Title: We Are the Mods
Synopsis:
Sadie’s art is her photography. Nico’s art is her life. Together they explore
Britain’s 60’s mod culture of music, fashion, drugs and vintage scooters in
contemporary Los Angeles. Sadie observes the world through the lens of her 35
mm camera, but everything changes when she meets Nico, the new “mod” girl
who was born with a deformed foot. Nico doesn’t hide her disability, in fact she
loves the spotlight. Sadie is drawn into Nico’s world of 60’s aesthetics where
Sadie learns about herself and who she really is.
Awards:
Outfest
Jury award for outstanding screenwriting
HBO award for outstanding first feature
Audience award for best feature film
Audience award for best soundtrack
Credits:
Director: E. E. Cassidy
Writer: E. E. Cassidy & Bruce Pavalon
Producer: Robert Poswall & E. E. Cassidy
Exec. Producer: Miguel Arteta
Editor: Daniel Gabbe & David Baum
Director’s bio:
E.E. Cassidy was named one of the 2008 25 new faces of Independent film by
Filmmaker Magazine. Cassidy’s first feature film, We Are the Mods was selected for
Film Independent’s Producers and Screenwriters labs and the IFP New York rough-cut
lab. Cassidy has made seven short films and one documentary that have shown at film
festivals worldwide. Cassidy’s short film, *69, was an official entrant in the HBO
Comedy Art Festival and the Slamdance Film Festival. Cassidy is an alumnus of the
University of California, Santa Cruz and the American Film Institute’s directing program,
where she received the Brides/ Larson Foundation Award and the Holleigh Bernson
Memorial Award.
Contact: E. E. Cassidy
1621 Sargent Place
Los Angeles, CA 90026
323-309-4870 Info@wearethemods.com WeAretheMods.com
Sales Contact: Linda Lichter
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman, Inc.
9200 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90069-3507
310-205-6999 lichter@lgna.com
Film Festival Screenings
2009
Florida International Film Festival
Brisbane Powerhouse Film Festival Australia
Frameline Film Festival San Francisco, CA
The Q Festival Philadelphia, PA
Outfest, Los Angeles CA
Seattle Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Reel Affirmations, Washington D.C.
Milwaukee LGBT Film Festival
Tampa International G&L Film Festival
Madrid G&L Film Festival Spain
Reeling Chicago Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Hong Kong Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Verzaubert Film Festival with screening in the following German cities
Munich
Frankfurt
Berlin
Cologne
Confirmed 2010 Screenings
Belgian Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Brussels
Mardi Gras Film Festival Sydney Australia
The Melbourne Queer Film Festival
Revelation Perth International Film Festival
Women’s Film Festival in Seoul Korea
Seoul LGBT Film Festival
Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival
Queen’s University Screening Kingston Ontario, Canada
Cinemarges Bordeaux France
Shout Birmingham Alabama
More to be announced.
25 NEW FACES OF INDEPENDENT FILM
We Are the Mods, E.E. Cassidy!s debut feature, is full of cinephilic pleasures. Yes, it!s a teen
drama that references (with, by the way, both imagination and restraint) the classic “good girl
corrupted by the bad” storyline familiar from films like Thirteen and Poison Ivy. But it!s also an
affectionate and good-hearted homage to not only seminal films of the 1960s but also to the
heady rush of young artistic discovery familiar to any sensitive ex-high schooler. Cassidy!s tale
of the contemporary mod subculture — teens in geometrically balanced dresses and suits who
listen to British-flavored rock and ska and drive Vespa scooters — is full of knowing nods to
Antonioni!s Blow-Up, Godard!s Bande à part and the films of William Klein.
“The movie came from my interests in high school,” explains the California-born writer-director.
“I was into ska, I had a Vespa and the video I watched over and over was Quadrophenia. When
I went to college at UC Santa Cruz there was a little a mod culture there. Then when I moved
back to L.A. in the late !90s, mod-inspired clubs were suddenly going strong, and everything sort
of melded together.”
