Movie Rental Pick of the Week: Born into Brothels

I watched Born into Brothels this month after missing it in theaters and checking out more Hollywood style movies than independent films over the last year. This film is selected as my movie rental pick of the week because it educates viewers while entertaining us. The film looked like it was made using a loose hand-held style of cinematography. There was a nice combination of footage with still photographs taken by children who were the subjects of this movie. Just when I thought that life was disappointing, a film like Born into Brothels really makes me appreciate the blessings that everyday brings. One little girl in the movie works starting at 4:00 am and continues all day long, cleaning for other people. This little girl should be outside playing with her friends. Among the many statements from children who starred in Born into Brothels, one quote that stood out was something along the lines of "I don't think about being rich....if I was poor, I would be happy".

The child then went on to say that life is accepted as something painful. That was very sad to watch, as this same child was yelled at a few minutes later for not "fetching water" like she was asked and called vulgar names such as "you little cunt". I do not know many adults who would say such things to a young 10 year-old girl.

Born into Brothels features several children who have parents working in prostitution. A photographer spends a great deal of time with them, teaching lessons on how to take, develop and critique pictures. These classroom lessons turn out to be a great way for the children to escape the troubles in their life and also offer opportunities for them to receive an education and do more than work "in the line" as prostitutes or grow up in a life filled with crime, drug use and low earnings from manual labor. Watching Born into Brothels was a enlightening experience. Try Blockbuster Total Access FREE for 2 weeks!

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BareBones Film Festival Report on Pendragon Movie

Filmmaker Zachary Hadden's visit to this year's BareBones Film Festival provided some feedback on entertaining independent films in his opening night review. Two movies that were suitable for a general audience became the subject of Hadden's reviews during his follow-up film festival visit. He was kind enough to permit me to share his film festival report on Pendragon and a short film, Leave Me:

It was another great Sunday afternoon at the 10th annual BareBones Film Festival. There was a lively crowd that showed up for a great family feature film called Pendragon. Though this was not their debut, it was still well received and attended. Pendragon is a story of an ancient regal warrior of Britton whose is called by God to defeat the Saxons. After his death and the Saxons still undefeated, his son inherits his father’s mission.

Treachery ensues the young man as he becomes the hope of all Brittons. Through twisting plots and unraveling schemes, God makes a way for Artos to not only defeat the Saxons but opens the door to bring faith to his people. The history of the film-making of Pendragon began in the backyard with two teenagers who wanted to film their sword fight. Creative ideas began to flow and before you knew it they had a movie. Nathan Ashton, one of the only known ADR/Foley artists in Oklahoma and member of our Oklahoma Movie Maker Yahoo group, was on hand to answer questions following the presentation.

Nathan was hired to reproduce all the sound for Pendragon. Did I say all??? Yep. Every clanking sword, every rustling cloth, every hoof pounding the dirt was done by Nathan. When the film began production it took 3 years to get the finished product. When dealing with young actors who are constantly aging and voices changing, the project had to be shot 3 times before they got it right. Initially they started the shoot in standard 720 resolution but changed to HD later on.

2 cameras were used speeding at 30fps. A cinematographer was hired for the last shoot and the quality was exceptional. A very wise step if you can afford it. Total budget was $110,000. Overall it was an enjoyable movie and and received a great audience response. The producers are currently looking at all distribution avenues. On a side note Nathan also assisted in post sound and his wife Lydia crafted the score for Ryan Dunlap's recent award winning short called Leave Me.

Those just catching on to Barebones Film Festival can visit the website to get event information and movie schedules.

Wishing everyone a great week!

Zachary Hadden

(Zachary Hadden directing on location)

Zachary Hadden’s recent projects include The Deville Witch and Why I Love Tulsa

What movies have YOU seen at film festivals?
Leave your comments below!

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The Room Sells Out Despite being Worst Movie Ever

So, I just watched this new story about a movie that's "so bad, it's good" according to ABC news. While The Room has been called the worst movie ever made, it has millions of fans around the country who are even willing to watch this "worst movie" multiple times. Screenings for The Room are jam packed with movie fans arriving early to get in but I'm not sure that this is the type of attention that independent film producers want to aspire. Still, I hope that the main actor who also wrote and produced The Room was able to get back that $6 million (yes, you read that right!) budget he raised for this film.

One audience member who waited in line for The Room said he didn't know what this movie was about but he just knew he had to see it before he died. That is one of the main aspects of this odd news story that stood out and maybe there actually IS an audience for even the "worst" films that share a category with The Room . Just when I thought some of my movies were sketchy....something like this happens.

What is the worst movie you've seen so far this year?
Have YOU seen The Room?
Leave your comments below!

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