The Arts: Film

The Sound of Crickets at Night

Doane Perry — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:37:53 +0000

Hi Everyone,

We have had some very exciting news in the past few days. Our new feature length Marshallese film, “Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ” [The Sound of Crickets at Night], will be the opening night film for the Moondance International Film Festival in New York City. The film will show at 7 PM on Friday, September 14 at the Tribeca Cinemas located at 54 Varick Street in Manhattan. The film won the “Moondance Atlantis Award” for Foreign Feature Films.

The film is also an Official Selection for the Guam International Film Festival and is scheduled to be shown in Guam on Saturday, September 29. The exact time will be announced later. Last year our film, “Lañinbwil’s Gift” won “Best of Festival” in Guam, quite an honor for us. On top of that, the festival was very well run, we had a great time and met a lot of wonderful people from all over the Pacific.

Our film will open here in the Marshall Islands at the Marshall Islands Resort on September 7 with showings at the following times:

Friday, September 7: (Private showing at 6pm for cast, families & friends) then 8pm and 10pm for public
Saturday Sept. 8, 2012: 4pm, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm
Sunday Sept. 9 2012: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm

Friday Sept. 14, 2012: 6pm, 8pm and 10pm
Saturday Sept. 15, 2012: 4pm, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm
Sunday Sept. 16 2012: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm

The website for the film is here:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/Crickets.html
The trailer for the film is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJl2a26b1vM&feature=share

Again, many thanks to all those who have helped us along the way!

Jack Niedenthal & Suzanne Chutaro
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
PO Box 3131
Majuro, MH 96960
Phone: (from U.S.) 011-692-625-3177
Fax: (from U.S.) 011-692-625-3330
Cell: (from U.S.) 011-692-455-3177
E-mail: bikinijack@gmail.com

The Sound of Crickets at Night

Doane Perry — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:40:11 +0000

Dear All,
I am happy to announce that Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands is nearing the release of our 4th Marshallese language feature film, Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ (The Sound of Crickets at Night), which is a story about a family of nuclear exiles from Bikini Atoll living on Ejit Island. We are hoping to screen the film here in Majuro during the month of September. The exact dates will be announced later.

I have included a lot of people on this email who have either indirectly or directly helped with our film and/or our learning process along the way, so we thank you!

Enjoy the trailer. The music is an original composition by Nelu Debrum sung by Nelu Debrum, Lulani Ritok, Joseph Katjang and Jorkeim “JB” Bunglik.

Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ (The Sound of Crickets at Night) trailer:
http://youtu.be/SJl2a26b1vM

Sincerely,

Congratulations to Jack Niedenthal

Doane Perry — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:13:13 +0000

130 films, 24 countries, our Marshallese film, Lañinbwil’s Gift, won Best of Festival at the Guam International Film Festival on Sunday, October 2.

Malawi film Bush League looks at the lives of four villagers

Doane Perry — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:54:07 +0000

Cy Kuck
Hello all, my film Bush League which features a PCV in Malawi is now available on DVD at http://cysfilm.com/store/

Thanks,
Cy (PC Lithuania 00-02)
Store
cysfilm.com
Bush League is a character driven ethnographic survey of a tiny village in Northern Malawi. Intimate dramas unfold in the lives of four villagers who are all members of the local soccer team.

3rd Marshallese feature film, Lañinbwil’s Gift, won Best International Feature Film at the 4th Annual Columbia Gorge International Film Festival in Vancouver, Washington

Doane Perry — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:59:34 +0000

Hi Everyone,
I happy to announce that last night our 3rd Marshallese feature film, Lañinbwil’s Gift, won Best International Feature Film at the 4th Annual Columbia Gorge International Film Festival in Vancouver, Washington. In this festival there were over 300 films from 40 countries, so this is truly a great accomplishment for all of us who have worked so hard on these films over the past 4 years in an attempt to show young Marshallese people that their lives are worthy of exploration in film.

Today at the festival they will show all the winning films, so if you are in the Portland, Oregon area, our film is the last featured film on the schedule and will be shown at 6:30 PM at the Kiggins Theater on 1011 Main Street. I have included a lot of people on this email list who have helped Suzanne Chutaro and I over the past 4 years in the making of our films–you know who you are. I just wanted to take this time to thank you all for the encouragement and support. Kommol.

