Amerikan Passport
Sunday
Jan 9 @7:35pm Lumiere
(second showing on Wednesday
Jan 12@7:30pm at the Fine Arts)
Reed Paget
(1999,
16mm, 84 min)
sponsored by SF Bay Guardian
Winner
of the Best Documentary at Slamdance '99, AMERIKAN PASSPORT records the
riveting shoestring travel odyssey of 23-year-old Seattle native Reed
Paget, who sets out to visit the seven wonders of the world but instead
found himself capturing the images of twelve war zones. Stops on Pagetıs
10-year tour of revolutions and bullet fests include Tiananmen Square's
student revolt (Paget continues filming while standing in the blood of
slaughtered protesters), a civil uprising in South Africa, the fall of
the Berlin Wall, and the bombing of Israeli territory, to name a few.
PASSPORT also includes excellent, insightful interviews with Pagetıs grandfather,
a reactionary patriot whose conservative politics seem oddly misplaced
in the midst of Pagetıs open-ended quest. After dodging bullets and securing
finishing funds for his 10-year adrenaline rush, Paget finally soul searches
for answers to questions about his motives as a filmmaker, creating an
intelligent investigation that rises above cultural tourism and self-indulgent
travelogue.
--Kathleen P. Skillicorn
In
Attendance
director Reed Paget
Contact
Reed Paget,
171 W. 73rd St #2,
New York, NY 10023 rpaget@hotmail.com 212.799.5350
Animation
The
Bats
Jim
Trainer
(1998,
16mm, 8 min)
Contact Jim
Trainer,
186 Avenue B #4,
New York, NY 10009 212.995.5177
