Race to Nowhere Launches in Theaters

Opening This Week in Theaters in New York and Los Angeles.


Vicki Abeles' documentary Race to Nowhere will play for one week at the IFC Center in New York and at Laemmle's Sunset 5 theater in Los Angeles. The film was shot using portable HD equipment and was finished in HD 1080P. These playdates will be presented with digital projection using D-Cinema Package.

Vicki will be attending the shows in New York on September 10 and 11 and will be joined by others on the RTN film team and from the cast including Sara Bennett on September 11 at 5 PM. Vicki will also attend the shows in Los Angeles on September 14 and 15 and will be joined on the 14th at 7:30 PM by Dr. Wendy Mogel who appears in the film. Other cast members will make appearances throughout the week.

Other theatrical screenings in selected cities will follow. Go Vicki!

ZAP did final post production of the film including HD mastering, trailer work, Digital Cinema Packaging and DVD design and preparation.
The film was edited by Jessica Congdon, Color grading by Gary Coates, Sound by Jim LeBrecht and Berkeley Sound Artists, Original music by Mark Adler, On-Line Editing by Jesse Spencer with Ri Crawford. A truly Northern California crew!

Our Summer in Tehran Now on DVD

To purchase this wonderful new documentary by Justine Shapiro of Promises Films, go to their webstore. We love this film!

The Nature of Cities, an exhibit of short films Opened in Shangai

ZAP just completed the design and previsualization for a dramatic installation that will open in July in Shanghai. Oakland-based Art Works for Change engaged ZAP to figure out the best way present seventeen short films at the United Nations Pavillion at the EXPO; the curator, Randy Rosenberg has been working with Nairobi-based United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to mount this exhibition that "...will be a visually compelling and entertaining exhibition, combined with effective storytelling, that informs and inspires viewers to respect nature and her ecosystems..."

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) [link]

To learn more about the exhibition, click here.

The Nature of Cities
United Nations Pavilion, Shanghai Expo, China, July, 2010

UNEP has asked Art Works For Change to produce an art installation for the UN Pavilion at the upcoming Shanghai Expo. Up to 20 video artists, architects and animators will create short videos addressing the theme of urban biodiversity.

The renowned Zoetrope Aubry Productions is providing the design and technical editing for the project. The result will be a visually compelling and entertaining exhibition, combined with effective storytelling, that informs and inspires viewers to respect nature and her ecosystems. The UN anticipates that the installation be seen by 40,000 visitors a day.
Artists:
Allora & Calzadilla; Vincent Callebaut; Rob Carter; Catherine Chalmers; Ri Crawford; Anthony Discenza; Cao Fei; Hall Moline; Katja Loher; Kevin Nolting; Sven Pahlsson; Kahn Selesnick; Molly Schwartz; Marina Zurkow.

Wikipedia Documentary Premiers at Wikimania, Gdansk, Poland

Truth In Numbers?
Everything, According To Wikipedia

A controversial new feature-length film that chronicles the remarkable rise of the "massive live collaboration" called Wikipedia. Filmmakers Nic Hill and Scott Glosserman traveled to over twenty countries filming interviews with the Wiki founders, Wiki critics, and Wiki contributors.

ZAP got involved with the film in December; the breadth of original source material is impressive. Post production: daunting. Our first task was to review the post production work flow; the film has been in post for over two years in an on-again, off-again cycle with various collaborators working in various cities on various platforms. Original interviews were shot in HDV and DVCProHD over years. ZAP organized the on-line and color grading, and will provide final delivery and DVD services. To learn more about the making of the film, you can go to an early filmmaker fan website that claimed that "anyone can edit this documentary web-site."

To view a trailer of the film, you can go to the GlenEcho Entertainment movie site.

A short list of some who appear in the film:

Jimbo Wales
Howard Zinn
Stephen Colbert
James Woolsey
Susan Jacoby
Richard Branson
Ray Kurzweil
Noam Chomsky
Bob Schieffer
Ward Cunningham
Len Downie, Executive Editor of The Washington Post
Bob McHenry, Former Editor-In-Chief - Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jaron Lanier
Lawrence Lessig
John Seigenthaler

Tati Documentary to have U.S. Premiere at Yerba Buena Center

ZAP recently posted the new documentary by Michael House "The Magnificent Tati."

The film will be screened during a film series at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in late January. The documentary will be shown on Sunday, January 24 at 2pm, and the director Michael House will answer questions immediately afterwards.


JACQUES TATI: GENIUS OF FRENCH COMEDY

Is there anything new to be said about the French comic performer and filmmaker Jacques Tati and his eccentric alter ego Monsieur Hulot? Recognized internationally as one of the most innovative and creative filmmakers of his time, much of Tati’s work is about the humor of humanity attempting to exist in an increasingly mechanical society. He broke apart and then reinvented slapstick comedy. His films are just as relevant as ever, if not more so, in this new dehumanized digital age. For those who are new to his work, you will discover one of the masters of modern cinema. And for those who already know him, this is a rare chance for re-discovery of films which easily stand up to, and benefit from, repeated viewings.

Race to Nowhere on track at ZAP

ZAP is helping Bay Area first-time filmmaker Vicki Abeles get her documentary feature "Race to Nowhere" finalized for HD screenings and for DVD release.

Race To Nowhere is a groundbreaking documentary film that examines education, childhood and the unintended consequences of the achievement-obsessed way of life that permeates American education and culture. Unrelenting pressure, whether from well-intentioned parents, teachers, national leaders or from children themselves, is creating a generation suffering from unprecedented levels of stress, depression and burnout.

Vicki Abeles, a mother of three and former corporate attorney, found herself questioning the changes she saw in her children as they navigated days filled with school, homework, tutoring and extracurricular activities. After a series of wake-up calls in her family and community, including the suicide of a young girl, Vicki set out to discover why children’s lives more closely resemble high-powered CEOs' than the relaxed, carefree lives of children from the past.

The filmmakers take viewers to schools across the country, featuring the stories of students who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t learning anything substantive and college professors and business leaders concerned that incoming young people lack the skills needed to succeed in our complex times.

Race To Nowhere is a call to families, educators, experts and policy makers to examine current assumptions on how to prepare our national youth to become the healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens of the next century.

ZAP Posts Justine Shapiro's New Iran Documentary

Berkeley native Justine Shapiro who co-produced the landmark 2002 film "Promises" has locked her edit on her new film "My Summer in Tehran." ZAP is conforming, color grading and designing titles and will online the film shortly.

About The Film:

A personal, poetic and provocative documentary film, My Summer in Tehran takes American filmmaker Justine Shapiro and her six-year old son into the lives of three Iranian families: a religious, conservative family with ties to the government; a modern, secular family; and a single mom who is also an actress. This remarkable journey introduces American audiences to the fascinating, and yet strikingly familiar home of our enemy," where we discover that everyday life is never separate from ever-watchful eye of the government.

With stunning cinematography, editing by renowned Iranian editor Mostafa Kherghehpoush, and featuring original music by French-Iranian composer Christophe Rezai, the film reveals a city and a culture where modernity and tradition sit side by side. 85 minutes, in English, Farsi, and French with English subtitles.

The documentary is in the final stages of post-production. It will be released in early 2010.