Sincerely,

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org/
PO Box 3131
Majuro, MH 96960
Phone: (from U.S.) 011-692-625-3177
Fax: (from U.S.) 011-692-625-3330
Cell: (from U.S.) 011-692-455-3177
E-mail: bikinijack@gmail.com
Ña Noniep (I am the Good Fairy) (2009) website:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/NaNoniep.html
Yokwe Bartowe (Poor Bartowe) (2010) website:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/YokweBartowe.html
Lañinbwil’s Gift (2011) website:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/Laninbwil.html

Jack Niederthal Film Wins Award

Doane Perry — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:11:52 +0000

It was just announced that our latest Marshallese feature film, “Lañinbwil’s Gift,” won BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM at the Hawaii Ocean Film Festival, named one of the “20 Coolest Film Festivals in 2010″ by Moviemaker Magazine. Our movie, released in May of 2011, stars Iohaan Anjolok, Lulani Ritok, Netha Gideon, Lyel Tarkwon, Wyre Kimej, Martha Horiuchi, Randon Jack and Maxter Tarkwon and was directed and produced by Jack Niedenthal and Suzanne Chutaro.

“Lañinbwil’s Gift” website:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/Laninbwil.html

“Lañinbwil’s Gift” Preview Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGCp2ht5FEM

Moviemaker Magazine article re Hawaii Ocean Film Festival
http://www.moviemaker.com/festivals/article/20_coolest_film_festivals_2010_20101201/

July Announcement of Winners at HOFF
http://www.hawaiioceanfilmfestival.org/2011winners.html

Our film is also an “Official Selection” at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival in Vancouver, Washington and will be shown at that festival next month.
http://www.angaelica.com/festivals/cgiff2011/

Sincerely,

Asia Pacific Screen Awards Selects Yokwe Bartowe

Doane Perry — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:17:07 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Those involved with the Marshallese full-length feature film Yokwe Bartowe
are proud to announce that it has been named as an Official Selection for
the Asia Pacific Screen Awards which takes place in December on the Gold
Coast of Australia.

Yokwe Bartowe will be having its US debut next week at the Big Island Film
Festival in Hawaii.

Asia Pacific Screen Awards
http://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/

Big Island Film Festival:
http://www.bigislandfilmfestival.com/

For more information about our film:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/YokweBartowe.html

Sincerely,

Yokwe [Poor] Bartowe DVD is now for sale

Doane Perry — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:12:05 +0000

Hi Everyone,
The Yokwe Bartowe DVD is now for sale online for only $7.99 (price includes
shipping):
https://www.bikiniatoll.com/bikini/cart/RMI%20Movies.html

Sincerely,

Na Noniep Director Jack Niedenthal Will Show Yokwe Bartowe at Big Island Film Festival

Doane Perry — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:16:54 +0000

The Peace Corps Volunteer who never returned, Jack Niedenthal, writes,

“We have exciting news about our recently released Marshallese feature film,
³Yokwe Bartowe,² directed and produced by myself and Suzanne Chutaro,
starring Lyel Tarkwon, Netha Gideon, Martha Horiuchi, Jefferson Paulis, Nica
Wase, and Billma Melson.

“We found out over the weekend that our film has been named as an official
selection for The Big Island “Talk Story” Film Festival (BIFF). BIFF will
celebrate its fifth year May 12-16, 2010 at Mauna Lani Resort, “on location”
in two luxury hotels. Acclaimed by MovieMaker Magazine in its 2009 Top 25
“Coolest Film Festivals,” BIFF brings a slice of Hollywood life to Hawaii’s
Kohala Coast, with a full slate of 66 new narrative films, national
celebrities, social events and stellar Hawaiian music.

http://www.bigislandfilmfestival.com/

You can read more about our film, Yokwe Bartowe, here:
http://www.microwavefilms.org/YokweBartowe.html

There is a glowing review of our film on the US based Film Threat website:
http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/20268/

If you want to enjoy a short, funny scene from Yokwe Bartowe with the “2
Beer Gang” at the Flame Tree on YouTube, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KXMbDiOBvs

Thanks again for your support. All the proceeds from our film go to the
Majuro Cooperative School.

Sincerely,

Toluca I – Peru: A Legacy Remembered

Doane Perry — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:07:52 +0000

Toluca I Peru RPCVs July 4 2009 in Nebraska

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Film

Toluca I – Peru: A Legacy Remembered

What the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps in 2011 will be is pretty much a secret still – I’ve heard mention of an event at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston in March and an event in Washington DC in September – but one thing I hope you will see is Toluca I – Peru: A Legacy Remembered, a film about what happened to a group of Peru PCVs after their service in the late 1960s.