What congealed was not just Cassidy!s interest in the mods but also a desire to make a classic
teen movie (she cites as favorites Valley Girl and Fast Times at Ridgemont High) about “girls
doing something. [The mod scene] is a male-driven subculture — I wanted to make a movie
about girls who weren!t just sitting on the sidelines.” After writing a script about a shy teen
photographer seduced into a love triangle by an alluring mystery girl with bangs and a strangely
sexy foot deformity, Cassidy set it up with a succession of producers. “Nothing was happening,”
she says. “We had some money lined up and it fell apart. I knew that if I didn!t make it then I!d
just have to abandon the idea so I decided to do it with credit cards.” With Rob Poswall she
produced We Are the Mods on a tight 21-day shoot, impressively packing the film with a
boatload of style in addition to nuanced and charismatic performances from leads Melia Renee
and Mary Elise Hayden.
Cassidy recently attended the IFP Rough Cut Lab and is in the final stages of post. She!s also
thinking of other projects, like an adaptation of Heather Lewis!s novel House Rules and a doc,
All American Dog, about pit bulls that!s intended to burnish the reputation of a breed once
owned by both Teddy Roosevelt and Helen Keller. “I have two rescue pit bulls,” Cassidy says,
“It!s amazing what people will say to me when I walk them down the street.” — S.M.
We Are the Mods - Review Print - Variety.com
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_review&reviewid=VE1117940718&categoryid=31
To print this page, select "PRINT" from the File Menu of your browser.
Posted: Wed., Jul. 22, 2009, 4:38pm PT
We Are the Mods
A Rica Jones/400 Blows Pictures production. Produced by E.E. Cassidy, Robert Poswall. Directed by E.E. Cassidy.
Screenplay, Cassidy, Bruce Pavalon.
With: Melia Renee, Najarra Townsend, Mary Elise Hayden, Lance Drake, Jeffrey Reeves.
By PETER DEBRUGE
As gay cinema goes, the great thing about "We Are the Mods" is that being a lesbian is the least of main
character Sadie's outsider credentials. A tomboyish photographer who doesn't fit in with her school's chipper
French-club groupies, Sadie seeks an ally for her nonconformist worldview, finding one in Nico and her clique
of Mod revivalists. The character's born-again hipster status might have felt affected in other hands, but
director E.E. Cassidy incorporates enough autobiographical detail to make her coming-of-age story feel
genuine. Too ragged for mainstream distribs, "Mods" could easily find a following in specialty hands.
Where other comedy writers often exploit quirky niches for easy laughs, Cassidy really seems to adore the scene,
with its Vespa scooters and Mary Quant-style clothes. By raiding closets and calling in favors, she manages to stage
a plausible Mod subculture in Los Angeles, stocking the low-budget project with authentic retro artifacts.
It's a classmate's Vespa (actually a Lambretta) that first catches the eye of not-easily-impressed Sadie (Melia Renee),
as Treg (Lance Drake) pulls up one morning with girlfriend Nico (Mary Elise Hayden) onboard. Such smitten-
at-first-sight moments have become a teen-movie cliche, but this one feels different, since it's not clear whether
Sadie's hooked by the girl, the boy or the bike (turns out it's the latter, though Sadie has a chance to sample all three
before the movie ends).
Her dowdy denim-and-flannel wardrobe aside, Sadie begins the movie as a rather conventional nerd: She makes
good grades and has her sights set on design school, which is more than can be said for Nico, the long-legged
goddess who strides into her photography class. Nico's the type who might easily have been the most popular girl in
school, were it not for the cast she wears on one leg (though little is made of the condition that necessitates this, it
clearly accounts for her outsider status).
The two young ladies hit it off right away, with Nico's husky voice, micro-miniskirts and Army-surplus parka
striking square, young Sadie as incredibly exotic. Nico appears at just the moment Sadie's former best friend is
trying to re-establish her identity with the in-crowd, leaving Sadie to move in the opposite direction. As an artist,
Sadie has potential but no point of view (her portfolio consists mainly of portraits of rocks), though she's eager to
evolve.
Passive at first, Sadie allows other characters to initiate her, enthusiastically doing her first line of cocaine and
devouring DVDs of "Blow-Up" and "Band of Outsiders." The sexual tension begins subtly enough, though
1 of 2
We Are the Mods - Review Print - Variety.com
innocuous sleepovers soon yield to compromising situations, threatening to destroy their friendship.
