SONG Wins IFFBoston

This news just in from Independent Film Festival Boston.

IFFBOSTON AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The 2008 Independent Film Festival of Boston held its Awards ceremony last night at Mantra in Downtown Boston, preceded by mindblowing performances by MC Frontalot and Prince Paul. Here are the winners:

Grand Jury Prize Narrative: BALLAST directed by Lance Hammer
Special Jury Prize: MOMMA’S MAN directed by Azazel Jacobs

Grand Jury Prize Documentary: SONG SUNG BLUE
Special Jury Prize Documentary: SECRECY directed by Robb Moss and Peter Galison

Grand Jury Prize Short Film: MAN directed by Myna Joseph
Special Jury Prize Short Film: GLORY AT SEA! directed by Ben Zeitlin

Programmer’s Choice Award: GOLIATH directed by David & Nathan Zellner

Boston Preview

With SONG SUNG BLUE's Boston Premiere only two days away the folks at MEET IN THE LOBBY have a preview:

Song Sung Blue (Director - Greg Kohs)

After reading the film’s description (”Captures the unexpected victories and tragedies beset upon Milwaukee’s favorite Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline tribute band”), I thought I wouldn’t make it past the movie’s first five minutes. Instead, I couldn’t turn it off - I was riveted.

When the film first opens on this real-life couple (going by “Lightning” and “Thunder”), it’s easy to write them off for their goofy costumes and misappropriated rock star behavior. But this duo persists. They’ve got loyal fans, consistent gigs, and even Eddie Vedder is charmed by them.

Watching people get slowed down by tragedy is heartbreaking. Even when they’re the cause of their own demise, we can’t stop watching because they never lose faith in themselves — and we want to see what just might be. This knocked ‘em out at Slamdance earlier this year, and we see why. Recommended.

AJ On BLUE

For the past several months I have checked out only one blog regularly when it comes to documentaries and thats been AJ Schnack's ALL THESE WONDERFUL THINGS. So I was psyched to learn AJ recently shared some thoughts on SONG SUNG BLUE. [read]

HOT DOCS - "THE LONG HAUL"

indieWIRE's Peter Knegt reports on "The Long Haul" panel I sat on during HOT DOCS. Check it out. [ read ]

HOT DOCS - Day 4

Today we headed back to Philly. Our experience at Hot Docs was really wonderful. The audiences, the staff, the town of Toronto  - all wonderful. Call me crazy, but for the first time since finishing the film, I’m beginning to get the feeling that SONG SUNG BLUE is getting some traction. Only time will tell. Next up for SONG SUNG BLUE is IFFBoston, Minneapolis Film Festival and Maryland Film Festival. I would really appreciate it if you could please share these upcoming screenings with any friends and family you may have in these towns. Thanks for your support and thanks for checking in.

HOT DOCS - Day 3

Today started with a HOT DOCS panel discussion on "the longitudinal documentary" as Hot Docs Director of Programming Sean Farnel describes it. Titled THE LONG HAUL, our panel discussed the ups and downs of making a doc that takes a long time. I won’t bore you with all the details but I did come out of the discussion really wanting to see my fellow panelist films - 20 SECONDS OF JOY by Jen Hoffman, FLICKER by Nick Sheehan, and BEHIND THE GLASS by Gabriel Rhodes.

Tonight’s screening was again packed and the audience was again incredibly kind and in love with Eddie Vedder. I really don’t know what’s going on, but our two Toronoto audiences put off such a great vibe. There are very serious moments in the film that often elicit a chuckle from some audience members that may be uncomfortable with the moment. Tonight - not a peep. Andrea and I concluded that these audiences were very caring and thoughtful towards Lightning & Thunder’s life.

During the Q&A a gentleman in the audience commented that when he walked into the screening he thought he was going to see a silly expose on futility… he went on to say that instead, he fell in love with Lightning & Thunder.

