Asheville will get some large-format exposure next week during the screening of “Anywhere USA,” a locally produced film to be shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
“Anywhere USA,” formerly known as “Asheville the Movie,” is directed by Anthony “Chusy” Haney-Jardine, co-writer of the screenplay with producer Jennifer MacDonald. One of 16 films in the dramatic film category, the movie, shot in high definition, looks at American manners, prejudices and family dynamics in segments that range from satiric to tragic.
Asheville on the map
“Chusy and his film are going to be the rainmaker for the Asheville media scene,” videographer Kurt Mann said. Former executive director of URTV public access TV station in Asheville, Mann said the film’s being at Sundance, one of the world’s premier film festivals, is an opportunity to show the world that Asheville has a lot to offer the filmmaking industry.
Nearly the entire cast and crew live in or around the city, which shows that “it’s possible that someone can meet their production goals with the group of professionals that live here,” said Bruce Sales, who did post-production audio work on the movie. Sales moved back to Asheville after 17 years of doing TV and film work in New York.
“This is bringing attention to the fact that we have talent here that is world-class,” said Alison Watson, executive director of the Media Arts Project, which cultivates innovative arts and technology in the Asheville area. “People we have here are getting national and international attention.”
As examples, she cited Asheville residents Johnny DeKam, the internationally acclaimed video artist who founded the video software company Vidvox, and David McConville, the MAP’s founder who works with museums, theaters and galleries around the world to develop immersive digital theaters and productions.
Shot at exposure
Screening dates for “Anywhere USA” at Sundance are Jan. 21-23 and 25-26. Attracting a buyer could mean big things for everyone involved in the film. Just being selected for Sundance is “a pretty massive accomplishment,” said Rod Murphy, a West Asheville filmmaker. “It’s the Super Bowl of indie films.”
Mann believes Haney-Jardine has an excellent chance to sell his film, but Murphy says the scene during Sundance is “cutthroat.” He was there four years ago, having been invited to show his documentary “Greater Southbridge” at the TromaDance film festival, which is held in Park City the same time Sundance is going on.
“Even marketing your film — you stick posters up, and 12 seconds later people have put up their posters over yours,” Murphy said. “Guys on two cell phones talking to two coasts. The odds are stacked against you. But (Haney-Jardine) has a good shot.”
MAP, the WNC Film Office and McConville’s company, the Elumenati, have created a video promoting the Asheville-area arts scene that will be shown at a reception at Sundance that the WNC and North Carolina film offices are holding for “Anywhere USA.”
(The festival also will screen another film with Asheville connections — “Pretty Bird,” directed and written by Paul Schneider, who grew up here. Read more about both films and the festival at www.sundance.org/ festival.)
Haney-Jardine, a commercial director working mostly with Latin American and international clients, has been busy attending to last-minute film matters, but he made time to respond via e-mail to questions about “Anywhere USA.”
"As a life-long resident of western North Carolina I can’t imagine a more beautiful or diverse place to live and work." D. Samuel Neill
Attorney-At-Law & AdvantageWest Board Member
