Sweethearts Of The Prison Rodeo
Filmmaker Brad Beesley (The Fearless Freaks, Okie Noodling) presents a rare look into the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo, which has been held annually since 1940. Part Wild West show and part coliseum-esque spectacle, the rodeo offers prisoners a brief respite from the monotonous day-to-day of penitentiary life. Inmates compete on bucking broncos and raging bulls to the applause of both the public, and prison guards.
In 2006, prison officials decided to take the previously male-only event and open it up to the female inmates. Beesley chronicles four female inmates as they compete along-side their male counterparts in what can only be likened to a modern take on the gladiator games of yore.
New York Times Critic’s Pick Sweethearts Of The Prison Rodeo has been garnering praise since it made the rounds in the festival circuit. Filmmaker Magazine described the film as “Honest, moving and uplifting”, and A.
Filmmaker Brad Beesley (The Fearless Freaks, Okie Noodling) presents a rare look into the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo, which has been held annually since 1940. Part Wild West show and part coliseum-esque spectacle, the rodeo offers prisoners a brief respite from the monotonous day-to-day of penitentiary life. Inmates compete on bucking broncos and raging bulls to the applause of both the public, and prison guards.
In 2006, prison officials decided to take the previously male-only event and open it up to the female inmates. Beesley chronicles four female inmates as they compete along-side their male counterparts in what can only be likened to a modern take on the gladiator games of yore.
New York Times Critic’s Pick Sweethearts Of The Prison Rodeo has been garnering praise since it made the rounds in the festival circuit. Filmmaker Magazine described the film as “Honest, moving and uplifting”, and A.
- 9/17/2010
- by bret
- OriginalAlamo.com
Summercamp!
Argot Pictures
NEW YORK -- If Frederick Wiseman ever decides to make a film about sleep-away camp (and employed the services of a judicious editor), the results would be somewhat akin to this documentary directed by Brad Beesley and Sarah Price. Chronicling the experiences of several among about 90 kids summering at the Swift Nature Camp in northern Wisconsin, Summercamp! is perhaps a film only a mother could love.
That's because, sad to say, the adolescents on display in this casually (to say the least) paced film are simply not terribly interesting. Yes, they have their quirks to be sure: Cameron, overweight and a mother's boy, has some serious personality issues; Spencer, the intellectual geek of the bunch, spends his spare time reading Tom Clancy thrillers; 9-year-old Holly is obsessed with chickadees, etc.
Ultimately, though, they're just your typical misfit kids, and the film's minute depiction of their day-to-day experiences fails to sustain attention. Perhaps if their counselors had included one or two memorable characters, the film might seem something more than an extended home video. But despite its brief, 85-minute duration, "Summercamp!" spanning three weeks in the lives of its subjects, seems to be taking place in real time.
The film's soundtrack includes numerous Flaming Lips songs, thanks to the fact that co-director Beesley is a longtime collaborator of the acclaimed band.
"Summercamp!" recently played an exclusive engagement at New York's IFC Center before opening in select cities this summer and in the fall.
NEW YORK -- If Frederick Wiseman ever decides to make a film about sleep-away camp (and employed the services of a judicious editor), the results would be somewhat akin to this documentary directed by Brad Beesley and Sarah Price. Chronicling the experiences of several among about 90 kids summering at the Swift Nature Camp in northern Wisconsin, Summercamp! is perhaps a film only a mother could love.
That's because, sad to say, the adolescents on display in this casually (to say the least) paced film are simply not terribly interesting. Yes, they have their quirks to be sure: Cameron, overweight and a mother's boy, has some serious personality issues; Spencer, the intellectual geek of the bunch, spends his spare time reading Tom Clancy thrillers; 9-year-old Holly is obsessed with chickadees, etc.
Ultimately, though, they're just your typical misfit kids, and the film's minute depiction of their day-to-day experiences fails to sustain attention. Perhaps if their counselors had included one or two memorable characters, the film might seem something more than an extended home video. But despite its brief, 85-minute duration, "Summercamp!" spanning three weeks in the lives of its subjects, seems to be taking place in real time.
The film's soundtrack includes numerous Flaming Lips songs, thanks to the fact that co-director Beesley is a longtime collaborator of the acclaimed band.
"Summercamp!" recently played an exclusive engagement at New York's IFC Center before opening in select cities this summer and in the fall.
- 7/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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