Journey from the Fall
Format: 35mm film
Runtime: 135 min
Country: Thailand / USA
Language: Vietnamese w/ English subtitles
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital / Stereo
Inspired by actual events, Journey from the Fall follows one
family's fight for freedom in the wake of war-torn Vietnam,
communist political prison camps, and the mass exodus of boat
people.
April 30th, 1975
Against his wife's wishes, Long Nguyen chooses to stay in
Vietnam and fight for his beloved country. Knowing that his
decision may separate him from his family forever, he asks his
wife, Mai, to leave their homeland for safer shores. Together
with her son and mother-in-law, Mai reluctantly boards a tiny
fishing boat bound for America and they begin a perilous journey
across the sea, with nothing but hope to keep them alive.
Meanwhile, as the city of Saigon falls under communist rule,
Long is captured and imprisoned in a series of re-education
camps. There, he endures solitary confinement and witnesses the
death of his friends, spiraling him downwards into a deep
despair. Believing his family is dead, Long's faith is revived
when a mysterious visitor brings news of their survival in the
new world. In one moment his fate becomes clear, and he sets in
motion a dangerous plan to escape and join his family in
freedom.
Journey from the Fall is dedicated to the millions of boat
people and survivors of the communist re-education camps. This
is their story.
Q: Do you feel that telling stories in the particular
way you do is necessary for us as humans?
A: I'm not a storyteller, I'm a man who draws pictures
(laughs). However, I do believe in the power of story. I
believe that stories have an important role to play in
the formation of human beings, that they can stimulate,
amaze and inspire their listeners.
Q: Do you believe in the necessity of fantasy in telling
children's stories?
A: I believe that fantasy in the meaning of imagination
is very important. We shouldn't stick too close to
everyday reality but give room to the reality of the
heart, of the mind and of the imagination. Those things
can help us in life. But we have to be cautious in using
this word fantasy. In Japan, the word fantasy these days
is applied to everything from TV shows to video games,
like virtual reality. But virtual reality is a denial of
reality. We need to be open to the powers of
imagination, which brings something useful to reality.
Virtual reality can imprison people. It's a dilemma I
struggle with in my work, that balance between imaginary
worlds and virtual worlds. [click the link
for more]
As in Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters In Search Of
An Author, Urban Stages for 20 years has been searching for authors' new
works and new theatrical voices. This season we are celebrating our 20th
anniversary and our talented authors Kitty Chen, Arthur Giron, Jim
Lehrer, Dan Owens, Victor Cahn, David Simpatico, Nadine Mozon, Guillermo
Reyes, Eugene Lee, Arthur Kopit, A.R. Guerney, John Walch, Jo Tanner,
Kevin Fisher and 350 others have joined in making our theatre so
provocative and entertaining. Urban Stages' playwrights, traditionally
and now, represent the ethnic variety of our communities, and their
excellent stories and themes. [click the pic for more info]
Based
in Toronto, CanStage produces, develops and exports
the best in international contemporary theatre and
is Canada's largest contemporary theatre company. THE CANADIAN STAGE COMPANY (CANSTAGE) was formed out
of the 1987 merger of the Toronto Free Theatre and
CentreStage, and can trace its roots back over 50
years. The new cBragg's
mandate for the company, as stated on his rise to
role of Artistic Producer in 1998, is to "create and
produce the best in Canadian and international
theatre, attracting Canada's best writers, directors
and actors. Nurturing, developing and presenting
Canadian talent is at the core of our artistic
vision. Through the New Play Development Program,
CanStage strives to raise the national and
international profile of our established Canadian
writers and continues to nurture emerging
playwrights". [click the pic for more info]
Tarragon is primarily a
playwright's theatre. Its mandate is to develop, encourage and produce
new work; to attract or train artists and technicians to interpret new
work; and to inform and develop an audience for new work. Tarragon's
mandate also deems it important to produce new work from all parts of
this country---from the west, from the east, and from Quebec---as a
complement to the new work which is created here; and also, on occasion,
to revive a significant Canadian work from our dramatic literature both
to provide a context for new creation, and to introduce these received
texts to a new audience. In every instance, we emphasize high production
standards, both to entertain our audience and to stimulate other new
writers. Intensive, hands-on dramaturgy is a priority at Tarragon, for
writers in the Playwrights Unit, playwrights-in-residence, playwrights
whose work is being produced, and for playwrights who submit unsolicited
scripts from across the country. Finally, it is part of Tarragon's
mandate to use all its resources, programs and facilities
inclusively---for instance, the booking of The Extra Space, the
availability of the Tarragon Studio as a creative developmental "lab,"
and the programming of the Spring Arts Fair---to promote and encourage
other groups of artists or individual artists who are developing new
work, in new forms, in new processes, for new audiences.
