Sunday, November 16, 2008

GOOD SCREENING, GREAT WRITE-UP


A crowd of some 75 people braced cold rainy weather to attend the second test screening of ON THE LAKE last evening at Harvard College in Cambridge, an event organized by our outreach coordinator, Katherine Miller (kudos, Kate!). We had several members of cast and crew in attendance, along with special guests Barbara Parkos and Gale Perkins, former TB patients who are in the film. It was awesome to watch them watch the film for the first time. They, like the audience, were moved.

And in the next morning's Harvard Crimson, we got a very nice write-up, check it out.

Dave and I took questions after -- that's us at the front of Harvard Hall 201 -- and we enjoyed the discussion. Got some good tips, too, from that discussion and the questionnaires as we move in on a final cut.

Here's a sampling:

"Overall, really, really good!"
A woman in the 25 to 36 year-old group.

"So emotional. So moving." A woman in the 65-plus group.

Needs "more emphasis on global aspect of TB, relation to HIV, MDR/XDR-TB." A woman in the 18 - 24 group.

"You need to focus a lot more on global TB."
A man, in the 18-24 group.

Indeed, the last two respondents hit on the major area where the film needs work -- and Dave and I are aggressively moving on that.

Thanks to all who came, and for all the great input. Third and last screening is a private viewing before an audience of some 200 people on Dec. 3... if you feel compelled to attend, send an email through the link at Eagle Peak Media, our production company and maybe we can sneak you in... next big date after that is the Feb. 13th premiere.

-- Wayne

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

SECOND TEST SCREENING -- PUBLIC WELCOME!


November 5, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. _ The second of three scheduled test screenings of ON THE LAKE: Life and Love in a Distant Place, a documentary movie about the tuberculosis epidemic in America in the 1900s and globally today, will be held will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Harvard Hall, Harvard College.


Filmmakers David Bettencourt and G. Wayne Miller will speak at the showing of ON THE LAKE, which is scheduled for PBS broadcast in March 2009. This showing is free and open to the public. The movie will premiere at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, R.I., on Feb. 13.


ON THE LAKE is the first production from Eagle Peak Media, a multi-media company founded in May by Bettencourt, the award-winning director of YOU MUST BE THIS TALL: The Story of Rocky Point Park, and Miller, journalist and author of seven books. Two more Eagle Peak documentaries are in pre-production.


The first test screening of ON THE LAKE was held last month in Pittsburgh, before an audience of nearly 100 people. The final test screening will be before a private audience on Dec. 3.


While less of a public health issue in America today than in the early 1900s, when much of the film is set, it remains epidemic on the planet. Tuberculosis is the number-two infectious disease killer globally today, according to the World Health Organization, with nearly two million deaths and nine million new cases in 2006, the last year for which data is available. The only disease with a higher worldwide mortality is HIV/AIDS.


Audience reaction from the Pittsburgh screening suggests that the filmmakers have succeeded in bringing powerful emotion and personal stories to the screen.


''Our aim was not to produce a 'disease-of-the-week' movie, but rather a compelling narrative of real people,'' Miller said. ''Against this tragic backdrop, against the many deaths, we found love stories and stories of triumph.''


Harvard Hall is located at the main entrance to Harvard Yard, which is in the center of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.


For more information about the movie, visit the movie site.