George
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Post by George on Oct 10, 2010 10:42:26 GMT 10
How to Start Your Own Country, directed by Jody Shapiro, was released last month at the Toronto International Film Festival: www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/entertainment/movies/article/93318--tiff-2010-q-a-how-to-start-your-own-country-director-jody-shapiroMeanwhile, Paul Poet's Empire Me: New Worlds Are Happening will, I believe, launch at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival, early in the new year. Two high-profile international documentaries exploring the micronation phenomenon released over such a short timeframe, at two major international film festivals, represent a major milestone in the ongoing evolution of the micronation phenomenon. We truly live in exciting times!
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George
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Post by George on Oct 10, 2010 11:21:38 GMT 10
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Post by evm111 on Dec 6, 2010 6:26:47 GMT 10
Can't wait to see these, George!! I already found one of them listed on Netflix, but it isn't available yet. I am a big fan of well-made documentaries, and I've never seen one about micronations. Thanks so much!
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George
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Post by George on Dec 6, 2010 7:14:08 GMT 10
Me too, Erik.
Have you seen the British "pilot" documentary on micronations that I posted to youtube recently?
Part 1:
Part 2:
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George
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Post by George on Dec 6, 2010 7:24:22 GMT 10
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George
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Post by George on Dec 6, 2010 7:34:48 GMT 10
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Post by evm111 on Dec 9, 2010 18:13:32 GMT 10
Hi George, I have been meaning to see the 2-part Damian Brooke documentary, and I finally watched both episodes tonight. I really enjoyed them!! There was an old-fashioned "newsreel" feel about these episodes (narration plus archived footage), as opposed to a researcher actually visiting each of these places. I think I would enjoy a mixture of the two approaches, leaning more towards spending some "quality time" at a handful of micronations. Funny how the end of episode 1 gets us salivating for Hutt River Province, but episode 2 does not give any details/info...
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Post by evm111 on Dec 9, 2010 18:40:31 GMT 10
I enjoyed the Sealand episodes, too!! Saw all 4...
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George
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Post by George on Dec 10, 2010 5:35:32 GMT 10
I think the "newsreel" feel and narrative approach has more to do with the director's limited budget as a film student, necessitating the inclusion of low-res existing footage, than deliberate intent :-)
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Post by evm111 on Dec 10, 2010 14:59:04 GMT 10
He is definitely talented. The narrative flowed very smoothly, which is critical. I think he could do a lot of impressive things with a larger budget!
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George
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Post by George on Jan 20, 2011 8:07:07 GMT 10
I've been in touch with Paul Poet, and he's confirmed that the world premiere of his micronation documentary Empire Me: New Worlds Are Happening will take place at the Diagonale Film festival in Graz, Austria, at the end of March 2011, with other festivals to follow: www.diagonale.at/Highlights of the film include coverage of the April 2010 PoliNation Conference on Micronations in Sydney, and the 40th Anniversary celebrations at the Hutt River Principality, in Western Australia.
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George
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Post by George on Mar 17, 2011 8:59:07 GMT 10
From Paul Poet @ Facebook:
EMPIRE ME - The Movie Premiere Warm Up-Party on Monday, 21.3.2011 FLUC, Vienna, featuring a live-concert by Einstürzende Neubauten-legend ALEXANDER HACKE, who did the fabulous movie-score, together with Julee Cruise of Twin Peaks-fame, Kid Congo Powers and Khan and his new block-rocking project Hitman´s Heel! Get thee asses into this orbit, folks!
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George
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Post by George on Mar 24, 2011 5:24:38 GMT 10
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George
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Post by George on Apr 7, 2011 18:04:24 GMT 10
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George
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Post by George on Aug 8, 2011 10:37:19 GMT 10
I've been in contact with Judy Lattas from Macquarie University concerning the Empire Me micronation documentary, produced by Paul Poet.
Judy has been sent a copy of the film, and it seems that the general release version does not contain footage of the April 2010 PoliNation micronation conference.
The good news is that the director's cut DOES include PoliNation footage - however that version is still in post-production, and is a few months away from being released.
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Post by Max von Lichtenberg on Aug 9, 2011 11:25:53 GMT 10
George,
Are there any videos of the PoliNation conference other than on this directors cut? Sorry I'm ignorant on the topic.
