Thomas Edison's familiar dictum "genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration certainly applies to the craft of movie-making, and the proof is in a wonderful, aptly titled low budget, independent documentary about the trials and tribulations of low budget, independent filmmakers. Director Doug Block followed three hopeful filmmakers while they tried, with mixed success, to market their just-completed features: a TV-style, slice-of-life drama (which will eventually play for three weeks in the director's Illinois hometown, opposite 'Rambo III'); A grim non-fiction account of the Beirut Civil War (winner of awards around the world but box office poison); and a wacky comedy from Spokane, Washington, which the three co-directors attempt to sell using a variety of desperate promotional gimmicks. Each story offers a valuable lesson in perseverance and disillusionment, showing all too clearly the pitfalls of the creative process: low rent distributors, public indifference, and financial embarrassment. Block's film, on the other hand, is an unqualified winner: it's entertaining, instructive, and likely to cure anyone of the urge to go out and make a movie.