HOT DOCS - Day 2

Today we checked out some films. The two we enjoyed most were Lauren Greenfield’s, KIDS + MONEY and Aaron Rose & Joshua Leonard’s doc, BEAUTIFUL LOSERS. KIDS+ MONEY was a 20 minute short that left me craving more. As a father of three of which one is a teen, I was eager to check out the POV’s of the array of LA teens Greenfield fond. Some with more money than others. Much more.  Anyway, it looked as though HBO was behind the project so if your not able to catch it at a festival I’m sure it will be on the small screen sometime soon.

The other film we saw was BEAUTIFUL LOSERS. We chose this film simply because the promo tag touted, “From the Executive Producer of KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON. I recently screened AJ Schnack’s, ABOUT A SON and loved it so I thought heck, maybe AJ’s EP has got it going on -  lets give it a try. We were not disappointed. The film propelled us forward, with clean visuals and wonderful graphics + artwork courtesy of the featured artist in the film. It was a tight and entertaining film I would recommend you check out if you get the opportunity.

The day ended with dinner on W. Queen Street with Tony Dekker and his wonderful girlfriend Gin. The highlights of the evening were getting kicked out of the restaurant so the staff could go home, popping into a bar called the BEAVER only to discover more grinding going on than in your local skateboard park, and then closing out the night/morning at a karaoke bar where Tony was on deck to sing SONG SUNG BLUE when a little old man pulled the plug and kicked us out so the staff could go home. 

Tony & Andrea put on a Canadian "Night Cap"

HOT DOCS - Day 1.1

Tonight we screened the film for our first audience in Toronto. The screening was at The Bloor Theatre located on you guessed it Bloor Street. I am told this theatre plays host to the Rocky Horror Picture show as well as steady stream of indie bands that come through town. The sound was perfect, the screen was huge, the audience was enthusiastic and the stage was sticky. The Bloor was the perfect venue to share Lightning & Thunder’s story.

The sound in the screening was the best it has been so far on the festival circuit. I was psyched because tonight Toronto’s own Tony Dekker was at the screening. Not only is Tony’s band, The Great Lake Swimmers a favorite of mine, but Tony himself wrote and performed the entire original score for Song Sung Blue. Also in attendance was Tony’s enthusiastic manager Phil Klygo from weewerk.

EP Andrea, Editor Nick, Swimmer Tony, Manager Phil

The Toronto audience responded as many of the other audiences have responded accept for one little detail. They seemed to love Eddie Vedder more than any other audience. Eddie’s appearance in the film has been a hit with most audiences, but tonight these folks ate him up. There was so much energy and excitement during the scenes Eddie is in - it was very cool. So that’s the scoop for Day 1. Tomorrow we have a down day to take in a movie or two and chill. 

WINNER - Best Documentary

We received word this past Thursday that SONG SUNG BLUE won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Philadelphia International Film Festival. What does this mean for the film? Well, aside from getting to put another set of "WINNER" laurels on the poster, hopefully more potential festival audience members may take note that SONG SUNG BLUE is a worthy investment of their time. We were honored to have the opportunity to screen in Philly and really grateful that the jury watched our film and recognized it as being above average. Thank you.

A full blown update from HOT DOCS is on its way. Thanks for checking in and for your continued support of SONG SUNG BLUE. 

HOT DOCS - Day 1

Arrived with the sun in Toronto this morning. I don't know what I am most excited about - tonight's screening of SONG SUNG BLUE, or the fact that I slept the entire red-eye from LA last night. As my friend Ed Trifone would say,  "I think its gonna be a golden day". Andrea arrives within the hour and then its off to HOT DOCS.

More Ink In Toronto NOW

Just another little blurb on the eve of our International Premiere at Hot Docs. This one comes from Toronto's weekly paper NOW.

