When you make a small film -- a truly independent film -- that tours around the way my latest is, well, you get to experience something that doesn't happen with bigger films. Each venue writes anew that fear-inducing descriptive paragraph. So, you open up the catalogue of a museum film series, or a local art house calendar, and you get to see your film through that venue curator's eyes. And it's interesting.
We Pedal Uphill screens Oct 21 and 22 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. (And if you find yourself in the Boston area then, I do hope you'll stop by. I'll be fielding questions alongside a few cast members after the Thursday night screening.) Here's how Carter Long, curator of Film at the MFA described the film. I like it. I think I may like it better than our own promo paragraph. Hmm... I tell you what: I'll follow Carter's synopsis with Pinkplot's and you let me know which you prefer. Seriously, I'm curious. Thanks, in advance.
MFA synopsis:
A cross-section of post-9/11 American life, this series of fictional vignettes bluntly examines the moralities and injustices that mar American ideologies. Each vignette takes place in a different state: a Massachusetts citizen calls into question the “Patriot Act,” while issues of class division affect a gay relationship in Florida. Tec’s visual anthology shows change in a country affected by paranoia, restraint, and regret.
Our synopsis:
One man drives an entire day to thank another for rescuing his family from the floodwaters of Katrina. A secretary to an election official must decide whether to bend the truth or lose her job. A PR handler scours the Redwood forest for the perfect spot for a presidential photo op. A mother watches silently from the window as her gay teenage son runs away from home in the middle of the night. These are just some of the characters brought to life with humor and empathy in Roland Tec's tapestry of post-9/11 America. The thirteen stories that fill the landscape of We Pedal Uphill offer an intimate portrait of those who either stood bravely against the tide of fear or found themselves helplessly swept up in it.
