Spontaneous

Chagrin Hollywood

Jeff — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:37:06 +0000

“To My Great Chagrin” will have its Los Angeles premiere at The Silent Movie Theater on Tuesday, August 11th at 8:00 PM. Should be a fun evening, with some “surprise” guests. And hopefully all the Theodore fans in the Los Angeles area will be able to attend.

Jeff Sumerel, director & producer of the film is scheduled to be in attendance.

Chagrin Europe

Jeff — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:57:51 +0000

“To My Great Chagrin: The Unbelievable Story of Brother Theodore” has been selected for screenings at two significant European venues.

FILMKUNSTFEST Schwerin, Germany May 5 – 9, 2009

Each year in early May the regional capitol transforms into a meeting point of cineasts and art lovers.

Founded in 1991 – just after the fall of the wall – as a small scale public platform for films subsidized in Mecklenburg-Pomerania, it has become East Germany’s largest festival with over 17,000 visitors.

This will be the first European screening of “To My Great Chagrin” and Spontaneous Productions is very grateful and excited it is taking place in Germany at Filmkunstfest.

With its feature film and short film competition, Filmkunstfest is now one of the most important German-speaking festivals supporting up-coming filmmakers.

INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC TELEVISION Warsaw, Poland May 10 -15, 2009

Many of television’s most important innovations were first shown at the annual INPUT Screening Conference. Each May in a different city, an estimated 1000 television professionals from 50 countries and five continents gather for one special week to screen 80 hours of the world’s finest TV programmes. For the first time INPUT will be hosted by an Eastern European country. INPUT 2009 will take place from May 10 – 15, 2009. The Warsaw conference may very well be the greatest media event not only in Poland, but in all of Central/Eastern Europe.

“To My Great Chagrin” is among only four U.S. films, out of over 100 entries, that were invited to INPUT 2009.

INPUT is specifically designed to discuss and debate media in the public interest. The 2009 session will be about new approaches to cultural programming.

A requirement for being selected for INPUT is that an associate of the film be in attendance. Jeff Sumerel (director / producer) has opted to make the trip (pending a travel grant), and hopes he will be a fitting representive for his collaborator, Jeter Rhodes (editor / associate producer), as well as their home state of South Carolina.

Chagrin WNYC

Jeff — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:55:51 +0000

Spontaneous Productions director, Jeff Sumerel, has been invited to be the guest of “The No Show” on WNYC public radio.

“The No Show” is a showcase for the idiosyncratic views and humor of Steve Post, a world-class curmudgeon whose irreverence and iconoclasm have entertained audiences and appalled radio station managers for four decades.

Steve Post has been a long-time supporter of Brother Theodore and will be chatting with Sumerel about his documentary, “To My Great Chagrin”, that explores Theodore’s life and career.

“The No Show” episode is scheduled to air on Saturday, March 28th at 4:00 PM on WNYC (93.9 FM)

Bluegrass Comedy

Jeff — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:00:02 +0000

A while back, our friend, Matt Diffee, (comdey writer, performer, & a cartoonist for The New Yorker), began hosting and presenting some evenings of bluegrass music and comedy that featured the likes of Gillian Welch, Roz Chast, Tony Trischka, Chris Thile, and Demetri Martin.

Those evenings have led to a monthly show – The Steam Powered Hour: a smart and cozy night of bluegrass music, standup comedy, short films, and cartoons. Matt asked Spontaneous Productions to join in, and we were glad get on-board. We’re providing support however we can, be it with show content (“Spare Time with George Bigby”), stage managing, technical assistance, or promotion – the show has that kind “chip-in-to-make-it-work” atmosphere. And everyone involved seems to enjoy it.

Check-in on the next up-coming Steam Powered Hour…and spread the word.

Cab Concert

Jeff — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:29:43 +0000

Spontaneous Productions was lucky enough to be available to work with fellow Greenville native, Mikal Evans who recently re-located to NYC.

Mikal is a triple-threat performer (singer, writer, actor) who has hit the ground running in the NYC performing arts scene.

After hearing Mikal perform at a benefit concert, Spontaneous Productions offered to document her performing one of her songs in a unique setting – a taxi. Take a look and find out more about Mikal’s other works and up-coming performances.

Impromptu Screening

Jeff — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:22:24 +0000

Spontaneous Productions had an impromptu test screening in NYC of their latest work-in-progress; currently entitled “Incidental”.

About 30 select friends and colleagues attended, and then gathered afterward across the street at The Parlour Irish pub for some tasty treats and vibrant discussion.

A couple of overheard reactions: “A cross between Andy Warhol’s early Factory genre and Koyannisqatsi” “An excellent surrealistic portrait of Every-Man”

The screening was considered a success in that it sparked in-depth comments, ideas, and viewpoints that will help determine what form “Incidental” will take; webisodes? a stage/screen production? an installation piece? an abstract feature-length story?

A similar screening is being considered for Greenville, SC in early Spring 2009