For all those that fear I might be using this space solely to promote something I'm working on – a valid concern given my dearth of posts lately (I am writing A LOT, I swear) – rest easy. This is not to push my own products but to make you all aware of a documentary that recently became available on iTunes.
Last fall at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, due to my schedule w/ various panels and such, I had time to watch exactly one movie. Not ideal, certainly not how I planned it, but such is life.
My selection? A documentary entitled Apocalypse Later: Harold Camping v. The End of the World. For those of you that might not recall, Harold Camping was the nationaly syndicated radio pastor that so vigorously promoted his belief that the world was was coming to an end on May 21, 2011. In the lead up to that date, he granted access to exactly one member of the paparazzi, who brought along his camera. This film ensued.
Now for those that might be worried that this is an overly religious zealous piece, it's not at all. There is obviously a bit of that in there in describing how Camping came to form his beliefs, but the real crux of the story is about human nature, how Camping grew such a devout group of followers, and how both they and he came to grips when things, ya know, didn't end.
On the opening day of the festival, all writers and filmmakers were asked to speak at the opening breakfast, giving their one line pitch for their project. Zeke Giestrup, the guy who made it, won the round by saying his film was slated for Sunday morning and what could be better than “church w/ Harold Camping”?
After the festival closed I had a chance to talk w/ Zeke, who's good people and a passionate documentarian. He calls his company 15 Trucks as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that most production crews are 15 trucks and a small army of people…he's one guy, straight getting it done.
If you're into documentaries, or even interesting human nature pieces, take a look…
(iTunes here, Youtube trailer below)