Film producer and writer Jose Luis Sedano told me that Toluca I is being made to debut at the Peace Corps 50th and will put more emphasis on Peace Corps’ third goal and the volunteers’ lives after their service than on what they did as Volunteers during their service.

Toluca I volunteers were the first Peace Corps group to train outside of the USA. They trained in Toluca, Mexico since most of them were going to sites in the Peruvian Andes where a typical site was at 8,000 feet above sea level and higher. Toluca is the highest city in Mexico. Toluca I producer and writer Jose Luis Sedano was born in Mexico City and felt right at home.

Toluca I volunteers flew to Peru September 1967 one year before the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the massacre of Tlatelolco.

Jose suggests you “Google Tlateloco (Plaza de las Tres Culturas), if you are not up on this shameful event in Mexican history. At that time, Jose Luis’ cousin Yolanda Jimenez lived within eye-sight of the Plaza de Tlatelolco.”

In late 1969 during a visit to Mexico City, she showed Jose bullet holes in the wall of her apartment and recalled the two-day curfew and the army patrols.

“It was Mexico’s Kent State,” says Jose.

[Wikipedia says The Tlatelolco massacre, also known as The Night of Tlatelolco (from a book title by the Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska), was a government massacre of student and civilian protesters and bystanders that took place during the afternoon and night of October 2, 1968, in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City. It happened ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics celebrations in Mexico City.

While at the time, government propaganda and official media in Mexico claimed that government forces had been provoked by protesters shooting at them, much later official documents were found showing that the snipers had in fact been members of the Presidential Guard. The death toll remains controversial: official government estimates place the death toll at 30, while some estimates place it in the thousands. Most sources, however, report between 200 and 300 deaths. The exact number of people arrested is also disputed.]

Jose says they shot the first part of Toluca I - Peru: A Legacy Remembered when they came together on 4th of July weekend in the summer of 2009 in Norfolk & Tilden, Nebraska. Most of them had not seen each other since the end of training in Cusco, Peru in September. 1967.

Jose and I had a great conversation on the telephone. He is “continuing to serve“ as a Symphonium docent at the Los Angeles Music Center home of the Los Angeles Symphony. He is a retired board member of the Red Cross Blood Services of Southern California. I have spent a lot of time in the Boston Symphony’s hall where my father was in the management for thirty years from 1948-1978.

I hope you will join me in looking forward to seeing Toluca I – Peru: A Legacy Remembered. If you would like to help, see the film synopsis below.

Toluca I Synopsis:

Title: Toluca I - Peru: A Legacy Remembered
Length: 54:30 minutes, Co-producer Phoenix Productions, Norfolk, NE
Format: Canon Digital cameras, 16×9 ratio @ 24 fps, Final Cut Pro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The film is a nostalgic look at a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers forty two years after they trained in Toluca, Mexico for service in Peru 1967-’69.

The documentary will be shot over the 4th of July 2009 weekend in Tilden, Nebraska a small farming community where Don & Jean Oelsligle, our reunion hosts and organizers, live on their family farm.

Most of the Toluca I group attending the reunion have not seen each other since training in 1967. As a member of Toluca I Jose Luis Sedano, yours truly, will produce/write the documentary.

The film will feature personal stories of why we applied, accepted the invitation to train, our work in our respective sites and it’s challenges, our shortfalls and our career paths since serving as volunteers in Peru.

The film will feature animated photos of our training in Toluca, Mexico, our sites in Peru, letters & postcards written home and from home, vintage ‘60’s file footage Peru and historic events back home with a soundtrack of music of the times.

The plan is to make the film available to screen in 2011 during the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary celebrations in Washington, DC and the Kennedy Library in Boston. Once we have a trailer we hope to secure theatrical and broadcast distribution through one of the premiere cable channels.

Corporate donor/investors will receive full frame screen credit with name & logo appearing in all print and electronic ads and materials.

Previous documentaries on the Peace Corps have focused on the volunteer’s work in-country. Our film Toluca I-Peru: A Legacy Remembered will be a personal post-service account celebrating the Peace Corps experience.

Jose Luis Sedano 323-830-2799 jlsedano@hotmail.com