Before Amazon and shopping online, mail order catalogs dominated the long distanced retail landscape. Buyers browsed pages for merchandise before purchasing. Specialty catalogs rose from the advent of targeting certain customers. International Male was one such catalog. The menswear label from INTERNATIONAL MALE launched in 1976 from a beach shack in San Diego. Founder Gene Buckard’s homoerotic masculinity vision of fashion became an instant success. An aspirational fantasy of gorgeous men with a six packs covered the pages.
Writer Peter Jones and directors Byran Darling and Jesse Reed document the story of the rise and fall of a once trend setting catalog. ALL MAN-THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY is fun to watch for the nostalgic feeling of getting a fun piece of mail.
ALL MAN-THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY was screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. From Giant Pictures. Running time is 83 mins. Available on digital platforms June 6th.
The New York City Film Festival unspooled its usual cinema fair of polished works by filmmakers from around the world. The mixture of physical and virtual continued this past June for ten days.
God Said Give Em’ Drum Machines is the story of how a sound was created in the Detroit music scene. Check out the Chat Cinema interview with director Kristian Hill.
McEnroe, director Barney Douglas’ story of the legendary “Superbrat” John McEnroe is a compelling documentary on a great tennis star. A humanising portrait of a man coming to grips with his illustrious yet troubled past.
Story of Bones
All Male-The Story of International Male
All Man-International Male Story from Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed is for anyone who remembers the sensual if not soft porn International Male Catalogs of the 80’s and 90’s. From humble beginnings flying by the sit of the pants to global success the documentary charts the raise pages sent to men all over the world.
Britain has always considered itself on the moral side of the Slave Trade having abolished the institution in 1807. The Story of Bones by Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey de Vere asks many unsettling questions about the country’s role with the treatment of human cargo. The effects of this are felt today on the isle of St. Helen.
Leave No Trace has generated a large amount of trace. Rightfully. Watching Irene Taylor’s devastating accounts of sexual abuse cover up in the Boy Scouts of America left me raw. For decades the civic organization knew their All American Clean image was a cover for attracting sexual predators. Anger, regret, sadness with a lost of trust combine to make this powerful documentary a raw emotional watch.
Leave No Trace Sophia
Sophia is Timely
Google whistleblower told the world the tech giant has an AI sentient, a shutter went around the world. So happens at this time I screened Sophia. A passionate inventor or mad scientist, Jon Kasbe and Crystal Moselle’s documentary on David Hanson is a character study of a brilliant man on a mission to change the way we interact technology.
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady took a high morale approach to the documentary work Endangered. Produced by Ronan Farrow, the 4th Estate is under global threat. I can’t say I 100% liked this slickly produced myopic morality tale on journalism considering with public distrust of media at an all time high. Grady and Ewing never why? Frankly, YouTube commentators taking a stand against news censorship are more interesting than this victimhood tale.
The Belgium dark comedy Employee of the Month by Veronique Jadin gets a mention. Who does’t want to kill their work colleagues? Ines, played by Jasmina Douieb, answers the question further.
Check out our Chat Cinema Podcast for news, interviews and reviews regarding filmmaking.
Tribeca Enterprises was founded in New York in 2001 by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro. Its accompanying Tribeca Film Festival has since been promoting emerging film talent. Sections include: Premieres, Gala Events, US Competition, Online Premieres, and International Competition. Furthermore, the Shorts section includes Narrative, Documentary and Animations, and this year comprised 53 entries.
Chicken
The World Premiere of Chicken concerns a 16-year-old boy serving time in a Bronx juvenile prison. Faced with losing custody of his child, he discovers fatherly duties through raising a chicken. Director Josh Leong’s film is very engaging, well-acted, and with feature-film potential. It also highlighted a perhaps overlooked subject of the lives of juveniles in prison.
Another World Premiere, also set in New York, was Fraud, directed by Zen Pace. A transsexual rock singer is searching for her place in the world and companionship. She also has a parallel existence committing petty credit card fraud. But when her latest subject makes a surprising offer, she reconsiders her life. Fraud emerges as a deceptively profound drama.
The Letter Men, directed by Andy Vallentine, was also a World Premiere at Tribeca. Continuing the LGBTI theme, it is based on real love letters from WWII. This untold story is of two gay men torn apart both by war and the law.
LetterMen
The UK entry Pragma, by Ellie Heydon, also had its International Premiere at fest. This perhaps prophetic film concerns a first School for Relationships. Willow’s dilemma is whether to trust science or her heart.
Pragma
There is certainly originality in the premise and a twist in the plot. However, the futuristic approach to love and romance is clinical and ultimately suspect here.
Another UK film receiving its North American Premiere was Fireworks, by Paul Franklin. Set in an MI6 Ops Room, this tense thriller uses Virtual Production technology well. The characterization has potential, but the petty squabbling (and expletives) is a little overdone. This reduces Fireworks to soap opera level, implausible for an institution like MI6.