Part of Tarragon's mandate
is to use all its resources, programs, and facilities to promote and
encourage, wherever possible, inclusion. Particularly through our
education outreach initiatives, we aim to support and foster
relationships with educators and students as together we develop the
theatre practitioners and audiences of tomorrow.
Pangea
World Theater is committed to international works,
styles and traditions that illuminate the human
condition, end divisiveness and celebrate
differences. We strive to bring communities across
the world together through theater productions,
workshops and speakers. We view the stage as a
powerful international forum and a podium for
discussion. Throughout our work we employ a
cross-ethnic vision of tolerance and humand rights
through excellence in the arts.
Annual International Citizen Award Winners: The Twin
Cities Global Reach
First
Gardens for Peace Artist-in-Residence Award Given to
Pangea World Theater
ARTWORD A theatre and an art gallery in downtown Toronto, Canada. 75
Portland Street, Toronto (one block east of Bathurst, south of
King) Ronald Weihs Artistic Director Judith Sandiford
Managing Director/Curator
Artword’s Mission: To provide an environment for artists to
create the best work of which they are capable and to share that
work with the Canadian public.
We are
building a community of interest in contemporary Australian and
New Zealand Literary & Performing Arts.
At Artmedia we have three arms
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The Internet is
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GROUP Mission: To strengthen, nurture and
promote the not-for-profit professional American
theatre.
Programs and
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Artistic Programs awards grants to theatres
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Management Programs provides professional
development opportunities for theatre leaders
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Publications
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QUESTION: How does an unknown make it to Hollywood?
ANSWER:
You have to understand that for all intents and
purposes, I was "unknown" to the film business four
years ago. I had no more advantage or disadvantage than
you have. You may not think that truth, but it
absolutely is because I had no "heat" coming off any
great television show. It was all about the script. If
you write a great script and put it in your drawer at
your cottage in Muskoka Lake, someone will track it down
and find it. If you write a bad script and send 100,000
copies out, it still ain't gonna sell. The trick is
really simple: write a great script. And I don't mean to
be flip. That's just the truth. Write something that's
in your heart, and if you have your craft down and if
you're really honest with the characters, it will sell.
It just may take some time. I guess that's what you
should ask yourself. Not how to sell or market
something, but have I written enough and experienced
enough to write a good screenplay? You write, you
research, you write, you research... What makes a good
writer is thousands of pages written. Paul Haggis at Screenwriters Online
In 1995 Chris, once a struggling
penniless writer, established ScreenwritersUtopia.com.
It was a very simple place, no more than a dozen pages.
It reflected the Internet of its day, not a lot of
graphics, no bells or whistles, and mostly made up of
text. Today, it has grown into the portal for
screenwriting on the Internet. With thousands of pages
of content, and more than 100,000 monthly visitors, SU
is the largest and most heavily visited screenwriting
site on the Web. In May 2004 we revealed a new SU, all
php database driven.
Today we do a wide range of things here at SU. From
forums, professional screenwriter chats, script reviews
to industry news and script sales. We get so much
great feedback, for example Scott Frank (MINORITY
REPORT, OUT OF SIGHT) had this to say:
"...from the looks of your website, you are a friend to
screenwriters. I applaud what you're trying to do. I
support it."
Script P.I.M.P.,
LLC is a community based research tool designed for
writers & film industry professionals. Since June 2000,
Script P.I.M.P. has gathered the specific needs and
submission guidelines of production & management
companies, literary agencies, independent producers and
creative executives searching for new material. Along
with extensive resources, this information is now
available in Script P.I.M.P.'s
Script P.I.M.P. Screenwriting
Competition.
The final deadline for the next competition is May 1st,
2007. Script P.I.M.P. continues to provide writers with
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Writers Workshop.
Writers continue to rave about the development notes and
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