Hello Boston, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh

11 planes in 14 days is not good for the soul (or the planet)

From palm trees and beaches courtesy of Eric Freedman at Florida Atlantic University...

... to snowstorms in Minnesota courtesy of ....

... Marjorie Fish at St Cloud University.

More than 1200 people watched Drowned Out and McLibel at 10 screenings in Minnesota ...

... Ohio...

... Boston...

... Worcester...

... and Pittsburg.

One big dam is much like another.

Where it all began.

Larry Grimes of Bethany College. 'Hemingway is God'.

Dave T of Conneticut College. "Don't let the facts get in the way of the truth".

Gopal (left) of Virginia Tech, who did a huge amount of organisation for the whole tour. (Note empty beer glasses - who's round was it?)

Only seven hours non-stop turbulence to go before home (and the Spanner Films annual accounts

Back to school, back to reality.

Not quite sure how Michael Moore managed 39 American cities in 23 days. 10 in 14 was more than enough for me. (See my schedule from hell below. Cheers Lizzie.)

But I must say that it's ever so rewarding to get out there and meet one's public. And I'd just like to thank my producer, everyone at Miramax distribution and the whole CGI team at Industrial Light and Magic. Oops. Thought I was Stephen Soderburgh for a minute there.

Best bits: meeting the entire student population of America (it seemed), loads of new angles and enthusiasms about the films, watching some classic docs I should've really seen before, using lots of long words and debating documentaries till the beer ran out.

Worst bit: sitting through that boring film about a dam night after night.

Side benefit: Making a fair bit of cash for the Drowned Out DVD.

Major downside: The carbon dioxide emissions from 11 flights. Sorry grandchildren.

Next stop: New Zealand. Probably March 2004. Any colleges want to book me?

Followed by: Luhariya (the star of Drowned Out) will be coming over to the UK - and possibly the US - next year for a major publicity blitz before the monsoon rains start and more villages get submerged. Please let lizzie@spannerfilms.net know if you can help.  
 

What the students said

Hasnain P, MIT
"I was completely taken aback by this film. Heart moving and a great way to highlight the problems that face developing India."

Mokshay M, MIT
"Spell-binding film. Even though I’ve been aware of and kept track of happenings around the Narmada, I was struck dumb by the much needed reminder you provided."

Patrick K, Clark University
"Thank you for a fantastic visual documentary about a movement I have only read about."

Yumm, Sara and Thana A, Babson University
"Brilliant yet enraging and disappointing. Keep up the effort."

Somnath and Mona M, MIT
"Evaluating the cost of progress can be very complex and sometimes not humanely possible."

Ruchi Jain, MIT
"It was brilliant! I realised how little I knew, though I’m from India myself."

Amy E., St Cloud University
"Enjoyed film, an aspect that US media fails to cover. It’s an issue of human rights and prevalent classicism."

Jeff G, Carnegie Mellon
"I especially liked following the life of the gentleman(the healer). There are still many questions to be asked, like impact on the environment, the PR campaign, and how things will play out. As the man who spoke during the ‘intermission’ said, this is one example of increasingly strained resources being controlled by the wealthy and powerful."

Katie C, Bethany
"There are so many causes I want to devote my time to-you inspire me to go and do it."

Janis S, Connecticut
"Really important take on ‘progress’ and natural machismo!"

Kendra, Virginia Tech
"Very interesting and truthful-I’ve been boycotting McDonalds for 4 years."

Erik, Rhon and Dave, Virginia Tech
"Keep exposing the truth. Right on!"

Vinod, Ohio Wesleyan University
"The movie was very informative and very personal(not a detached expert account). Thanks. Keep up the good work."

Lisa B, Florida
"Thank you for reading that newspaper over someone’s shoulder."

Gabriela Ovando, Florida
"I wish you could go and film in my country (Bolivia) one day. You’ll have plenty of material."

Carly H, Florida
"Mail this film to celebrities. They’ll feel so guilty they’ll probably donate monetarily."

What the staff said

Eric Freedman, Florida Atlantic University
"We truly enjoyed Franny's visit. The event was well attended, the response session engaging, and Franny was herself a wonderful guest."

Jayeta S, Carnegie Mellon
"Very moving and impressive-excellent research, translations and no ‘sitar-music’! I look forward to using it to reach environmental history!"

Mike Budd, Professor of Communication, Florida Atlantic
"I’m glad we’re able to support your work, and we look forward to the next film!"

Janis Solomon, Connecticut College
Glad you liked the students - we think they're great too. Best of luck with the film. I really liked it!  
 

What Franny said

 "Hello ... Pittsburgh! Er, Washington. I mean... New York. Where am I?"  
 

How to book an osteopath appointment in 18 easy steps

Weds October 29th
Fly Heathrow -> Boston

Thurs October 30th
12 noon. Clark University, Boston - screen Drowned Out, Q&A
3pm. Drive Clark -> Babson. 2 hrs
7pm. Babson University, Boston. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A, beer.

Friday October 30th
10am. Drive Boston-> Babson. 1 hrs
12pm. Classroom discussion
7pm. Halloween party with neices in Boston

Saturday November 1st
10am. Drive Boston central
1pm. MIT, Boston. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A.
(organised by local Amnesty)

Sunday November 2nd
11am. Fly Boston -> Minneapolis

Monday November 3rd
10am. Interviews with local TV & radio
11am. Classroom discussion on independent filmmaking
Afternoon. Watch 'Roger and Me' and 'The Thin Blue Line'
7pm. St Cloud University. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A.

Tuesday Nov 4th
11am. Fly Minneapolis -> Philadelphia
2pm. Fly Philadelphia -> Pittsburgh

Wednesday Nov 5th
8pm. Carnegie Mellon University. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A

Thursday Nov 6th
10am. Drive Pittsburgh -> Bethany
11am. Bethany College. Screen McLibel. Q&A
1pm. Classroom discussion on life, the universe and everything
3pm. Drive Bethany -> Pittsburgh
4pm. Fly Pittsburgh -> Philadephia
5pm. Fly Philadelphia -> Conneticut
8pm. Dinner at Connecticut College

Friday Nov 7th
1pm. Lunch with faculty and students
5pm. Conneticut College. Screening of Drowned Out, Q&A
8pm. Train to Boston

Sat Nov 8th & Sun Nov 9th
Soccer, swimming, museums & leaf diving with neices in Boston

Monday Nov 10th
9am. Fly Boston -> Ohio
7pm. Virginia Tech. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A.
9pm. Dinner & beer with Gopal & friends

Tuesday Nov 11th
7am. Fly
4.30pm. Columbus University. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A.

Wednesday Nov 12th
7am. Fly Ohio -> Florida
7pm. Florida Atlantic University. Screen Drowned Out, Q&A
10pm. Beer and giant burgers with Matt Toup, Eric Freedman and friends

Thursday Nov 13th
9am. Swim in sea
11am. Fly Florida -> London
9pm. Sleep for a week