a “record of amazing moments and various chapters in my life as a photographer as well as the faces in this book. They represent themselves and they also represent me because it was my vision and they came into my world, some for years, others just once. But sometimes once is all you need, one photograph to remember a poetic moment forever. Seen through the eyes of the female gaze.”
This piece includes a number of mesmerizing color photographs, a photo-gallery and two richly creative musical documentary short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/poetic-moments-a-celebration-of-young-masculine-beauty/The fleeting beauty of youth is captured in this spellbinding collection of raw,... more
-
-
“Welcome to My Home” is delightful documentary short film by Kelsey Holtaway and Mark Cersosimo at Departure/Arrival Films. Anthony Pisano is a sweet old man who sits on the sidewalk and invites passersby to browse the contents of his East Village home, an amber-lit apartment-space packed with antiques, photographs, knickknacks, figurines and watch parts, which might easily be confused with a rummage sale or second-hand shop.
But nothing in the collections Mr. Pisano has built throughout his life is for sale. Instead, for Mr. Pisano, the benefit of living in his East Village storefront is that it offers him a chance to meet people. He leaves the front door ajar, and blasts Frank Sinatra music into the street. Passersby peer at his collection of unusual items, like a Bill Clinton doll on an antique model boat. “The New York Times” reported in 2010 that Pisano “estimates he gives away 10 to 12 trinkets every day.”
This piece includes colorful photographs and the wonderful documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/anthony-pisanos-east-village-apartment-a-home-for-the-heart/“Welcome to My Home” is delightful documentary short film by Kelsey... more
-
-
Update: "Welcome Home" has been named a winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize!
“Welcome Home” is a series of photographs about Iraq war veteran Brian Scott Ostrom, who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, by Pulitzer Prize-winning “Denver Post” photographer Craig Walker. Walker has just been named Newspaper Photographer of the Year in the Missouri School of Journalism’s Pictures of the Year International Competition for the collection of photographs he took over 27 months about soldiers engaged in the Iraq war, which included the stunning images documenting the struggles of PTSD sufferer Brian Ostrom.
After serving four years as a reconnaissance man and having deployed twice to Iraq, Ostrom, who is now 27, returned home to the U.S. with a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Since his discharge, Ostrom has struggled with the demands of daily life, from finding and keeping employment to maintaining healthy relationships. But most of all, he’s struggled to overcome his brutal and haunting memories of Iraq and his guilt for things he did and didn’t do, while fighting a war in which he no longer believes.
This piece includes photographs, a photo-gallery and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/welcome-home-soldier-the-story-of-scott-ostrom/Update: "Welcome Home" has been named a winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize!... more
-
-
“Decade of Nudes” is a beautiful fine arts video portfolio of nude photography by the German photographer Alexander Paulin. Since 1999, Paulin has worked as a freelance photo-designer in his studio near Hamburg, Germany. Paulin’s photography has been featured in a number of magazines, including “Playboy,” “Maxim,” “Stern” and “Photographie,” as well as in many books and calendars.
This piece includes a number of photographs, as well as the wonderful fine arts video portfolio.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/a-fine-arts-video-portfolio-decade-of-nude-photography/“Decade of Nudes” is a beautiful fine arts video portfolio of nude... more
-
-
Many years ago, during my time as a child and through young adulthood, I was immersed in the (sometimes solitary) lavish joys of nature in rural South Carolina. The memories of the steaming, dusty red clay roads and the smells of downstate piney-woods are now fading away, replaced by years of gritty urban life in Chicago’s inner-city. However, that doesn’t mean that now I’ve become completely blind to the beauty of rural landscapes. I just have to enjoy it from the comfort of a chair, in more climate-controlled conditions. So this video is pretty perfect for me.
“Yosemite HD” is an amazing four-minute time-lapse short art film, a collaboration between Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty. They made numerous trips to Yosemite National Park, where they captured the beautiful landscape it offers for visitors every year. Set to “Outro,” from M83′s lovely and stratospheric “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” this might be the best music video you could ask for. So stop whatever you’re doing right now, put this video in full-screen mode and breath very deeply during the film’s duration!
This piece includes colorful high-resolution photographs, as well as the exhilarating short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/look-homeward-angel-park-pretty/Many years ago, during my time as a child and through young adulthood, I was immersed... more
-
