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ROD WEBBER |
Local Action
Collaborators in thought, if not on labels
Reel Movement is an upstart film collaborative in Boston whose 20 or so member filmmakers don’t like the term “collaborative.’’
“We haven’t really decided what to call ourselves,’’ said Rod Webber, 35, of Jamaica Plain, who helped found it. What they have in common, he says, is that they are “differently thinking’’ filmmakers.
Differently?
“It’s a Tiny-ism,’’ he explains.
Tiny-ism?
This is pretty much how it goes when you talk to Webber, and to greater or lesser degrees other members of the group, which this week sponsors its first film showcase at the Somerville Theatre. Reel Movement’s mission, says its website, is “to create a seed-bed for ‘differently thinking’ films which personify innovation, individuality, and daring strokes of bold new cinema.’’
Its members, for the most part, are indie-spirited filmmakers on low budgets. Webber’s day job is producing videos for local bands. Lindsay Shah, whose film is called “My Sister the Psychopath,’’ is a bartender. Greyson Welch, who co-directed several of Tuesday night’s music videos, is a videographer for the Dropkick Murphys.
No matter whom you’re speaking to, though, sooner or later all conversations lead to Tiny.
Tiny is Doug “Tiny’’ Tunstall, the subject of Webber’s new documentary, “A Man Among Giants,’’ which opened Thursday at the showcase.
It’s fair to say that the average filmmaker would not devote five years of his life, and counting, to a film about Tunstall, who is not, to put it mildly, a sympathetic character. A self-described “ghetto republican,’’ he’s a former wrestler, “Jerry Springer’’ show regular, and big-mouthed little person (though he refers to himself as a midget) who, while living on public assistance, ran for mayor of Pawtucket, R.I., in 2006. His platform included the distinction that he’s “not on crack or anything.’’ He also stood for having the National Aeronautics and Space Administration build a base in Pawtucket. He managed to get 17 percent of the vote.
I personally had just about enough of Tiny about halfway through the film, when he got mad at a Providence talk show host and kicked him in the crotch.
But Webber, remember, is differently thinking. “The guy made fun of him,’’ he said. “Tiny was livid. He asked Tiny to wrestle with him; it’s not as though Tiny attacked.’’
He adds: “Tiny is like a surrealist painting that needs to be painted. He is definitely coarse. And he’s got a lot of issues. But I consider myself an artist first and when I started making art, my inspirations were Picasso and Salvador Dalí. I’m into surrealism, for lack of a better word.’’
Around the time Webber finished, Tiny called to say he had been committed to a mental health facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. So now Webber’s working on a follow-up documentary, “The Life and Times of Dougie Tunstall.’’
“I made a biopic of this guy and I don’t want to just walk off into the sunset and say thanks,’’ Webber said. “[Tiny] is an artist on his own level. He’s an outside artist. It’s an homage to another artist.’’
“A Man Among Giants’’ screens with other out-of-the-box films at the Somerville Theatre through July 14 at 7 p.m. www.reelmovement.net, or call 781-223-4878.
Also this week
“The Windmill Movie’’ Years ago, Richard Rogers, a Harvard film professor and cameraman, started making a film about his own life. He died at 58, his film incomplete. It remained in pieces, a disjointed narration of his self-discovery, until his widow, photographer Susan Meiselas, hired Alexander Olch, who had been a student of Rogers, to put the footage together. Wallace Shawn, the actor and a friend of Rogers, got involved, too, and the result, “The Windmill Movie,’’ opens at the Coolidge Corner Theatre Friday night. Director Olch will talk about the film and answer questions at both the 7 and 9:30 screenings. www.coolidge.org. 617-734-2500.Avenue of the Arts Film Festival The West End Branch of the Boston Public Library will present a series of award-winning films and events July 16-24, including screenings of “The Wrestler,’’ “Milk,’’ and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.’’ Free. 617-523-3957. www.lbgratun.com/avenueartsfilm
Angels of Austria: The Church That Reached Out to Holocaust Survivors The Regent Theatre in Arlington presents the documentary “Angels of Austria’’ by Judy C. Faust Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The film follows the personal struggle of Faust’s mother, a Jewish refugee, to forgive her country and come to terms with her own past. It will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. $8 in advance; $10 day of the show. 781-646-4849. www.regenttheatre.com/events/angels.htm
Linda Matchan can be reached at l_matchan@globe.com.
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Sunday’s Movies section gave incorrect information about admission to today’s screening of “Angels of Austria: The Church That Reached Out to Holocaust Survivors’’ at the Regent Theatre in Arlington. Admission is $8 in advance; $10 at the door.
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