Cassidy gets great performances from her mostly unknown cast, with Hayden nailing the vulnerability beneath
Nico's tough exterior. She's a force of nature, and you can sense Cassidy shares Sadie's awe at the way Nico handles
her cigarettes, or the conviction with which she delivers such zingers as, "I think it's the most original penis that I've
ever known."
The pic's biggest hurdle will be clearing the music, an essential aspect of Sadie's overnight induction ("Mods" won a
soundtrack award at Outfest, though most of the rights are still up in the air). The Super 16 footage looks terrific,
except for one scene with overexposed edges, but the editing and sound mix could use some finessing before
release.
Camera (color, Super 16-to-HD), Alison Kelly, Robert Poswall; editor, Daniel Gabbe, David Baum; music
supervisor, Lecia Dole-Recio; production designer, Dole-Recio; costume designer, Liuba Randolph; sound, Jesse
Felt, Dana Ferguson; associate producers, Tille Cassidy, Thomas Cassidy, Glen Dooley, Jerry Cassidy, Cindy
Cassidy, Najarra Townsend; assistant director, Poswall. Reviewed at Outfest (competing), Los Angeles, July 18,
2009. (Also in Frameline.) Running time: 80 MIN.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/story.asp?l=story&r=VE1117940718&c=31
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We Are The Mods
by Kilian Melloy
Health & Fitness Friday May 7, 2010
Travel
Weather
Directory
Director and co-writer E.E. Cassidy
City Map casts an eye back at the styles of
1950s Britain in the precocious, darkly
Nightlife
funny teen drama We Are the Mods.
Lodging
From the start, Cassidy tips a hat to
Food/Drink
the fashions of the 1960s: the first
Businesses scenes, in which a talented young
photographer, Sadie (Melia Renee),
Community
and her best friend, Jenel (Najarra
Calendar Townsend), try to join a clique of
French speaking girls, have a period
Discussions
feel about them; it’s a sensibility that
Resources infuses the movie throughout,
complete with Sadie screening a copy
Gay Pride
of Quadrophenia and obtaining a
Fun scooter.
Parties
Sadie’s entree into Mod fashion is Nico
Giveaway Center (Mary Elise Hayden), a
half-monstrous, half-waifish classmate
Real Estate who tosses off casual references to
Melia Renee stars in We Are the Mods
Help Wanted threesomes as readily as she
(Source:Rica Jones Productions)
produces vials of cocaine. (She has
Roommates
the looks of a model and she knows
Massage EMAIL PRINT SHARE how to use them; her monstrous side
Cars is symbolized by the disfigured foot
Pets that both forces her to use crutches, and also makes her... more or less literally in this
case... stand apart from others.) Nico’s boyfriend, Treg (Lance Drake), is also Moddish,
with his scooter and his military issue overcoat. There’s a sexual energy in the air among
the three youths, and given the mechanics and the mode of the film, it’s reasonable to
wonder whether Cassidy is headed into Jules and Jim territory; at the same time,
however, there’s a sweetly portrayed friendship between Sadie and Nico that’s tinged 356052670
with lesbian overtones.
Though set in the present day, We Are the Mods feels like it speaks to--as well as
from--an earlier time; we don’t see anyone whipping out a cell phone or surfing the web,
aside from one episode involving sexually explicit photos that have been posted online.
The contemporary setting and retro fashion sense in the film underscore the essential
theme--love and romantic connection--which is, of course, timeless.
Advice
Ask Angelo
Ask Phyllis
We Are The Mods :: EDGE Boston
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2010/05/07/where_the_mods_are_happening?mode=PF
THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
DOUBLE DATE
Mad about mod
Take in a hip film at the MFA, and then swing over to Allston to dance the night
away
By Luke O'Neil, Globe Correspondent | May 7, 2010
THE ARTS
Remember that whole mod revival thing that came around the turn of the millennium, when 1960s fashion,
music, and scooters were all the rage at dance clubs around the country. For a lot of people it never went
away. “We Are the Mods’’ (pictured), the debut film from director E.E. Cassidy, playing tonight at the Museum
of Fine Arts as part of the Boston LGBT Film Festival (bostonlgbtfilmfest.org), tells a coming-of-age story set
amid the mod scene. The name of the film will sound familiar to fans of the 1973 film “Quadrophenia,’’ in which
it served as a slogan for a group of alienated British teenagers.
