Documentary Institute grads win film award
The documentary "Sid Vision” was honored October 25, 2003
for outstanding non-fiction film at the Angelus Awards in Los Angeles.
By DAVE SCHLENKER
Gainesville Sun entertainment editor
(October 25, 2003) In the 1950s, Sid Davis made brutally direct educational films — 150, in fact — that warned students against everything from strangers to LSD, to suffocation in old refrigerators.
In today's cynical society, the dated dialogue often evokes chuckles: “Aw, Timmy's all right, but I'm not so sure about Marcia. Oh no!”
But, experts contend, those independent films — unhindered by corporate red tape — carried potent, timeless lessons that resonated with students.
So perhaps it's fitting that "Sid Vision” will be honored today for outstanding non-fiction film at the Angelus Awards in Los Angeles. After all, three University of Florida students made the film on Davis as part of their quest for a master's degree.
The film by UF grads John Jack, Donna Pazdera and Todd Southern earned the honor after it was selected out of more than 470 submissions to the Angelus Awards Student Film Festival. It will be screened tonight in Los Angeles along with the other finalists.
“All of us felt it was amazing,” said one Angelus judge, Craig MacGowan. “The story they told was almost identical to the problems we have today.”
“The subject was wonderful. It was a great look back,” said judge Barbara Gangi.
The look of Davis' films might seem campy today, but “Sid Vision” dealt with such problems more directly than current efforts, she added.
The films dispelled the conventional wisdom that things were quieter and safer in the good old days, noted film archivist Rick Prelinger in "Sid Vision.”
He tackled all danger topics and pulled no punches, and this documentary mixes a barrage of his clips with film experts — and Davis — who insist the approach is as relevant today as it was when students with horn-rimmed glasses first watched those horrific crashes and back-yard explosions.
While large production companies were churning out films that suggested if you do this, something might happen, Davis cut to the chase.
“With Sid Davis, if you go beyond a trespassing sign, you fall down a cliff, OK? That's about it,” film historian Michelle Boulé said during one of the documentary's segments.
That unihibited style struck the filmmakers, who made the film for their master's thesis (they earned their mass communication degrees in May).
The trio was fascinated with Davis, a former stand-in for actor John Wayne who borrowed $1,000 from The Duke to make a film that, Davis thought, adequately warned of strangers. He made “The Dangerous Stranger” after trying to explain a 1949 child molestation case to his 6-year-old daughter.
“He took on these subjects that no one took on at the time,” said Pazdera, a former newspaper journalist who also teaches reporting at UF.
The three will split the $1,500 prize, Pazdera said. But, being budding filmmakers who spent much of their own money on this project, they do not plan to attend tonight's ceremony.
But they remained elated.
“It's a huge deal,” Pazdera said. “We didn't expect this. I'll tell you, I was kind of blown away.”
And the competition was tough. The Angelus Awards, as per its mission statement, celebrates films that “explore the complexity of the human condition with creativity, compassion and respect.”
Quite a few entries excelled along those lines, Gangi said, especially the six or seven finalists in the non-fiction category “Sid Vision” claimed.
“All the entries were just amazing,” Gangi said, noting the future of filmmaking appears to be in good hands.
Earlier winners in this category have detailed everything from AIDS in Africa to the life of a cancer patient, said Monika Moreno, director of the Angelus Awards.
But this year, “Sid Vision” simply resonated with judges as it mixed seemingly comical offerings from Davis that still smacked with some urgency.
“It was quite an honor for them, as, up to this date, (“Sid Vision”) has not won anything,” Moreno said.
Pazdera said the UF provided an initial $4,000 for the project. The film required several trips to the West Coast, where most sources lived; Davis, for example, still lives in Los Angeles.
“The difficult part of this film was that none of the people we interviewed were next door,” Pazdera said.
Related Links:
"UF
Grads win film award" on Gainesvillesun.com
Angelus Awards
Student Film Festival 2003 Winners
The above article was published October 25, 2003 in The Gainesville Sun and is © 2003 Gainesvillesun.com. It is reproduced with permission.
The Campaign for the University of Florida