A collaborative feature written/directed by Michelle Kulstad, Eric Magun, Trudie Dearinger, Anthony Pesce, Barry Norman, Kyle Bergersen, Rick Schmidt.
FESTS: Slamdance/Honorable Mention, Silver Award, Houston FF, Figueira da Foz Intl.
BLUES FOR THE AVATAR is a comedy about two oddball characters, a man Cheyenne, and a woman, Mary Jane, caught in the circumstances of being unwanted guests in other people's lives. His propensity for women has landed him in the middle of a horrendous breakup, while her quest for self-discovery leads her into what might be direct contact with an avatar ('...a spiritual being sent to earth to teach us enlightenment'). Their friends appear throughout the film, offering real-life stories of irony, outrageousness, and late 20th century angst.
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1988 1st edition of my Viking Penguin book (above)—how I got my co-directors for this first Feature Workshops 10-day production, shot in Port Townsend, WA in 1994 (they’d read book, saw my ads and were ready to try!). Shot on 16mm film stock, I had to run the original footage to Seattle for quick work printing, to be able to deliver a rough cut (though only 50 minutes…) for collaborators by day 10. It took a few more months for me to get the final cut, with editorial help from original collaborator, Barry Norman, to assist me getting scenes in best order. He went on to become a good freiend and co-producer/actor on several other features, including NO TEARS FOR BANKERS, RICK’S CANOE, & STICKY WICKET. He has also authored several 5-STAR books (see his ‘book page’ here).
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See FULL ‘BLUES’ FEATURE (below)
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