IN THIS LIFE...

I wear about as many hats as any small business owner. We all do. In the corporate world it would be called “cross-training”. My crowded calendar and to-do list would be my “dashboard”.

But it’s independent film. It’s a documentary. No remuneration whatsoever except what feeds our souls. It’s about making our own rules and building our own road on which to travel. It’s a heck of a lot of work and, at the same time, the corporate world would call it “goofing off”. I work in the mornings, over my lunch hour, and usually late into the night or early morning hours.

I attend an awards evening.
I sit in a friend’s back yard and watch squirrels and listen for garbage trucks.
I watch people arrive at a rodeo.
I empathize with a couple closing the doors on their dreams.
I walk onto a newly developed college on a hot Sunday afternoon that used to be my friend’s backyard.
I learn to Salsa at a Hookah Lounge.
I listen to struggling poets.
I watch a friend perform in his band before flying to Liverpool.

All the while I listen to people’s long string of words on which hand fancy baubles and crystal beads, polished bones and misshapen clay blobs. Then, unexpectedly, a priceless jewel gets strung on. I smile to myself and at those working hard alongside me because my partner has coaxed something amazing out of our patient interview. What have they given us? Not saving blood or money to fund a change in the world; they’ve given us their thoughts and wishes and experiences and impressions, and what else can be as valuable as what makes a person who they are? And, we've captured it to share with you...

Christine

What is a city?

... at moments like this, the city goes soft; it awaits the imprint of an identity. For better or worse, it invites you to remake it, to consolidate it into a shape you can live in. You, too. Decide who you are, and the city will again assume a fixed form round you. Decide what it is, and your own identity will be revealed ... We mould [cities] in our images: they, in their turn, shape us by the resistance they offer when we try to impose our personal form on them....

The city as we imagine it, the soft city of illusion, myth, aspiration, nightmare, is as real, maybe more real, than than the hard city one can locate on maps in statistics, in monographs on urban sociology and demography and architecture.

--From Soft City by Jonathan Raban

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH “HOOKER”

Day Five of “Fresno – The Documentary” was at the May FLYP event. Through an unexpected SNAFU (as they usually come), Brad and Kristy had to move their event at the last minute to Ghaleb’s Grill and Hookah Lounge. Now, with Jaguar present, one might confuse the term and think “hooker”, but no, alas, it was “Hookah”. The smoking kind of “hookah” – picture a harem with its sultan at the center among colorfully, diaphanous clad, petite and beautiful young women on a floor of pillows with their testosterone chief, in gold adorned silks, smoking from a tall, fancy and aromatic hookah.

So, the lounge did not exactly look like that, but now you’ve pictured a hookah. (I really like the word, so I’m going to keep finding ways of putting it in!) It was a large “room” in the middle of a strip mall: absolutely Fresno! Candles and “Harry Potter Goblet of Fire”-like miniatures, with middle eastern artifacts were set about the room, which might have once been a Mexican restaurant. It was dark, very dark, which Jeremy (our DP) did not like. Even though the venue had changed last minute, the turnout was great. Everyone enjoyed the salsa lessons and people were up dancing as long as we were there. When we left, at around 8:30, newcomers were still arriving. (Hint: women tend to outnumber the men.)

Brad and Kristy have managed to create an atmosphere where all ages are welcome, though the younger set seems to be more prominent. Everyone talks to everyone. Everyone dances with everyone. Drinks flow freely as does conversation. It’s a good mixer which welcomes all from the shyest middle-aged office worker to the most outgoing redhead in Fresno (BTW, that wasn’t meant to be me). People admired the hookahs, jello shots and oxygen bar, but tended to stick to more mundane habits – drinking inside in a nightclub setting and smoking cigarettes outside in the parking lot.

On film we’ve caught Jaguar dancing with the other Christine, a couple smoking a hookah, lots of great interviews with Fresno’s diverse culture, the wall of hookah, candlelight, dancing and fun!

See you on Day Six, Friday at the Fresno Filmworks presentation of “La Última Mirada” at 5pm and 8 pm at the Tower Theater!

“FRESNO” PRODUCTION DIARY

Day One - “Fresno” Begins Production!

Entandem’s latest project is “Fresno,” a documentary film that questions whether a city with an ugly reputation can grow to become a major metropolis. Filming on “Fresno” began April 26 at the Fresno Arts Council’s Horizon Awards ceremony, held at the Fresno City Council Chamber. Entandem co-founder Jaguar Bennett tortured nervous award recipients with hard-hitting questions like “State your name for the camera.”

Day Two – On location in the back yard of Jaguar’s glamorous Tower District residence! In a bucolic atmosphere of birdsong and garbage trucks, San Francisco artist Mia Paschal shared with us her views of Fresno’s arts scene—and her opinions will surprise and shock you. (A snippet soon to be up on our web site!)

Day Three was hot! Our soles stuck to the sidewalk – felt just like summer in the Valley. The smell of horses and cattle wafted through the heated, dusty air. The Clovis Rodeo was in full swing as we rustled through parking lots to capture the wonderful characters. Clovis, as a neighbor to Fresno, is an integral part of the city, with an invisible border and even interrelated schools. Also, we visited Jaguar’s former home, now a new giant school complex.

Day Four was spent at Koffeeheads! (See the previous blog.) Jack and Kari Weldon are closing their fabulous and unique chain of local coffee shops after being obliterated by the public’s interest and eager consumption at the Starbuck’s drive-through. This was a fantastic interview with two wonderful, kind and creative people. We will miss you!

We’ll keep you updated on our adventures with pictures and video (up soon, we promise, on our new, soon to be unveiled redesigned web site – www.EntandemProd.com).

Cheerio for now,

Christine