Mile End Films News

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe Opens in NYC

"William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe," a documentary I produced about the legendary radical civil rights lawyer, is now playing at New York's Cinema Village Theater, and opening nationwide this Friday. The film, directed by Kunstler's daughters Sarah and Emily, is an inspiring and moving account of Kunstler's life and the efforts of his daughters to reconcile his controversial choices. The New York Times covered the film yesterday. And more details at the film web site.

Full Battle Rattle DVD Now On Sale - 25% Off

You can buy the brand new Full Battle Rattle DVD directly from First Run Features and save 25% off the retail price. Its only $18.71 and includes bonus features, including deleted scenes, filmmaker Q&A and a photo gallery.

Breadline USA

My rather brilliant friend Sasha Abramsky has a new book out called Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It. The book is a timely look at hunger and poverty in America, based on hundreds of interviews with people around the country and a series of low income dietary experiments Sasha subjected himself to while researching and writing the book. Visit Sasha's web site to learn more about the book, and, of course, you can buy it online.

]]> My rather brilliant friend Sasha Abramsky has a new book out called Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It. The book is a timely look at hunger and poverty in America, based on hundreds of interviews with people around the country and a series of low income dietary experiments Sasha subjected himself to while researching and writing the book. Visit Sasha's web site to learn more about the book, and, of course, you can buy it online.

Speedo Live on iTunes

Speedo is now live on iTunes. Own the film for only $9.99.

]]> Speedo is now live on iTunes. Own the film for only $9.99.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

The new documentary I produced, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, about the famous radical lawyer, had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and will be screening in New York at BAM's Cinema Fest in late June/July. The film is directed by Kunstler's daughters Sarah and Emily. It will be distributed by Arthouse Films in the Fall. Vist the film web site for more information.

Full Battle Rattle - Web Site Launched

Visit the new Full Battle Rattle website at www.fullbattlerattlemovie.com.

FULL BATTLE RATTLE - World Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival

"Full Battle Rattle" - our documentary about life inside the US Army's Iraq simulation - will premiere at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama Dokumente Program. Contact Mile End Films for information.

Full Battle Rattle Invited to Sundance Lab

Tony Gerber and I have been invited to the Sundance Institute Documentary Lab in August to workshop "Full Battle Rattle," our documentary about life inside the US Army's Iraq simulation. We'll be working with the Lab's guest film composers and screening our cut for advisors and staff. It should be a wonderful opportunity to share the film, in its early rough-cut stage, with an audience and get some feedback.

Hogue Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

James Hogue was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for theft on Thursday, May 17 in Telluride. "A waste of talent and brainpower," said his attorney Harvey Palefsky. I couldn't agree more. Read the Telluride Daily Planet story for more details on the case. A detailed account of Hogue's life and information about Con Man, the film I produced about Hogue, can be found on this web site.

Full Battle Rattle

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program announced today that they have awarded a work-in-progress grant to my new documentary, Full Battle Rattle. The film, which I'm directing with Tony Gerber, is about life inside the US Army’s Iraq simulation in California's Mojave Desert from the perspective of the Iraqi-American civilians who work there as “role players” and the US soldiers who train there. Here's the Variety article , and the Sundance press release.

Con Man DVD Released - Buy it Now!

The new DVD of Con Man has been released by Docurama. It's available from Amazon for $18.99.

Visit the Con Man web site for more information about the film.

James Hogue - The Documentary

If you've seen the HBO Real Sports segment on James Hogue and want to know more, you can purchase a copy of my HBO/Cinemax documentary "Con Man," distributed by Docurama. Send a check for $25 to Mile End Films, 38 West. 21st Street, 3rd Floor, NY NY 10010.

Visit the Con Man web site for more information about the film.

Con Man Screens in Philly, Sat. June 3rd

Con Man is screening in Philadelphia on Saturday, June 3rd, as part of the First Person Arts Festival .

The Program is called "Secrets & Lies." Here's the official rundown of the event:

Explore the human impulse to reinvent oneself with authors Mary Gordon (The Shadow Man), Michael Finkel (True Story: Murder, Memoir, and Mea Culpa), John Richardson (My Father the Spy), and documentary filmmaker Jesse Moss (Con Man). Probe the psyches of people who lead a double life and consider the consequences for those who become entangled. Followed by a screening of Con Man, Moss’ astonishing documentary of a swindler who tricks his way into Princeton University.

Sat June 3rd, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Con Man ONLY*: $8 - Member Price: $12.50
General Admission: $25
Gershman Y, UArts, Levitt Auditorium
401 South Broad St

DB Cooper Lives!

DB Cooper Lives, my long gestating short film about legendary skyjacker and folk hero DB Cooper, is finally up on the Wholphin web site. Wholphin is McSweeney's new DVD magazine. Check out the film. More information about the case can be found on the DB Cooper Wikipedia page.

Speedo - The Term Paper

I came across this college term paper by Meghan Quinn comparing Speedo and American Movie and "the reality of the American Dream." While I don't agree with all her conclusions, it's an interesting academic analysis. Favorite line: "The stories in the films are deliberately constructed to mimic fiction."