FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Michelle Berninger
michelle@firstrunfeatures.com
212-243-0600 x27

   
 
  Three Documentaries on DVD August 5  
   

MORE THAN THE RAINBOW
A film by Dan Wechsler

83 minutes, documentary, color, 2014

DVD Special Features: Photo Galleries • Bonus Interview

2014 Theatrical Release

After three decades turning his lens on New York City, taxi driver turned street photographer Matt Weber has seen it all. More Than the Rainbow not only chronicles the life and times of Weber, but becomes a vibrant conversation about the photographic medium, artistic expression, and New York City. There is no telling how many stories Weber has attempted to capture since he first started taking pictures out of the window of the cab he used to drive. But his quarter century-plus devotion to candidly depicting the lives of his fellow New Yorkers, many of them from the fringes of society, has yielded a remarkable document of a New York that most of us will never experience.

Shot partially in gorgeous 35mm and largely scored to the music of Thelonious Monk, More Than the Rainbow interweaves verité, still photography and revealing interviews with Weber and fellow photographers like Ralph Gibson, Zoe Strauss, and Eric Kroll, as well as designer Todd Oldham to create an evocative documentary that is a poetic celebration of the world's greatest city and the individuals who walk its streets
.

“Jazzy and illuminating.” - Variety

“From driving a cab to snapping pictures of New York's streets...Matt Weber's work yields its share of gratifying, blink-and-you'll-miss-it New York moments.” - The New York Times

“Frozen-in-time magic abounds.” - Hollywood Reporter

“On treks through the city, camera in hand, Matt Weber's expertise, tenderness, and taste for the absurd become clear. Dan Wechsler runs with it, interspersing decades of Weber's often gritty photographs with expert cinematography that lingers on New York's curved railings and blurring lights in a way that feels suffused with nostalgia, even for the present.”
- The Village Voice


DVD packaged in a certified Green Forestry eco pack
UPC: 7-20229-91609-7 | Catalog #: FRF 916097D | SRP: $24.95 | Street: August 5

DREAM DECEIVERS
A film by David Van Taylor

58 minutes, documentary, color, 1991

DVD Special Features: • POV’s Simon Kilmurry talks to director David Van Taylor about Dream Deceivers and documentary filmmaking

Two young men shoot themselves in a churchyard. Ray Belknap dies; James Vance - severely disfigured - survives. Their parents take heavy-metal icons Judas Priest to court, claiming the band "mesmerized" their sons. The unprecedented trial is the framework for this one-of-a-kind, Emmy-nominated documentary.

“Riveting!” - The New York Times

“Grade: A” - Entertainment Weekly

“Destined to cause a stir. Not just the band, but the parents, the kids, and maybe even the judicial system are all on trial before the camera. Even-handed, sympathetic, but ultimately heartbreaking.”- The Hollywood Reporter

“Not for the faint of heart.” - Vogue

“A monumental showdown between irreconcilable generations. A nightmare glimpse into America's spiritual drought and the way people fill that void with diametrically opposed faiths.” - Interview Magazine

DVD packaged in a certified Green Forestry eco pack
UPC: 7-20229-91606-6 | Catalog #: FRF 916066D | SRP: $24.95 | Street: August 5

MODERN LIFE
A film by Raymond Depardon

83 minutes, documentary, color, 2008

Photographer and filmmaker Raymond Depardon is renowned for his documentation of the French countryside. In Modern Life he casts an affectionate and irreverent eye on a small community of farmers as they are confronted by the problems and challenges the contemporary world brings. Treated with equal suspicion, strangers and women are gradually accepted into the fabric of the farming life so as to sustain a way of life that celebrates the traditions and methods of old.

The Cévennes region in southern France is a region of hilly passes, lonely farms and lonelier farmers. There we are introduced to aged bachelor brothers Marcel and Raymond Privat, whose old-fashioned shepherding methods and primitive farming techniques lead them into contention with their younger nephew and his 'outsider' wife from Calais. Then there's dairy farmers Germaine and Marcel Challaye, who struggle to maintain their diminishing flock with no help from their numerous children, and chain-smoking solitary farmer Paul Argaud, the very epitome of disillusion and governmental disinheritance. Finally the Jeanroy family offer a bleak picture of those that stay against the odds, with their son Daniel, who would much rather be doing anything else.

Through portraits of these unforgettable people, Modern Life becomes a witness to farmers' lives, values, and stories: all that binds them to the land, and its legacy.

[4 stars] Poised and poignant...draws fascinating and subtle insight from individuals whose cherished way of life is slipping away.”- Time Out New York

[4 stars] A sensational achievement, sublime and timeless. Like Michael Apted in his 'UP' films, Depardon keeps returning to the same people, using his films as a record of the passing of the years.”- The Telegraph (UK)

“Visually seductive, funny... A discovery well worth making.” - Little White Lies

“Superb, affectionate and astute!” - The Evening Standard


DVD packaged in a certified Green Forestry eco pack
UPC: 7-20229-91605-9 | Catalog #: FRF 916059D | SRP: $24.95 | Street: August 5

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