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TRAILERS, CONSULTING, &c.
Yardfarmers [promo trailer for docu-series]
Katy Chevigny, director · Danielle Varga, producer · Erik Assadourian, producer · 2015
What happens when you take six young Americans and move them back in with their parents to farm their parents’ yards or neighborhood greenspace? Do these young yardfarmers grow sustainable food, new local economic opportunities for their communities, and a heightened level of family togetherness? Or do they do battle at every turn, fighting with their frustrated folks, irritated community members, and an unforgiving Mother Nature? Does this new path make economic sense or just make enemies? Yardfarmers—a new reality TV/documentary series hybrid for release in Spring 2017—will follow a diverse set of six young Americans (ages 21-29) as they move back home with their parents to become yardfarmers. Over the course of one growing season the six contestants will compete for the honor of becoming “America’s Best Yardfarmer,” and a substantial prize.
Some Kind of Spark [funding trailer for feature doc]
Ben Niles, director · 2013
Some Kind of Spark is a feature-length documentary that follows five kids from the far reaches of New York City as they embark on a life-changing experience—the opportunity to study music in Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program (MAP), a Saturday outreach program for kids from communities that are underserved in the arts. Painting a deeply intimate portrait of the students’ lives and patiently allows them to tell their own stories, Some Kind of Spark illuminates the universal challenges faced by students and educators over a 2-year span. In this time, each child has his/her own conflicts and hurdles to overcome—from a first recital and stage fright, to the demands of daily practice, to a lack of family resources. Ultimately, this is a film about transformation. It aims to serve as an inspiration for other programs across the nation to nurture two of our most valuable national treasures: our children and our musical heritage.
Boomtown [promo trailer for documentary series]
Rachel Libert, director · 2011 · docu-series for Planet Green
The tiny town of Parshall, N.D., is isolated, windswept and frigid, like most northwestern American communities. With a population of 1,073, Parshall holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in North Dakota. The economy of this small community, like so many other similar towns across America, has been in steep decline for many years. As manufacturing and farming jobs have moved overseas, town residents have sought greener pastures and a better life. But recently, something amazing happened: Below the wheat fields and the grocery store and the high school football field, surveyors discovered oil - barrels upon barrels of thick, unrefined, highly sought-after crude oil. BOOMTOWN, a docu-series picked up by Planet Green, tells the tale of this struggling American town in the midst of a profound reversal of fortune.
EDITORIAL CONSULTING
I also work as a consultant on long- and short-form documentary projects. I've advised in the early stages on independent projects, works for HBO and PBS and in the fine cut, as well as television cut-downs of finished work.