MOVIE REVIEWS

Song Sung Blue

NORMAN WILNERThis fascinating, mesmerizing shambles of a movie is a portrait of the delirious love between Michael andClaire Sardina, who performed as Lightning and Thunder for 17 years. He impersonated Neil Diamond, and she sang the occasional Patsy Cline number. They were world-famous in Milwaukee and played with Pearl Jam (sort of) at a 1995 music festival, though real fame eluded them. The set-up sounds like a conventional up-from-obscurity rockumentary -- you know, the one where nobodies play with Pearl Jam and then end up becoming happy and successful. But this one goes in an entirely different direction. It digs deeply into the psychology of the marginal celebrity and explores the way dreams of glory can blind people to the realities of day-to-day life.

Also, Eddie Vedder gets a lifetime pass for the empathy and kindness he shows here.

HOTTEST DOCS

With Song Sung Blue's Hot Docs International Premiere two days away, this "Hottest Docs" recommendation from the folks at www.eyeweekly.com

SONG SUNG BLUE ****
April 18, 9pm, Bloor; April 20, 7:15pm, ROM.
As American gothic as it gets in Milwaukee, husband and wife performance duo Lightning & Thunder endure car crashes, hospitalization and a slowing appreciation for their schmaltzy Neil Diamond covers en route to a surefire comeback. Greg Kohs captures subjects — now paunchy and despondent, clad in sequined vests adorned with stars and stripes —?mired in bitter realism, testing the terms of unconditional love. This documentary is filled with poignant moments, the best of which involve an onstage duet with Eddie Vedder and a chain-smoking nuclear family squabbling over skillets at Denny’s. Overwrought and unbearably sentimental, Song Sung Blue is as heart-rending as Diamond’s guiltiest pleasures. CL

Sarasota, FL

Today was the Florida Premiere of SONG SUNG BLUE and marked another first in the young life of the film. It was the first screening where you could smell REAL movie theatre popcorn. A small little detail I know. But a detail non-the-less and one that I thought was pretty cool. Our screening took place at the Hollywood Cinema Complex that has like 400 screens in it. Well maybe more like 12 screens. The point I’m trying to make here is that it was our first screening in a multiplex. And they sold popcorn.

I think the “Neil Diamond” aspect of the film got folks attention in Sarasota as the theatre was packed with folks of all ages, some buzzing about his soon to be released new album. The only available seats were the ones we vacated for a short time to be shuttled to the Long Boat Key Resort for the Awards Reception where the winner of the documentary competition was announced. No we didn’t win, BUT we were in competition with some amazing films, many of which were Sundance winners. So just being in the game was a big victory for our little film. Our congratulations go out to the filmmakers of STRANDED which took home the carved crystal wedge of excellence. I don’t think that’s the name of it, but it sounds pretty good.

Following the awards shin-dig we hustled back to the theatre in time for the Q&A. I felt kind of bad that we ran out of time for all the questions, but it was wonderful that so many folks took an interest in the film and hung out. Fortunately I had the opportunity to chat with quit a few new fans of SONG SUNG BLUE outside the theatre where an impromptu Q&A went on for about 30 minutes.

Song Sung Blue EP - Andrea "Rock & Roll" Mihalik en route to the Sarasota screening

Tomorrow SONG SUNG BLUE will screen again in both Philadelphia and Sarasota. I’m bummed I will not be able to attend either of these screenings as I have to travel back to LA to start shooting a commercial Monday morning. Next weekend is HUGE as SONG SUNG BLUE has its INTERNATIONAL Premiere in Toronto at Hot Docs International Film Festival.

So thats it for now. Thanks for checking in and for your continued support of the film. 

Best of the Fest!!

I just learned that SONG SUNG BLUE will enjoy an additional screening Monday night as part of the festival’s “Best of the Fest” program. The support Philadelphia has shown for the film has been tremendous. I am so appreciative and excited for the film. 

Standing O

Tonight was our East Coast Premiere and it was sensational. At the conclusion of the film the lights came up to reveal Thunder on stage and the audience erupted in applause giving her a standing ovation for over an hour - well it felt like over an hour. It was really long and it was really cool. I am so happy that Thunder is continuing to receive such warm receptions at her festival appearances.