“The film is set in contemporary Los Angeles and we actually shot the club scene during a mod night here in
Los Angeles,’’ Cassidy says. “It turned out to be one of my favorite scenes in the film. Much of the mod
subculture is centered on music and dancing. I wanted to make sure that this was depicted authentically and
given its place to shine in the film. ‘We Are the Mods’ is very much about pleasure and desire.’’
“We Are the Mods,’’ 6:30 p.m. $8-$10. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston. 617-267-9300.
www.mfa.org
THE DRINKS
If the characters in this film were around here today, there is no question where they’d go for a drink: the Pill at
Great Scott. You should hop over to Allston afterward yourself. (Vespa not required).
Take a look online at some of the posters for the long-running Brit pop and indie dance night. Most are of mod
girls in vintage 1960s dresses. The latest with a Vespa-draped girl looks like it might have been pulled right
from Cassidy’s film. “The Pill has always been tied into mod culture,’’ says DJ Michael V. “Any girl worth her
fashion sense will always look good in her little mod skirt.’’
“The music lately has veered more into modern sounds, but at any moment we can bust out the old stuff, the
Kinks, the Zombies, the Creation.’’ Tonight they plan on focusing more on older mod, soul, and British classics,
he says.
“British culture really clings to its mod identity. The Brit pop stuff and electronic music we play all have a mod
element to it. It’s always been a part of the British culture and embedded in our culture because it’s the Pill.
Mod is like this battle cry.’’
The Pill. 21+. 9 p.m. $5. Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston. 617-566-9014.
www.thepillboston.com
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Where the mods are happening - The Boston Globe
'Mods,' 'Damned,' Lead Parade of Outfest Winners - indieWIRE
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“Mods,” “Damned,” Lead Parade of
Outfest Winners | Share
by Peter Knegt (July 19, 2009)
Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival,
closed up its 27th edition this evening with a screening of
Adam Salky!s “Dare,” and the announcement of their
annual awards. Tina Mabry!s “Mississippi Damned” won
the jury!s prize for best U.S. narrative film, while Nicole
Opper!s “Off and Running” won for best documentary film
and Stian Kristiansen!s “The Man Who Loved Yngve” won
for best international narrative film. Other major winners
included E.E. Cassidy!s “We Are The Mods,” which won
audience awards for best first U.S. feature and outstanding
soundtrack, as well the jury prize for outstanding Advertise with us
screenwriting (read an interview with Cassidy here).
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A scene from E.E. Cassidy's "We Are The Mods." Image courtesy of Outfest. Hybrid Western Vie for Attention at Panorama
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'Mods,' 'Damned,' Lead Parade of Outfest Winners - indieWIRE
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From HBO)
We Are The Mods, Directed By E.E. Cassidy
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The Outfest 2009 Grand Jury Award For Outstanding Documentary Short Film
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Berlin International Film Festival
The Outfest 2009 Grand Jury Award For Outstanding International Dramatic Feature Film
Today the curtain will rise for the 60th Berlin International Film
The Man Who Loved Yngve, Directed By Stian Kristiansen Festival. Watch these former winners.
The Outfest 2009 Grand Jury Award For Outstanding Actress In A Feature Film
Laura Harring In Drool Up In The Air
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Derrick L. Middleton In Rivers Wash Over Me. Remarkable Acting
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The Outfest 2009 Grand Jury Award For Outstanding Screenwriting Unforgettable Entertainment
E.E. Cassidy, We Are The Mods
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards
Including Best Picture
The Outfest 2009 Grand Jury Award For Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature Film Become a fan: www.TheUpInTheAirMovie.com
Mississippi Damned, Directed By Tina Mabry
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Four In Focus: “We Are The Mods”
Director E.E. Cassidy | Share
by indieWIRE (July 13, 2009)
EDITOR!S NOTE: This is part of a collection of interviews
with the filmmakers from Outfest 2009!s “Four In Focus”
selection, which features work from four first time directors
We Are The Mods, directed by E.E. Cassidy
As described by the festival: “Naive high school student
Sadie sees the world through her 35mm camera. When
she becomes infatuated with eccentric mod chick Nico,
Sadie finds inspiration in Nico!s world and emerges as part
of the mod scene, both documenting and embracing the Advertise with us
subculture!s natty fashion, vintage scooters and soul
music. Writer-director E.E. Cassidy playfully pays homage
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complicated female friendship and budding identity in her 1 Cinema Tropical Lists Decade!s Top Ten Latin
unique debut feature film..” American Films
Please introduce yourself…
A scene from E.E. Cassidy's "We Are The Mods." Image courtesy of Outfest.