Mohammed Saffouri’s US-Jordan production Touchline also received its North American Premiere. During the 1948 occupation of Palestine, 17-year-old Ahmad is chosen to represent the national football team. However, the Israel conflict means his family have to leave their home, his dreams shattered. A touching and poignant period film, it is just as relevant today.
The UK-Nigeria produced Point and Kill is Smuggler director Ebeneza Blanche’s music video. It portrays Brit Award Winner Little Simz exploring her Nigerian roots. A representation of proud heritage and customs make the effect very authentic. The video, also having its New York Debut, features fellow Nigerian singer Obongjayar.
Alison Roberto’s satirical horror Girls Night In is another New York Premiere. However, the award-winning Director and Creative Director seems to have fallen short here. Based on the Bechdel test, two friends have to deal with a crazed intruder. With allusions to films like the Scream series, the tension ultimately becomes nauseating.
Tribeca Film Festival was held from June 8th to June 19th 2022 in New York City.
~ By Steven Yates
Check out the Chat Cinema Podcast on our YouTube Channel.
In the shorts category, I watched some small works worthy of attention.
The Resemblance from Derek Nguyen goes into “Black Mirror” Territory with a story on grief.
Mooptopia from Delany Buffett takes on the shallow fleeting meaning of social media fame.
Five O listed many directors: Ismaïl Alaoui Fdili, Yassine Lassar Ramdani, Elsie Otinwa, Florence Fauquet, Ming Fai Sham Lourenço, Eloise Monmirel. A White Savior story mixed with Opera set in Paris.
Triggered from Tara Westwood brings home the gun debate in hard hitting way.
At the Tribeca Film Festival this year there were the obligatory premieres. Despite the natural anticipation some program choices were questionable. Take for example the Wyatt Rockefeller directed Settlers. For its world premiere at Tribeca, expectations were good. After all, it is a Sci-Fi Western film from a debut director with an interesting cast.
“Johnny Lee-Miller was seemingly performing a Masterclass in non-acting.”
Settlers
The Storyline in a Nutshell
As the narrative limps forward, a group of bandits fail in their attack on the family outpost. However, one bandit called Jerry survives and kills Reza. Showing no remorse, he attempts to integrate into the family, attempting to prove himself. Although Ilsa somewhat warms to him, after thirty days she tries to shoot him. Jerry will then kill her in the ensuing struggle.
After losing her parents, the film becomes the survival story of Remy. We watch her do this in the face of predatory men. She learns this was the dark secret her parents kept from her. Remmy resents Jerry’s presence and grows up sullen and rebellious. Her only true friend is the loyal but mute robot, called Steve, found in a storage unit.
Settlers is a seemingly ambitious film. Setting it on Mars is high concept. The problem is that this Mars looks exactly like a studio. Perhaps that’s the point: A seemingly fascinating distant world does disappoint. It is a wasteland, a primitive but bland year zero.
The only commendable points of Settlers is that it does have its own unique atmosphere. Brooklynn Prince then later Nell Tiger Free (as the older Remmy) also give stand-out performances. It’s also interesting to see her grow from child to young woman. These positive aspects could have made Settlers a quietly impressive piece of work. However, the other actor’s hammy performances let the film down.
Settlers premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on 18th June. It was released on 30th July on digital platforms.
Filmmaker Alton Glass could have gone the easy way to make his film POV:Points of View, but decided to push filmmaking technology to a new realm. For some, the future will have the same choices as the present and past.
The interview with Mr. Glass.
Director Alton Glass
Are you a futurist/technologist?
I enjoy both but I’m just a Storyteller using technology to prototype and reimagine the future.
You used state of the art cinema technology to tell an all too familiar story, is this irony?
Yes irony on many levels. I’ve learned narratives and algorithms are essentially the same thing. The impact and evolution of both can be beneficial or detrimental in many ways.
In your vision of the future, should citizens be concerned about the state?
Citizens should be aware and examine what’s happening with the state so you have agency at all levels where your civil liberties can be impacted.
What attracted to you filmmaking? Was there a particular film or director?
Robert Townsend and Michael Shultz who made Five Heart Beats and The Last Dragon. I fell in love with how they captured characters and their journey of growth. I love discovering the hidden gifts that we often don’t know was inside us all this time when you thought you were not enough no matter what time in your life. We create reality and I enjoy seeing those ups and downs as that power unfolds on screen or in any medium.
How will VR influence filmmaking?
I’ve heard the term Story living by Vicki Dobbs Beck at ILM and I think there’s a convergence of the two worlds of traditional filmmaking and immersive technology that will evolve into something special. I’m still learning so the influence and reward I see now is challenging storytellers to think outside the frame and understand the richness of a multi dimensional world. VR takes you from filmmaking to literally world building.
It might not be my generation who brings VR to it’s fullest potential but I’m happy to plant the seed and see where diverse voices will take immersive storytelling in the years to come.
POV:Points of View screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. Running Time: 16 Minutes
When I saw this film on the Tribeca Film Festival Schedule. I put it on my list. Bitchin:The Sound and Fury of Rick James tells the story of a Funk Master Rick James from the highs and lows.
