The Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors Foundation said Wednesday that it has chosen five student filmmakers to receive a total of $31,000 in grants. The foundation also has announced the establishment of a student-mentoring program. The grant program is designed to assist students in completing their films. The five recipients, who hail from diverse backgrounds, are Vashti Anderson of New York University for his film Jeffrey's Calypso, Blythe Frank of Columbia University for The Kindness of Strangers, Eli Akira Kaufman of UCLA for Winning the Peace, Brian David Azaarte Risdon of the University of Cincinnati for Living in Technicolor and Eric Wastenberg of USC for Sacrifice.
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. -- As any young contemporary New Yorker can tell you, there can never be too many films dealing with the subject of romantic problems, and Jon Sherman's debut feature "Breathing Room", shown at the Hamptons International Film Festival prior to its commercial release in November via Arrow, is the latest entry in the genre.
"Breathing room", of course, is the term used when couples take some time apart in order to evaluate their relationship. This is what Kathy (Susan Floyd) and David (Dan Futterman) decide to do when things aren't going so well. It seems, among other things, that David is completely unable to say those three essential words -- "I love you". He can say them in French, in Spanish, but not in English. When David considers a job offer to teach English at a school in Vietnam, it only intensifies the crisis.
So they decide to not see each other between Thanksgiving and Christmas. David tries to explore his feelings; when his parents suggest he's gay, he kisses his best friend full on the lips and breathes a sigh of relief at not responding. And Kathy starts to act on the attraction she has long held for her boss (David Thornton).
"Breathing Room" lacks the sparkling performances and dialogue of such similarly themed recent entries as "Walking and Talking", but it has an appealing earnestness and two appealing performers in the lead roles, with Floyd making a strong film debut and Futterman expanding on the promise he showed as Robin Williams' son in "The Birdcage".
The film also benefits from a realistically gritty look -- it was photographed by Jim Denault, who achieved similar effects in "Nadja" -- which has the effect of making New York during the holiday season seem emotionally draining rather than magical.
BREATHING ROOM
Arrow Releasing
A Holiday Pictures Group, LLC production
Director Jon Sherman
Screenplay Tom Hughes, Jon Sherman
Producer Tim Perell
Executive producer Jack Edward Barron
Director of photography Jim Denault
Music Pat Irwin
Editor Sabine Hoffman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kathy Susan Floyd
David Dan Futterman
Brian David Thornton
Tony Saverio Guerra
Claire Nadia Dajani
Marcy Edie Falco
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Breathing room", of course, is the term used when couples take some time apart in order to evaluate their relationship. This is what Kathy (Susan Floyd) and David (Dan Futterman) decide to do when things aren't going so well. It seems, among other things, that David is completely unable to say those three essential words -- "I love you". He can say them in French, in Spanish, but not in English. When David considers a job offer to teach English at a school in Vietnam, it only intensifies the crisis.
So they decide to not see each other between Thanksgiving and Christmas. David tries to explore his feelings; when his parents suggest he's gay, he kisses his best friend full on the lips and breathes a sigh of relief at not responding. And Kathy starts to act on the attraction she has long held for her boss (David Thornton).
"Breathing Room" lacks the sparkling performances and dialogue of such similarly themed recent entries as "Walking and Talking", but it has an appealing earnestness and two appealing performers in the lead roles, with Floyd making a strong film debut and Futterman expanding on the promise he showed as Robin Williams' son in "The Birdcage".
The film also benefits from a realistically gritty look -- it was photographed by Jim Denault, who achieved similar effects in "Nadja" -- which has the effect of making New York during the holiday season seem emotionally draining rather than magical.
BREATHING ROOM
Arrow Releasing
A Holiday Pictures Group, LLC production
Director Jon Sherman
Screenplay Tom Hughes, Jon Sherman
Producer Tim Perell
Executive producer Jack Edward Barron
Director of photography Jim Denault
Music Pat Irwin
Editor Sabine Hoffman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kathy Susan Floyd
David Dan Futterman
Brian David Thornton
Tony Saverio Guerra
Claire Nadia Dajani
Marcy Edie Falco
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/24/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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