2 BERLINdaily | Czech Communist Drama and
Hybrid Western Vie for Attention at Panorama
Hello my name is E. E. Cassidy and my film is We Are the Mods. I grew up the youngest of five in a small town in California called
3 For Your Consideration: Predicting The
Reedley, Fruit Basket of the World. I live in Echo Park with my pregnant wife and two pit bulls. I own two vintage scooters, a 1960 series
Directing and Screenwriting Winners
II Lambretta and Vespa P200.
4 BERLINdaily | Baumbach Strikes Back with
How did you become interested in filmmaking? How has this interest evolved throughout your career? “Greenberg”
I studied photography in High School at the University of California, Santa Cruz where I made a documentary for my senior thesis. During 5 BERLINdaily | Scorsese Rumors Dashed, Leo
my undergraduate life I experimented with many things; sex, drugs, and club life. Many of my pre conceived notions about who I was at Cinema for Peace, Khan and the Mexican
and what I planned to do with my life imploded and I realized for the first time I could do anything I wanted. I was a DJ at the college Revolution
radio station and I loved photography and wanted to put them together. I wanted to make films, well really, music videos. After
graduation, I moved to New York City, worked in film production and made several short films. I decided to apply to graduate school and 6 Baumbach!s “Greenberg”: Lost Souls Connect
in Los Angeles
moved to Los Angeles. I attended the directing program at The American Film Institute. I then went on to produce and direct in television
while I continued to write and make short films.
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How the idea for your film come about? What were you trying to express with it?
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Four In Focus: 'We Are The Mods' Director E.E. Cassidy - indieWIRE
http://www.indiewire.com/article/four_in_focus_we_are_the_mods_director_e.e._cassidy/
As soon as I moved back to California and began film school, I bought and restored a Lambretta scooter and Good Guy”
spent most of my time at Brit Pop and Mod Soul dance clubs. Los Angeles has always had a lot of anglophiles
and kids who embrace the morphing of mod-influenced decades. There are the brit pop mods of the mid to late
9 BERLINdaily | Czech Communist Drama and
Hybrid Western Vie for Attention at Panorama
90!s & 00!s who look back at the mod revival of the 80!s that is looking back at the original mods from the 60!s.
Revisiting this celebratory scene inspired me to make this film. 10 Banksy Speaks in Berlin
While writing, I realized that I could create tension by setting a story in a subculture that is quite homophobic,
yet favors an androgynous look and style. I believed this conflicted air would make for a kind of dissidence we
haven!t seen in teen films before.
I have always loved the teen film genre but really wanted my film to be authentic in its depiction of how kids
are. Some ways of getting at this reality was not just by being accurate with the mod scene but by having
actors who are actually in High School. I also wanted to make a film about the pursuit of pleasure and how this
can form one!s identity as an artist. I was interested in depicting the validation one feels by following one!s
passion. Living the life of an artist really is a revolutionary act in the United States.
What were the biggest challenges? Artistically? Financially?
I think the only way you can make a film like the way we made We Are the Mods is to act naïve about the
process or at least be in denial.
If I had analyzed all the challenges that one faces trying to make a feature film, I wouldn!t have made the film.
Making a good film is challenging, but so is making a bad film. You just have to find a way to do it.
Berlin International Film Festival
Today the curtain will rise for the 60th Berlin International Film
What were some of your influences?
Festival. Watch these former winners.
Some of my film influences, like Antonioni!s Blow-Up and William Klein!s Qui est-vous, Polly Maggio?, are
directly referenced in the film. I love Le Corbusier!s la villa savoye and I find designer/artists, Verner Panton Up In The Air
Now Playing Everywhere
and Vasarely, extremely inspirational. Also intergal to my process is Soul, R&B, 60!s ska music plus bands like Tickets & Showtimes: www.TheUpInTheAirMovie.com
the Small Faces, and the Jam. For me, these films, artists, and music all fall under the mod aesthetic umbrella.