Would be a great thing to review, I know a few professors at The University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University here in the states were talking about a conference on the subject of Micronations.
Max
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George
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Post by George on Aug 9, 2011 13:15:31 GMT 10
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Post by Max von Lichtenberg on Aug 9, 2011 13:17:01 GMT 10
Thank you George.
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George
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Post by George on Aug 9, 2011 20:25:40 GMT 10
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Post by Max von Lichtenberg on Aug 10, 2011 12:04:33 GMT 10
George, I'm sure you are busy, but can you check that link again it does not work for me.
Max
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George
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Post by George on Aug 10, 2011 12:24:06 GMT 10
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George
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Post by George on Sept 5, 2011 10:39:57 GMT 10
Several weeks ago I received my copy of the Empire Me documentary, and on Saturday I finally sat down to watch it.
Hooley dooley those Austrians make strange films!
Actually it's not that strange on the whole - apart from the odd notion that micronations and loony New Age sex cults represent some great flowering of "independence" in the modern world.
The film is divided into a number of "chapters", each of which focuses on a micronation/sex cult.
The part on Hutt River Province is quite interesting, and is made up mostly of footage of Prince Leonard selling stuff to tourists ang conducting ceremonial activities relating to last year's 40th anniversary celebrations. For some reason this part of the film ends with a closeup of a dead kangaroo crawling with ants.
The part about Damanhur is also quite fascinating, and includes a tour of their incredible underground temples. It also shows quite clearly that the Damahurians are a cult of stark raving mad New Age fruitloops, whose rituals involve people cavorting about the forests like latter day Josephine Bakers while wailing in an out-of-tune manner to the accompaniment of "music" produced by hooking up potted garden plants to synthesisers.
Another group whose non-mainstream approach the film explores is a German sex cult whose members cavort about on screen wearing a great deal less clothing than unattractive middle-aged people properly should. At this point one might be forgiven for concluding that one is watching some sort of pornographic orgy. And one would be right.
The film's remaining two chapters - which deal with Christiania and Sealand - I have not yet viewed; after the bit about the German sex cult I needed to take two Bex and a good lie down.
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George
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Post by George on Sept 5, 2011 10:41:58 GMT 10
Several weeks ago I received my copy of the Empire Me documentary, and on Saturday I finally sat down to watch it.
Hooley dooley those Austrians make strange films!
Actually, on the whole, it's not that strange - apart from the odd notion that micronations and loony New Age sex cults represent some great flowering of "independence" in the modern world.
The film is divided into a number of "chapters", each of which focuses on a micronation/sex cult.
The part on Hutt River Province is quite interesting, and is made up mostly of footage of Prince Leonard (referred to in the film as "Emperor of Hutt River") selling stuff to tourists and conducting ceremonial activities relating to last year's 40th anniversary celebrations. For some reason this part of the film ends with a closeup of a dead kangaroo crawling with ants.
The part about Damanhur is also quite fascinating, and includes a tour of their incredible underground temples. It also shows quite clearly that the Damahurians are a cult of stark raving mad New Age fruitloops, whose rituals involve people cavorting about the forests like latter day Josephine Bakers while wailing in an out-of-tune manner to the accompaniment of "music" produced by hooking up potted garden plants to synthesisers.
Another group whose non-mainstream approach to life the film explores is a German sex cult whose members cavort about on screen wearing a great deal less clothing than unattractive middle-aged people properly should. At this point one might be forgiven for concluding that one is watching some sort of pornographic orgy. And one would be right.
The film's remaining two chapters - which deal with Christiania and Sealand - I have not yet viewed; after the bit about the German sex cult I needed to take two Bex and a have good lie down.
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Chas Jago
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Post by Chas Jago on Sept 5, 2011 11:01:54 GMT 10
hmmm I might actually track it down, is it in english?
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George
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Post by George on Sept 5, 2011 11:14:56 GMT 10
It's a German-language film, but large slabs of the dialogue are in English and the rest is subtitled.
I'll probably eventually get around to posting the most micronationally relevant highlights on youtube.
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Chas Jago
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Post by Chas Jago on Sept 5, 2011 14:19:54 GMT 10
Not likely to be shown in New Zealand then but the internet provides wonderful avenues to gain access to such content.
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