Dear Shaded Viewers,
Superheroes is the current exhibition at the Met, Iron Man the film about the metallic monster is a box office success but the Superheros of this text is a film dealing with war veterans from Iraq suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. When I was in NYC I ran into my old neighbor from West 11th Street, Alan Brown. I had not seen him in 17 years. During that time he’s made one short film and 2 feature films and is currently casting for a 3rd feature. Alan directed Superheroes (2007), Book of Love (2004), Boys Life 4: Four Play (2003) and O Beautiful (2002). Book of Love was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and also screened at Slamdance, It was considered by some viewers to be the best film that they had seen at Sundance. An interview will appear on my site next week.
Superheroes follows the return of an Iraq war veteran, Ben Patchett, to American life, and explores the damage inflicted on one man by war and the limitations of redemption. While Ben was away, his wife left him for another man, taking their daugheters with her. His body filled with shrapnel from a mine explosion and pumped full of medication, Ben is back living with his parents in his childhood home in Queens, traumatized and in constant pain. He attends a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder support group at a V.A. clinic in New York. There he meets Nick Jones, who has volunteered to videotope Ben’s PTSD group. Just a year out of college, Nick half-heartedly pusues a career in documentary film, while living with his dancer ex-girlfriend. When Ben invites Nick to come and film him during his stay at a borrowed house in the Catskills, a wary but ultimately tender friendship evolves between these two very different man.
“Superheroes,” the award-winning feature film directed by Alan Brown and starring Dash Mihok and Spencer Treat Clark is now available on Comcast, Cablevision, Cox and Time Warner providers under the banner IFC in Theaters Festival Direct. Go check it out, and please pass this on to your friends!
Maverick Spirit Award: 2008 Cinequest Film Festival.
Best Feature Film Award: 2007 Avignon/New York Film Festival
Special Jury Mention for an Actor: Dash Mihok: 2008 Austin Film Festival
Best Feature Narrative: 2008 Brooklyn Arts Council International Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, Feature Film and Acting Ensemble catagories: 2008 Ashland International Film Festival
For more information go to:
http://www.ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=836
http://www.superheroesthemovie.com
Later,
Diane