Up In The Air has it all
Remarkable Acting
But when it comes to story, cult films are a big influence, especially one!s that deal with teen angst such as Vintage Directing
Heartfelt Storytelling
Quadrophenia, Kes, Penelope Pherris! Suburbia, and the Outsiders. I think I!ve seen almost every teen angst Unforgettable Entertainment
film ever made.
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards
Including Best Picture
What do you feel are some significant challenges that face filmmakers today? Specifically those Become a fan: www.TheUpInTheAirMovie.com
working with LGBT content?
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News » Money is the biggest challenge facing any indie filmmaker today. I made my film with no real budget. Without
the generous help of family, friends, and strangers it wouldn!t have been made. I am not sure you can repeat
such an endeavor without real monetary support. I think I!ve used all my favors up.
In regards to gay content, that is a tough one. I!ve had LGBT programmers say that my film is not gay enough.
I am not quite sure what that means because I made a film that is true to my perspective and last time I
checked I was gay. I guess the challenge is not getting pigeon holed either way, as too gay or not gay enough
Oscar Noms and make film that you want to see and hopefully others will too.
News » What are you most looking forward to at Outfest?
The program, “The Young and Evil”, a collection of short films curated by a group of artists.
And of course, my screening at the DGA theater. We shot on super 16 but finished on hdcam and this
screening will be the first time we exhibit the hdcam version
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Four In Focus: 'We Are The Mods' Director E.E. Cassidy - indieWIRE
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Posted: Sun., Jul. 19, 2009, 3:17pm PT
Kudos doled out at Outfest
'Mississippi' takes top prize at festival
By DAVE MCNARY
Tina Mabry's "Mississippi Damned" has won the grand jury award for outstanding dramatic feature at Outfest, while
Nacho G. Velilla's "Chef's Special" won the audience award for dramatic feature.
Grand jury acting awards went to Laura Harring in "Drool" and Derrick L. Middleton in "Rivers Wash Over Me."
The jury's screenwriting trophy was given to E.E. Cassidy for "We Are the Mods," which also won the audience
award for first U.S. dramatic feature.
Kudos were announced Sunday, the final day of the 11-day event. The fest included 181 films (65 features and 116
shorts) from 25 countries.
The Special Programming Award for Freedom went to "On These Shoulders We Stand," directed by Glenne
McElhinney, while the special programming award for artistic achievement went to "Greek Pete" by writer-director
Andrew Haigh. The special programming award for emerging talent was given to helmer George O'Donnell for
docu "College Boys Live."
Audience award for documentary short film went to Mark Payne for "Get Happy" while the audience kudo for docu
feature was awarded to Greta Olafsdottir and Susan Muska for "Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement."
Audience award for dramatic short film was given to Christian Tafdrup for "Awakening."
Jury award for documentary short went to Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman for "First and Loveliss" while the jury
kudo for the dramatic short was awarded to Lee Mi-rang for "The Bath." Nicole Opper won the jury prize for docu
feature for "Off and Running."
Jury award for international dramatic feature went to Stian Kristiansen for "The Man Who Loved Yngve."
The fest was set to close Sunday night with Adam Salky's debut feature "Dare" starring Emmy Rossum, Alan
Cumming and Zach Gilford.
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She Is a Camera: “We Are the Mods” at
Philadelphia’s QFest
July 10, 2009 · Posted in Buzz, Entertainment, NYQNews
Melia Renee as Sadie - photo courtesy of QFest
Source: www.newyorkqnews.com
By Sherri Rase
E.E. Cassidy’s “We Are the Mods” (USA 2009, 83 minutes) is a coming-of-teen-age story, but not of the John
Hughes variety. Sadie (Melia Renee) is a soulful teen with short hair, long bangs and a Pentax camera fetish. She is
trying to deal with the trials of school and the girls’ French club, Entre Nous. Nico (Mary Elise Hayden) is someone
whom Sadie has deemed off-limits as a portrait subject, but it’s not immediately clear why. Unlike her classmates,
Sadie is different-drummer, non-fashionable in her collection of plaid flannel shirts, and prefers to fade into the
background, documenting what she sees around her.
