Rob here,

So it's been awhile since I've posted so I figured I'd write an update. So much has happened in the last two months and we are all excited with the film's progress. We are proud to announce that we won "Best Documentary Feature" at the Stella Artois Cinema STL Filmmakers Showcase, due largely to the enthusiasm of the fans that attended our sold out festival WIP(Work in Progress) debut.

The production of Give a Damn? over the last four years has been a roller coaster of accomplishment and disappointment which has tested our resolve on multiple occasions to complete the film that we set out to make.  There was a period of 3-4 months that I completely withdrew from the project due to frustration and the financial opportunity cost that were a byproduct of chasing our dream.  After watching the film with 440 people and receiving a standing ovation, I was overcome by a feeling of much needed closure and excitement. For the first time in many years I felt that sacrifice and struggle were finally overshadowed by success of the film. Dan and I were in attendance for this showing, however David was unable to attend because he was in Malawi working on his non-profit  "When The Saints".

Although Dan and I very much enjoyed the screening, it did not feel complete with David not in attendance.  Soon after the Tivoli screening, David returned to the country and now it is amazing to have had the full team present for the most recent screenings of the film.  Although we are all very different, we are starting to merge very well as a presentation team and the Q and A section of the film has been very strong because of that.

After years of begging the public to take notice, people are starting to pay attention and interest in the film seems to be exploding.  Although the film has not had it's official red carpet premiere, we are currently touring the WIP cut around the STL area at college and high school campus's.  The first two screenings at Washington University and Florissant Valley Community College were very well received and we are excited for the handful of dates that we have lined up in the next month or so. 

The other big news that I have is that we were excepted into Heartland International Film Festival as well as the St. Louis International Film Festival, taking place in October and November respectively.  Both are major film festivals (St. Louis is an Oscar qualifier) and needless to say we are extremely excited to be a part of these festivals.

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Have you seen “Up” yet?  I just came back from my second viewing and just in case you are wondering if all the glowing reviews you’ve been hearing are true, well, the answer is an unequivocal yes.  This film works is enjoyable on so many levels, it is sure to become a Disney/Pixar classic.  

 

What struck be watching this movie the second time around are the many layers present in this movie.  It’s an adventure movie that (mini spoiler alert ahead) touches on themes of life, death, loneliness, companionship, abandonment, greed, friendship, perspective, and priorities.  Not bad for a film that features talking dogs!

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Craig Detweiler: Summer 2009 Movies from CJ Casciotta on Vimeo.

And so we have the first grand film of 2009. I use the word “grand” because the reviewer’s usual fallback, “great,” is tossed around so carelessly these days as to lose all meaning. Up is no masterpiece, but it provides what most moviegoers secretly want: an unabashedly emotional experience. The high point hits early and lasts about five minutes. It comes in the form of a flowing montage of moments in the marriage of a pixie-ish redheaded girl named Ellie and a diffident, square-faced balloon seller named Carl Fredrickson, who will become the hero of the story. Set to a shamelessly heart-tugging Michael Giacchino score, it lands an emotional blow akin to an Acme-sized anvil drop. Movies are in a unique position to do this sort of thing, to compress and distill, “turning the accomplishment of many years into an hourglass,” to quote an obscure English playwright. It’s refreshing to see a mainstream movie—a family movie—step back and consider the long view of life.    

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