Below is the press release for MONSTERS FROM THE ID, playing this weekend at the IFFB. We hope to have a review for the film later in the week.
BP is doing our best to bring you coverage of the IFFB, despite being denied press credentials this year – stay tuned for further updates!
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MONSTERS FROM THE ID, DIRECTED/EDITED BY DAVID GARGANI, TO SCREEN AT
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON, APRIL 25,
AT BRATTLE THEATER
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – March 30, 2009 – Having enjoyed a successful world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival (Austin, TX), Monsters From The Id, an independent feature documentary, directed and edited by David Gargani, will screen at the Independent Film Festival of Boston on April 25 at 2:00pm, at the Brattle Theater – Harvard Square.
A Blue Room Productions presentation, Monsters from the Id, the 71 minute film, weaves together the intersecting themes of over thirty classic Sci-Fi films to tell the story of the rise of the modern scientist and his role in inspiring a nation. The film explores the psychological and cultural impact of 1950s Sci-Fi Cinema on America and asks, “Where is scientific inspiration found today?”
The 50s were an idealistic time in American history, filled with hope, opportunity, and wonder. It was also “The Atomic Age” where new technology promised to save humanity, but also put it in jeopardy. All of these factors gave birth to one of the most prolific genres in film history, 1950s Science Fiction Cinema. More then just bug eyed monsters and little green men, 1950’s Sci-Fi scientist became Hollywood’s new leading man and a role model for millions of eager young boys and girls across the country. Then, after 1957, and the launch of Sputnik, science fiction became science fact as an inspired population worked toward one of the greatest achievements of mankind, space flight.
Inspiration for Monsters from the Id came from Smokin' Rockets: The Romance of Technology in Film, Radio and Television in the 1950s, co-authored by Dr. Patrick Lucanio, Professor of Film Studies, University of Oregon and historian Gary Coville. Lucanio and Coville were interviewed for this film as was Homer Hickam, Retired NASA Engineer/Retired Navy Engineer and author of the autobiographical novel Rocket Boys, the basis for the popular film October Sky; Dr. Leroy Dubeck, Professor of Physics at Temple University and author of Fantastic Voyages; and Richard Scheib, film critic from Christchurch New Zealand who authors and maintains a website called The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review.
“This film began as a love affair with 1950s Sci-Fi cinema, in which monsters were defeated through science and American Ingenuity. Initially, the documentary was conceived as a montage style genre study. I watched more than 30 films, read everything I could get my hands on and everything seemed to hark back to the rise of Communism and our fear of atomic power. But I felt hopeful and excited about our future. And then I read Smokin’ Rockets, and other volumes by Lucanio and Coville. Their works validated what I was feeling. Next, I discovered Dubeck who uses sci-fi as a teaching tool and realized that academia was acknowledging the power of the cinema. And, of course, Hickam’s background blew me away,” explained Director/Editor David Gargani. “Finally it clicked and a hypothesis was formed: 1950s Sci-Fi cinema and the role of the ‘Modern Scientist,’ created to calm the fears associated with the Atomic Age, influenced America and propelled us into the future. The film was transformed from a visual meditation into a call to action … but, ’now what?’… That’s what this film seeks to answer.”
The documentary has been making the rounds of the festival circuit and in the month of April alone will screen, in addition to the Boston Independent Fest, at The New Filmmakers Festival in NYC, The London International Documentary Festival, and The Newport Beach Festival in California.
For more information about Monsters from the Id contact Director/Editor David Gargani at Blue Room, 7 West 18th Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10003; email him at david@blueroomnyc.com or call (212) 243-5141. Visit website at www.monstersfromtheid.net