Tonight was also very special because Philly represents my hometown. Though I grew up outside Detroit, I now make my home with my wife and kids outside Philly. So needless to say we had the benefit of the 12th man tonight and it felt good. Prior to the screening, friends Ellen Shire and Garrett Brown hosted a wonderful reception at the Prince Music Theatre that well over 100 friends, family, and fans of the film attended. The most memorable treat at the reception had to be “Forever In Blue Cheese”. There’s no place like home.

Alan "Lightning" Brown

Henry "Lightning" Frenzel

Dave "Lightning" Schwartz

Tomorrow morning Andrea and I head south for the Florida Premiere of SONG SUNG BLUE at the Sarasota Film Festival. Its a crazy schedule and a pace that will definitely need to be chilled out in the future. But at the moment we’re doing our best to care for the film and share Q&A’s with as many audiences as possible. 

City of Brother Love

Today was a good day for SONG SUNG BLUE. On the eve of its East Coast Premiere in the Philadelphia International Film Festival, The Inquirer, Daily News and WXPN all gave the film a healthy dose of love and props. Several days ago the City Paper also showed it some love. The positive attention that the press continues to shine on SONG SUNG BLUE is very exciting. I have included the link to the article written by Philadelphia Daily News film critic Gary Thompson. Pack up the babies, grab the old ladies and get to one of the screenings of SONG SUNG BLUE this weekend.

By Gary Thompson - Daily News Film Critic

FILE THE award-winning documentary "Song Sung Blue" under the heading Only In America.

It's a movie about husband-and-wife Neil Diamond/Patsy Cline impersonators that had its roots at a biker convention, where filmmaker Greg Kohs was collecting footage for a film he was making for Harley- Davidson.

In the middle of a zillion bikers, he and his crew heard the sweet sounds of a Diamond standard floating in the air, and, convinced it was Neil himself, went immediately to investigate.

"We heard 'Sweet Caroline' and went hauling off across the fairground," said Kohs, a top commercial director and former NFL films hand who still makes his home in South Jersey.

What they found was Mike Sardina, stage name Lightning, who makes his living singing note-perfect imitations of Diamond tunes in the Midwest, mostly at small venues in the Milwaukee area.

This was serendipity for Kohs, who grew up in the Midwest and had happy memories of attending his first concert - Neil Diamond - at age 11. He was instantly fascinated with Lightning, and saw him as a potential subject for his first feature documentary.

The more he got to know Lightning, the more convinced he became.

Lightning, it turns out, was part of a unique mom-and-pop operation called Lightning and Thunder - Claire Sardina is the Patsy Cline impersonator.

Kohs spent the next eight years immersed in their lives. That's a lot of time to devote to a novelty duo, but "Song Sung Blue" developed into much more than that (it recently won both the jury and audience awards at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City).

What could have been a simple, sentimental profile of a kitschy regional act turns into something much more substantial.

Events in the personal lives of the Sardinas form a tumultuous narrative, and Kohs creates an ever-deepening psychological profile of the couple - are they following their dreams, or, as time passes, selfishly clinging to a delusion of wider fame?

It's an open question to the viewer, although the movie is alive with sympathy for its subjects, with whom Kohs became very close.

"I really felt a connection with their ambition, their persistence. It's the idea that anything's possible. I related to that," he said.

Lightning and Thunder stick to their guns despite near-catastrophe and plenty of doubters (some within their own families).

It's a stance Kohs understands. He's won awards making commercials (for clients like Nike, McDonald's, Wal-Mart), and he's had his chance to make Hollywood movies - a music video for Adam Sandler ('The Lonesome Kicker') evolved into an offer for a feature comedy.

Kohs turned it down (Sandler eventually did as well; it became "Joe Dirt") because its broad sensibility didn't feel right to him.

"Song Sung Blue," on the other hand, hit just the right note.

"I've always wanted to tell a really compelling story," he said. "And this is one." *

"Song Sung Blue" screens at the Philadelphia Film festival at 9:30 tonight at the Prince Music Theater and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Ritz 2.