Nico, by contrast, is insouciantly gamine. Looking like a 1960s model, she lopes through her day, as much as that’s
possible with a leg in a walking cast. Husky-voiced and sounding world-weary, Nico is assigned to partner with
Sadie in photography class. Predictably, Nico needs some tutoring. Sadie’s best friend Jenel (Najarra Townsend) is
being rushed by Entre Nous, so Jenel cannot be seen with Sadie, who didn’t make the cut.
It is clear from the beginning that Sadie and Nico’s family experiences are completely different. Their life
experiences are very different. Sadie is more sheltered, but Nico exposes her to books, movies and a different way
of feeling. When Nico does a makeover on Sadie, it starts a chain reaction that leads to changes in all of Sadie’s
relationships. One of the best lines is Jenel’s, when she exclaims, “Are you really going to let Entre Nous come
between us!” When Sadie meets performance artist Vivian (Corinne Reilly), Vivian’s rules for living come into
play.
When Sadie buys a Vespa, her transition to a Mod is nearly complete. Love, anger, betrayal, forgiveness, and when
what we feel exceeds what we touch and what touches us-is this the mark of becoming fully ourselves? When we
She Is a Camera: “We Are the Mods” at Philadelphia’s QFest : qmetropolis.com
transcend our labels, we succeed.
QFest (www.phillycinema.org), the gay and lesbian film festival, gives “We Are the Mods” its
Philadelphia premiere on July 12 at 8:45 p.m. at the Ritz East, 125 South Second Street, in Theater One,
and repeats it the following day at 5 p.m., in Ritz East, Theater Two.
http://blog.al.com/zoomout//print.html
Take a ride with 'We are the Mods' tomorrow at Bottletree
By Ginger Swan
May 09, 2010, 10:00AM
British rock, scooters, vintage ska and R&B, mini skirts and skinny ties --
Director E.E. Cassidy brings to life the contemporary mod subculture in the
independent film, We Are the Mods, screening tomorrow night at Bottletree.
But it's no cute, easy ride on a baby blue vespa. "Sadie" (Melia Renee) gets
taken on a wild ride 1960s-style, complete with "sex, drugs and rock n' roll" in
an attempt to find herself and hang with her new friend "Nico" (Mary Elise
Hayden). Melia Renee and cast deliver a nice performance, but stay away if
you require redemptive stories. We Are the Mods follows Sadie's realistic
journey to discover her artistic flare while making some destructive decisions
along the way. (In other words -- not a family-friendly flick)
Photography/Film geeks will appreciate Sadie's love for vintage cameras as
well as the references to Blow-up and Bande à part.
The screening begins Monday night, May 10, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 General
Admission and $7 for SHOUT Members and Students. RSVP + Full info on the
Facebook event page.
© 2010 al.com. All rights reserved.
Take a ride with 'We are the Mods' tomorrow at Bottletree | al.com
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/05/entertainment/ca-indiefocus5
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In "La Mission," screening Thursday as the opening night film of Outfest, Benjamin Bratt plays a tough San Francisco
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"Queer films are changing," said Kim Yutani, Outfest's director of programming. "Filmmakers are not necessarily only
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telling stories with gay characters at the center; they are interested in telling other stories too."
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These evolving attitudes toward defining gay film can be read across the movies screening at Outfest under the
heading "Four in Focus," featuring four first-time directors. Among those in the section is "We Are the Mods,"
director E.E. Cassidy's stylish look at one teenage girl's induction into the L.A.-set mod subculture of motor scooters,
vintage ska and R&B and Fred Perry clothes while she explores her emergent sexual identity.
The film is just the kind of gay-adjacent filmmaking Outfest is moving to include, one that touches on gay themes
without being easily classified as a "gay film." Cassidy acknowledges that having been turned down by a number of
mainstream -- industry code for "not gay" -- fests, her film has been gaining traction on the gay festival circuit, which
leaves her with doubts about how the film will be perceived by general audiences.
"People have told me, 'Once you go gay, you don't go back,' " said Cassidy, a Silver Lake resident. "I have to go where
people want to show the film, even if I think it has a broader appeal than just the gay community."
