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FLIFF DIARIES: "Courting Condi"
THE FLIFF DIARIES -- BY RACHEL GALVIN
OCT 20.
"Courting Condi"
"Courting Condi" showed at Cinema Paradiso Oct. 20 at Cinema Paradiso for the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival
About the Director: Sebastian Doggart
This dashing young producer and director actually started his career as a journalist in Latin America and has written three books. London-born, this director has worked on such projects as "Project Runway," "15 Films About Madonna" and MTV's "Damage Control," where he directed celebs like Kelly Clarkson and Hulk Hogan. He was nominated for a Producers Guild Award for FX's "30 Days." These are just some of his long line of accomplishments. He has also written and directed two short films, but "Courting Condi" is his first feature.
About the actor:Devin Ratray
Best known for his stint in "Home Alone," this naturally comical actor is also in a band. His vocal talent was showcased during this production. After "Courting Condi," audiences will see much more of this actor; he is in five more films coming your way soon, including one starring Bruce Willis called "The Surrogates."
About the film:
"Courting Condi" is the journey of one man, actor Devin Ratray, in his quest to win the Secretary of State's heart. This mission takes him across the country from her birthplace of Birmingham, Alabama to Denver, Colorado then to California, where she eventually became provost at Stanford University to Washington D.C., where she currently holds the post of the President of the United States right-hand gal. Through this journey, he discovers her love for music, her failed attempt at ice-skating as well as her preferences. He talks with her friends and the one man to whom she was engaged. They even run into Condi's mom, most unexpectedly. Devin gets advice from everyone from his father, who mocks him, to his pal Adrian Grenier (of "Entourage") and Frank Luntz, who organizes a focus group to determine the effectiveness of Devin's overall 'look.'
The hillarious documentary portion is interspersed with a collage of pictures, videos and 'love discs,'videos he makes to woo Condi. The mood is light and funny interspersed with historically interesting video -- everything from speeches by Condi to Elvis footage to footage of some of the most gruesome civil rights events in Alabama.
But the mood takes a dark turn as they delve into some of the more recent darker chapters of this power-woman's history. The 'musical docu-tragi-comedy' as Doggart terms it, is overall a tale of a woman who chooses power over love and how, as they say, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
As was intended, this film opened up an active dialogue afterward, in which members from opposing political parties spoke out about their feelings about the film. With the twist at the end, this piece turns from a fluffy love story into a love-it or hate-it message-maker that is sure to make anyone who watches it think, adding an unexpected depth to the story. Someone in the audience made a comment that adding the humor really made it much more interesting than a straight documentary.
Tarpon Bend
Following the film, many audience members went to the party at Tarpon Bend, to join up with other FLIFF attendees.
There I had the chance to talk to Andrew Disney, the director of the short film "Frank's Last Shot," which shows Oct. 21, a film about a clumsy middle-aged man who finds redemption for old High School failures through finding a gun on the floor. Disney hails from New York but now lives in Texas.
I also spoke with Rob Margolies, director of "Lifelines," which shows Oct. 21 at 7:45 p.m. Although he has written several shorts, he jumped right to making this first feature about a dysfunctional family. Meet him at his film or at the after party at Riley McDermott's after the film.
There were several films shown today at the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival (FLIFF) as well as activities. This is an accounting of my day. (FOR EARLIER ARCHIVES OF FLIFF DIARIES GO TO FLIFF NEWS)
OCT 20.
"Courting Condi"
"Courting Condi" showed at Cinema Paradiso Oct. 20 at Cinema Paradiso for the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival
About the Director: Sebastian Doggart
This dashing young producer and director actually started his career as a journalist in Latin America and has written three books. London-born, this director has worked on such projects as "Project Runway," "15 Films About Madonna" and MTV's "Damage Control," where he directed celebs like Kelly Clarkson and Hulk Hogan. He was nominated for a Producers Guild Award for FX's "30 Days." These are just some of his long line of accomplishments. He has also written and directed two short films, but "Courting Condi" is his first feature.
About the actor:Devin Ratray
Best known for his stint in "Home Alone," this naturally comical actor is also in a band. His vocal talent was showcased during this production. After "Courting Condi," audiences will see much more of this actor; he is in five more films coming your way soon, including one starring Bruce Willis called "The Surrogates."
About the film:
"Courting Condi" is the journey of one man, actor Devin Ratray, in his quest to win the Secretary of State's heart. This mission takes him across the country from her birthplace of Birmingham, Alabama to Denver, Colorado then to California, where she eventually became provost at Stanford University to Washington D.C., where she currently holds the post of the President of the United States right-hand gal. Through this journey, he discovers her love for music, her failed attempt at ice-skating as well as her preferences. He talks with her friends and the one man to whom she was engaged. They even run into Condi's mom, most unexpectedly. Devin gets advice from everyone from his father, who mocks him, to his pal Adrian Grenier (of "Entourage") and Frank Luntz, who organizes a focus group to determine the effectiveness of Devin's overall 'look.'
The hillarious documentary portion is interspersed with a collage of pictures, videos and 'love discs,'videos he makes to woo Condi. The mood is light and funny interspersed with historically interesting video -- everything from speeches by Condi to Elvis footage to footage of some of the most gruesome civil rights events in Alabama.
But the mood takes a dark turn as they delve into some of the more recent darker chapters of this power-woman's history. The 'musical docu-tragi-comedy' as Doggart terms it, is overall a tale of a woman who chooses power over love and how, as they say, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
As was intended, this film opened up an active dialogue afterward, in which members from opposing political parties spoke out about their feelings about the film. With the twist at the end, this piece turns from a fluffy love story into a love-it or hate-it message-maker that is sure to make anyone who watches it think, adding an unexpected depth to the story. Someone in the audience made a comment that adding the humor really made it much more interesting than a straight documentary.
Tarpon Bend
Following the film, many audience members went to the party at Tarpon Bend, to join up with other FLIFF attendees.
There I had the chance to talk to Andrew Disney, the director of the short film "Frank's Last Shot," which shows Oct. 21, a film about a clumsy middle-aged man who finds redemption for old High School failures through finding a gun on the floor. Disney hails from New York but now lives in Texas.
I also spoke with Rob Margolies, director of "Lifelines," which shows Oct. 21 at 7:45 p.m. Although he has written several shorts, he jumped right to making this first feature about a dysfunctional family. Meet him at his film or at the after party at Riley McDermott's after the film.
There were several films shown today at the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival (FLIFF) as well as activities. This is an accounting of my day. (FOR EARLIER ARCHIVES OF FLIFF DIARIES GO TO FLIFF NEWS)
Views: 14
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rachel Galvin on
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Thank you for joining the site and responding to my commentary. There will be other showings of the film. I know it will be at the Orlando Film Festival next weekend, for instance.
hyperfilm said:I attended the festival but couldn't make Courting Condi. Based off of your thoughts and the trailer I found on youtube, I should have canceled my other plans.
Here's the youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwErHTP6ekk
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