Wisconsin Film Festival Reaction

I was psyched to get a little bit more positive feedback regarding SONG SUNG BLUE when I read Katjusa Cisar's Dane101 post today reflecting on the Wisconsin Film Festival. Of the nine films she went to see over the weekend, SONG SUNG BLUE ranked at the top.

"By far the most riveting film I saw this weekend. I have a notoriously sketchy attention span, but not once during this film did I furtively reach for my cell phone to check texts. “Song Sung Blue” follows the lives of Lightening and Thunder, a husband-and-wife duo who sing Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline. The way they and their family opened up their lives to filming is astonishing. Nothing is held back. Lightening and Thunder weather through two freak gardening accidents, quintuple bypass surgery, death, teenage pregnancy, rejection, addiction and major money struggles. They walk around in their underwear, scream at each other and smoke incessantly, but you’ll love them. Bottom line, “Song Sung Blue” is one of the most heartfelt love stories I’ve ever seen."

Many folks that have screened SONG SUNG BLUE  have personally shared similar thoughts with me regarding the film, but its always nice to see it in print. One by one SONG SUNG BLUE is clearly finding its audience. 

Madison, WI

I have returned from another wonderful screening of SONG SUNG BLUE. This time at The Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison, Wisconsin. The film was screened a block away from Cafe Montmarte, an establishment that Lightning & Thunder use to play regularly back in the day. As a matter of fact, L&T use to play the Cafe every Halloween. And every Halloween Lightning would end up singing up on top of the bar in his red, white and blue boxers. Incredible! Needless to say Friday night's audience was enthusiastic. Clapping and cheering during some of the gig scenes in the film and joining in song during the film's emotional final scene. This is the first time an audience has been so active during a screening. It was really cool.

It was also very cool that the entire Milwaukee based crew that helped make SONG SUNG BLUE were present at the film. I was a bit bummed I had to bail before Saturday afternoons screening to head back to Philly. As amazing as it is to personally share SSB with festival audiences, the reality is, I need to continue to make a living and I will not be able to accompany the film to every festival. However, since the SSB momentum & buzz is really starting to crank up, I've decided to be a bit of a madman in the month of April. Tomorrow morning I leave for LA to work, then red-eye back to Philly for Friday's festival screening, the next morning to Sarasota for a festival screening, the next morning back to LA to work, then red-eye to Toronto for the Hot Doc screenings, then to South Africa to work, then to Paris to work, then back home to the family (assuming they haven't moved out while I was away).

Back in 2000, before I had fully embedded myself in Lighting & Thunder's lives, I did a brief interview with Thunder at a gig in Chicago. During that interview I asked her if some of the events that had recently occurred in her life created any stress on her relationship with Lightning. She sat quietly for a moment with a little smirk on her face and then said, "You know Greg, the hardest ship to sail is a relationship." I have never forgotten that clever quote, especially at a time when so much attention is being directed towards SONG SUNG BLUE. I am forever grateful to my wife and kid's for their understanding and support for the film.  Now the trick is to navigate a course that steers clear of the icebergs and maintains the delicate balance of life. 

Jimmy Sammarco, Me, Thunder, Rich Menning, Nick Kleczewski, Timm Gable, Bill Armstrong

Next up, the Philadelphia International Film Festival. This will be our East Coast premiere and I am very excited. I have well over 100 friends from the area coming to the Friday night screening so needless to say I'm a bit nervous. Many of them have no clue what to expect from the movie, so conditions are perfect for the emotional roller coaster ride that is SONG SUNG BLUE.

The New SSBlog

So at the suggestion of a new friend. SONG SUNG BLUE is now in the blogosphere. The entire process of moving my old posts over to this site was not too difficult,  just time consuming. So thanks for checking in. I'll be off to Wisconsin for the festival in two days and back posting updates on the film.  I leave you with Milwaukee's own Dancin' Queen and Dancin' machine. Enjoy!