Also screening in "Four in Focus" is H.P. Mendoza's witty, homespun musical "Fruit Fly," a story of aspiring young
artists, which opens with a number extolling the virtues of San Francisco's public transit system, and "Drool," writer-
director Nancy Kissam's offbeat road picture, starring "Mulholland Dr.'s" Laura Harring.
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Posted: Wed., Jul. 8, 2009, 2:29pm PT
Outfest leans lesbian
Gay-male films share roster with female fare
By DAVID MERMELSTEIN
It may not exactly be the Year of the Woman, but this year's Outfest - the 27th iteration of L.A.'s seminal gay and
lesbian film festival - leans more heavily toward lesbian fare than any in recent memory, with several key slots
occupied by films from distaff helmers.
"We have two centerpieces geared toward women, Tina Mabry's 'Mississippi Dammed' and Lucia Puenzo's 'El Nino
Pas,'" says Outfest exec director Kirsten Schaffer. "And the Legacy Project gala is 'Choosing Children' (1984),
which is more oriented toward lesbians. We also have Nancy Kissam's 'Drool,' which was a huge success at
Slamdance this year. And there's 'Ghosted' from Monika Treut, who has a huge lesbian following."
Diversity is key at Outfest, yet it's an uphill battle for women, if only because there are always so many gay-male
pics to contend with. "Any year we have the opportunity to highlight films by female directors we do," says
Schaffer. Last year, "there were definitely films that were lesbian, but they tended to be international and smaller
films."
This year's shift of balance wasn't exactly premeditated. "There are years when there aren't many lesbians films,"
Schaffer continues, "and then there are years when there are a bunch and we think it signals a trend, but then it kind
of drops off again."
Kim Yutani, Outfest's director of programming, acknowledges capitalizing on the opportunity. "We saw so many
strong lesbian films that have potential for wider appeal that we wanted to highlight them," she says, adding E.E.
Cassidy's "We Are the Mods," Wendy Jo Carlton's "Hannah Free," Nana Neul's "To Faro," Alison Reid's "The Baby
Formula" and Maria Beatty's "Bandaged" to the list of films by which Outfest 2009 will likely be remembered.
"It's a balancing act," Yutani says. "We want the highest quality films possible and also ones that will appeal to our
very diverse audience. And it's not easy to do. I think there were a good number of lesbian films that were just
stronger this year, especially the storytelling."
Schaffer suggests that changes in technology may help account for the shift. "I would never say it's easy to make a
feature-length film," she maintains, "but digital technology has made high-quality filmmaking accessible to more
people. So we are seeing generally more diversity among the filmmakers."
She also cites Outfest's own programs as incubators of future success. For example, Nancy Kissam, who directed
'Drool,' was an Outfest Screenwriting Lab fellow in 2006. "That helped propel her career forward," says Schaffer.
Outfest leans lesbian - Variety.com
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"And Wendy Jo Carlton, who made 'Hannah Free,' has had a couple short films in the festival, as did Tina Mabry,
the director of 'Mississippi Damned.' One of the things Outfest does best is nurture emerging filmmakers. We help
them make connections that eventually lead to feature films getting made. "
And there are other shifts occurring in the world of LGBT cinema. Theatrical exhibition is mainly on the wane, with
home video and, especially, Web distribution gaining ground. Where that leaves entities like Outfest is unclear,
though some insist that even seismic shifts will not compromise such fests as prominent players.
Maria Lynn, prexy of Wolfe Releasing and WolfeVideo.com, which deals exclusively in LGBT fare, is among those
who foresee a long and vital future for such ventures. "The gay and lesbian circuit is huge," says Lynn. "It's the
biggest niche, hands down. So these festivals - and Outfest is among the biggest - are important for marketing these
films. Even if people don't actually see them at the festivals, they are going to be more recognizable later on, when
these films come to DVD or iTunes."
For her part, Schaffer is embracing both past and future. "I expect to be investing resources in new media and Web
technology," she says. "That's something we have started to plan for but not yet executed. I want to put Outfest at
the forefront of new technology, with a year-round presence on the Web. But we'll also continue to be a place people
come to in July to experience LGBT culture. I do not want to replace the festival with the Internet."
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Outfest leans lesbian - Variety.com