A Trio of Titles

A Trio of Titles from Carnivalesque Films
http://www.carnivalesquefilms.com


Documentary filmmakers David Redmon and Ashley Sabin portray the survival challenges faced by disaster victims and the working poor. They combine video, 8mm and 16mm film footage into raw and unedited collages, and present them to the viewer in a kaleidoscopic, mashed together style. Redmon and Sabin present unforgettable and moving images through their approach to verité.

Mardi Gras: Made in China is an award-winning documentary that explores the relationship between the gaily-colored strings of beads awarded for provocative behavior in New Orleans, and the young migrant Chinese workers who manufacture them. The young men and women work at least 12 hours every day running machines and hand painting figurines while living at the factory compound and away from their families. The documentary contains interview footage of workers, bosses, owners, and Mardi gras revelers incorporated as a collage to relate the stressful lives of the young workers and to express the attitudes of both labor and management. The DVD contains feature length (73 minutes) and educational (PG) versions (52 min.), deleted scenes, and special features including interviews with principal workers. The Mardi gras scenes contain some sexual exposure.

Kamp Katrina depicts life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans residents Dave and Ms. Pearl open their backyard to the displaced, converting their garden into a tent city. The award-winning documentary follows the lives of the residents of Kamp Katrina through the next six months as they attempt to rebuild their lives following the devastation. Living life on the basest of levels is raw and stressful, but the personalities who make up the backyard community become indelibly etched into the heart. Scenes of the post Katrina destruction are incredibly gripping. There are both feature length (75 minutes) and educational versions (48 min.) of the film. There is considerable profanity throughout.

Intimidad introduces 21-year-olds Camilo and Cecy, a young Mexican couple trying to establish their home. They struggle to earn a living working low wage factory jobs and while living apart from their two-year old daughter, Loida. The stress placed upon their marriage climaxes while on a Christmas visit to see their daughter, when Cecy decides to remain with her family and not return to the couple’s home in Reynosa. Finally, love wins out as Cecy and Loida join Camilo, buy land, and build a small house. (72 minutes).

reviews by William Hall for the Nebraska Library Association Journal