Mahalo Maui!
Now it can be told…
The Unforeseen screens at the Maui Film Festival. If you’re interested in seeing it there, click here for screening info. We’re hoping to attend, we’ve got BAM and Human Right’s Watch bookending this festival, so mucho travelling. Not trivial with a 2 year old…
The Movie Poster - Take 1
So here’s our first pass at a movie poster. A Houston-based designer mocked up a poster for a forthcoming screening. We liked her concept and got permission to reinterpret it for a movie poster.
Coming soon to a skyline near you….
The number one most popular story on nytimes.com this morning, entitled “As Condos Rise in Florida, Investors Try to Flee,” reads:
MIAMI, May 25 — As dozens of condominium towers conceived during Florida’s real estate boom near completion, investors who snatched up units in the preconstruction phase in hopes of turning a quick profit are increasingly trying to break contracts, even walking away from fat deposits….In Miami-Dade County alone, 8,000 new condo units will be completed this year and nearly 12,000 more in 2008. But demand has dropped markedly, and people who thought they could “flip” condos — buying, then selling for a steep profit before construction is done — are parting with that fantasy.
Cranes loom large over the Austin skyline as our “next generation” real estate developers trade in sprawl for the oh-so-politically correct “density”. Condos condos everywhere, at very high price-points — do they reflect an enlightened vision for urban renewal or the same old same old (debt-fueled real estate speculation) re-lensed to suit the current discourse? There’s nothing new under the sun.
Click here to read the article (registration required)
Shibboleth or Sibboleth?
It’s interesting to see how a city like San Fran takes the film. More often than not, reviewers at SFiFF want more activism. Like Peter Coyote, this reviewer wanted more bite and more solutions.
- Positives - “Amazing looking movie.”
- “Amazingly sophisticated, docs have come a long long way since I started watching them.”
- “Looks fabulous.”
- Negatives - Wants “a more sophisticated take on its subject.”
- Doesn’t ask “the hard questions.”
- Fails to account for “Growing march for greener tech and living”
- “Stuck in an anachronistic paradigm” (developers evil, environmentalists good)
As someone hopelessly cynical about the political realm (disclaimer: Jef speaking) I’m particularly curious as to which reviewers react to the film’s philosophical/spiritual questions and which see it in terms of “issues” and “activism.”
For viewers who see the Political Sphere as the firmament, I imagine The Unforeseen will be a let down. Some have expections that the film will take on development from the, er, shall we say ‘the reigning technique of documentary filmmaking’ (Namely, “The Tomb Raider School of Documentary Filmmaking” i.e. Run around, Shoot at Enemies, Keep filmmaker permanently embedded in the foreground.)
Those reviewers who perceive the film to be sliced along a spiritual plane (and NOT merely a political one) are getting much more out of the film than those who lament it lacked sufficient “edge” or “solutions.”
These two reviews in particular have perhaps meant the most to the team (not because of the stature of their publications 
) but because they genuinely see the film working on a different level altogether.
Pic takes the history and battles over development and sprawl in Austin, Texas, and launches into a visual, scientific and philosophic rumination of humanity’s place on the planet and the limits to growth… As a cinematic contemplation of human activity on the planet, it far surpasses “An Inconvenient Truth” and its more lecture-like message on global warming. Robert Koehler, Variety
Deploying motion graphics and aerial photography to increasingly mesmerizing effect, and adopting what can only be described as a lyrical approach, Dunn interweaves this gripping narrative of political resistance with the personal story of one of the development’s prime movers, a now-bankrupt real-estate whiz kid whose surprisingly self-reflective interview allows the film to transcend its specifics and finally attain an almost metaphysical realm. - Gavin Smith, Film Comment.
So, all of this is really to say “Caveat Emptor.”
The Unforeseen Email List
At every screening we’re asked questions like:
- Is this going to be in theaters soon?
- What other festivals are you playing?
- When can I buy the DVD?
So we created an Email List so that whenever really significant news develops, we can notify you. Just sign up by clicking here. Don’t worry, we’re not going to send out email unless something important happens. Like you, we’ve got enough email as it is!
(p.s. Super savvy Internet user? Subscribe to our feeds shown on the right column.)
Upcoming screenings at the Lincoln Center, NYC
Presented in association with Film Comment, The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival will host three screenings of “The Unforeseen” at the renowned Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center.
SHOWTIMES:
Sat June 23: 4pm
Sun June 24: 6pm
Mon June 25: 1:30pm
For more information, visit http://hrw.org/iff/
Thoughts from the San Francisco International Film Festival
Touring our film to festivals feels a little like being a foreign exchange student. Hanging out with the high art culture, sophisticated film society, eco glitterati and Haight-Ashbury devotees, all in the context of “The Unforeseen” screening at the Kabuki Cinemas near Japantown….well, it was a far cry from Austin’s daily grind. The festival was remarkably well-organized, the cinemas lovely, the projection top-notch and the audiences both generous and attentive. I particularly appreciated how the Q&As drew my most challenging questions to date, namely one from a very articulate Peter Coyote. In only a few days, one can barely get a sense of place — But in reflecting on the shifting sands of San Francisco, my mind keeps going back to a great book title my brother recently mentioned: “The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith” by David L. Ulin. While I haven’t read the book, I hope to, for its title perfectly resonates with my sense of the San Franciscan landscape and spirit. -L
“…We toured the world and elsewhere…”
The Unforeseen had its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. We’ve had the privilege to screen it at some other great festivals and we’ve still got a number yet to go. Sure seems like with a new film out we should have a website, right? Latest screenings, links to reviews, cast/crew biographies, clips from the film and even a trailer, right? Well, it’s coming. Until it gets here, we’ve got this Wordpress Blog.
Please keep checking back for the latest news.
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About The Unforeseen
The Unforeseen, executive produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford, premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Called "the best film at the festival, hands down" by Film Comment's Gavin Smith, the film documents the struggles between development and preservation of Austin Texas.