documentary

Tonight my wife Kate and I -- and a lot of folks in the Bull City --  will head downtown to take in a free screening of Durham: A Self-Portrait at the Carolina Theatre. The first show at 7:30 is sold out.

The documentary chronicles the people and neighborhoods of my hometown, as well as the history of race and class here.  It's the work of Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Dr. Steven Channing and Durham-based VideoDialog.

The city has a rich heritage as a textile center and of course, tobacco production (Liggett-Myers, which vacated long ago); my father's side of the family has long been a part of the city's history as well, in business, public service and civil rights. It will be interesting to see how civil rights era history will be covered in the doc.

When surfing by the excellent local blog Bull City Rising, I found a short video tribute to the city center by Luther Blissett. It's below the fold.

fp'd by Betsy

I'm beginning a documentary on the Iraq war, its Veterans, and the effects of the war on the troops when returning home. I would like to interview Veterans from the Iraq war and talk with them about why they joined the military, what were their thoughts about the Iraq war before they went, and if those opinions changed after returning from the war. My goal is to show the war, what inspires Americans to enlist, and how their views might change or evolve after joining by letting Veterans tell their own stories. We are looking to interview Iraq Veterans from the South since we are located in Alabama. We can film in the following states: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky. If you are an Iraq war Veteran in any of these states and are interested in doing an interview please contact me.