They will be touring the
United States beginning Jan. 20 through Mar. 4. Make note of those dates, because if after
reading this news from Icarus Films, you just might want to catch one their
live performances.
The announcement this
past week from Icarus Films was that documentary filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart’s Rebels
on Pointe will be making its DVD debut on Feb. 13. The film had a brief arthouse theatrical
break in mid-November (limited to just three screens), so a much-wider audience
stands ready to enjoy this gem.
For the record, the ARR
works out to 88 days.
Rebels on Pointe documents the rich history of Les Ballets
Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an American ballet group that bills themselves as
“The World’s Foremost All-Male Comic Ballet Company.” Founded way, way back in 1974, the ballet
artists of this company have fun with classical ballet — playing both the male
and female parts — but as the New York Times review of Rebels
on Pointe (by Jeannette Catsoulis) pointed out … “The performances are hilarious, but the dancing is no joke. As Gia Kourlas, a dance critic for The New
York Times, points out, it takes exceptionally strong technique to merge
classical choreography and comedy.”
The film itself details
the group’s history, provides behind-the-scenes access to their work (and
preparation), plus interviews with cast members and clips from the various
presentations — just the trailer for the documentary can get you hooked; the
film itself will make you a fan!
Bonus features on the DVD
provided by Icarus Films include a whopping 145 minutes worth of bonus
interviews and outtakes!
Also new from Icarus
Films this week, and timed for release during the celebration of Black History
Month is the DVD presentation of I Am Somebody: Three films by Madeline
Anderson (Feb. 6).
The DVD release from
Icarus includes three of Madeline Anderson’s short films … the heart of which
is the 30-minute presentation of I Am Somebody. Documentary filmmaker Madeline Anderson was
in the right place at the right time when the events unfolded in the spring of
1969 at the South Carolina Medical College Hospital in Charleston, South
Carolina. Her film is like a time
capsule view of what unfolded at time.
By any standard the black
workers — mainly nurses and aides — were treated poorly. Their wages were not only below those of
whites performing similar duties, but a full 30 cents per hour below the
Federal Minimum Wage ($1.30 at the time).
12 said enough and were immediately fired. Their co-workers went out on strike to
protest and the National Guard (with fixed bayonets) was called in … the unrest
lasted for 100 days. Dr. Ralph David
Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was there to help
with the strike and Coretta Scott King spoke to the strikers during this period.
Eventually, the strike
was resolved, wages raised and the 12 who were fired were rehired … the threat
of $12 million in Federal Funds being withheld was a mighty hammer.
The other two films in
this unique collection are Integration Report 1 (circa 1960)
and A
Tribute to Malcolm X (1967).
Icarus Films is including, as a bonus, the short film titled Celebrate
Moe!
No comments:
Post a Comment