Big Night Out
Posted on 21. Jul, 2009 by nedthorne in War on Terror
So what happens after a shoot? In Tel Aviv? Well, since “Reporting for Duty” began in a bar, it was fitting for it to end in a bar. Happily, IDF reservist and full-time actor Ronen Hershkovitz took the responsibility of making sure we went to the right place–Nanuchka.
We Picked A Winner….
Posted on 21. Jul, 2009 by michelemitchell in War on Terror
Literally! Our own Michal Zilberman, director/writer/camerachick for our debut documentary, “Reporting for Duty,” has won the 48-hour Movie competition in Israel. It is, as you might imagine, a contest that, well, involves making a movie in 48 hours (we have it here in the U.S., too). Zilberman’s film now moves to the international competition, which will be held in Las Vegas in April.
Michal Zilberman (r), winner, on location with Michele Mitchell (l), non-winner, and clearly bossing her around.
And now, the West Bank….
Posted on 20. Jul, 2009 by michelemitchell in War on Terror
On Friday, “NOW” on PBS ran an excerpt of a film the talented Michal Zilberman did. We were delighted to read the responses on the “NOW” message boards, where we found ourselves to be beloved.
What’s our response to the response? Check out our new episode of “Political Graffiti,” where we start with Gaza and finish with the West Bank settlements.
Coffee in Hebron with Wahid
We Have So Totally Been Here Before—
Posted on 15. Jul, 2009 by michelemitchell in Economy, Middle Class Crunch
So the budget deficit has hit $1 trillion and the Ds and the Rs are blaming each other. Sigh. Sadly for them, some of us here at Film@11 worked on Capitol Hill in the late 1990s, when balancing the budget was all the rage. We remember when…and we think they do, too, even if they’re claiming amnesia now.
Our second episode of “Political Graffiti” takes ‘em on, econ-style, and we’ve got some people with very long memories in it.
http://blip.tv/file/3401728
It All Began in a Little Bar in Tel Aviv….
Posted on 14. Jul, 2009 by michelemitchell in War on Terror
Two years ago, we had the pleasure of meeting a talented film director named Michal Zilberman. She took us to what turned out to be a drag bar, but hey–it had atmosphere. And at some point the conversation turned to the 2nd Lebanon War, and what had happened with the IDF reservists.
We said, “What a great topic for a movie!”
She said, “But everyone already knows about this here.”
And we said, “No one knows about this in the U.S.”
That was how we started down the long and…interesting…path of our first production, “Reporting For Duty,” which will be excerpted this Friday, July 17, on “NOW” on PBS (check here for airtime).
Hurray for State Governments!
Posted on 03. Jul, 2009 by michelemitchell in Economy, Middle Class Crunch
We rubbed the sleep from our saggy little eyes–we’ve been diligently working to bring you an exciting film from the Middle East–and in our jet-lag haze we had to rub twice when we saw this. Reason cited by (former) Governor Palin is that she can help to “fight for our state” from outside the governorship.
Now, usually, politicians who feel the call to civic duty believe the very best way to do so is to serve in elected office, not out. We here at Film@11 don’t like to speculate, so we’ll take (former) Governor Palin at her word. And we’re wondering how many more governors, facing major problems of their own, might take a cue from her and follow suit. After all, perhaps Illinois won’t need to raise income taxes by 50 percent if Gov. Pat Quinn steps down and, say, signs a talk show deal with all proceeds, say, going towards the state deficit. And what about New York–just move some cameras into the state house, and package up a reality show to chronicle a mass resignation, with the money paying down the expense of their nasty skirmish alone ($10,000 a day).
Sigh. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming–the Middle East, which, oddly, is much more relaxing to discuss these days than our own states.
Well Here's An Excellent Idea…
Posted on 02. Jul, 2009 by michelemitchell in Middle Class Crunch
California–the home state of one staffer here–is now issuing IOUs to to vendors and those taxpayers unlucky enough to be waiting for their income tax refunds.
Some of you might recall that California used to be the nation’s richest state–now, it’s got the worst credit rating in the country thanks to a $24 billion deficit. Some blame goes to the governor and the state legislature, which can’t seem to play competently (or nice). And some of the blame goes to Californians themselves, who never saw a tax cut proposition they didn’t support.
You might be thinking, “Well I don’t live in California. Good luck, suckers!” But you shouldn’t. Not because it’s bad manners, but because there are several other states–maybe even yours–that teeter on the brink of fiscal destruction, too.
Enjoy the weekend!