[BobbyB]

A sneak peak
2009 Durango Film Festival satisfies hunger for true stories



by Judith Reynolds

Next Wed., March 4, the Durango Independent Film Festival will once again open with a free movie night. DIFF organizers have wisely chosen to showcase a different documentary at each theater, the Gaslight and the Abbey. On free night, DIFF also offers one feature, “Gospel Hill,” and one shorts program tantalizingly titled “Sex, Death & God.” Here are some notes about the two opening documentaries plus five more of the festival’s more than 80 offerings I was lucky enough to preview.

- “An Unlikely Weapon” screens at the Abbey at 6 p.m. on March 4. The second showing will be at noon on March 7. Whether you know the name Eddie Adams or not, most likely you’ve seen his most famous war photograph – a horrifying image of a Saigon police chief executing a Vietcong guerilla. The 1968 photograph became a symbol for the brutality of the Vietnam War and has entered the halls of memorable war photography along with Nick Ut’s burning child. Ut is one of many professional colleagues interviewed for this documentary.

In his long career, Adams covered 13 wars. When burned out, he returned to New York City to pursue more benign genres like fashion and celebrity photography. Late in his life, he established Bathhouse Studio, a now-famous workshop in upstate New York for aspiring photojournalists. His bluntness, candor and courage made him a hero to many young American photographers.

“An Unlikely Weapon,” of course, refers to Adams’ camera. Ironically, filmmaker Susan Morgan Cooper began the film when Adams had only a short time to live, so it’s a true biopic.

Adams died in 2004 at the age of 71 of complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Toward the end, he became stiff and silent. None of this is shown, but interviews with colleagues portray an always cantankerous and defiant Adams as he slips toward the grave. Not to give anything critical away, the film ends on an uplifting note as.



http://www.anunlikelyweapon.com/

http://www.anunlikelyweapon.com/trailer/index.html

http://www.eddieadamsworkshop.com/fo...000elH_qjtd22U





http://www.durangotelegraph.com/tele...26/second1.htm

[BobbyB]