R.I.P. Hiram Paley, 1933-2012

Some articles about my Dad here, here and here.
The passage of time is incomprehensible and very in my face this week. [...]

Back to Illinois

I left my hometown of Urbana, IL, almost 21 years ago, with dreams of becoming a new age crystal-wielding hippie. I was 20 years old. Now I’m 40 (almost 41!) and will be returning with a feature film, for a film festival that didn’t exist when I was growing up. But first: the University … [...]

“Review Copies”

Look what arrived today! Thanks to Gillian and Sylvie at Elektrofilm for the professional authoring in both PAL and NTSC formats that hopefully won’t crash like my home-authored version, and especially to my genius Momz for managing what turned into a more complicated logistical challenge than any of us imagined.

These aren’t for sale, of … [...]

Ode to my Festival Relations Manager

How many broke, independent filmmakers get an MBA with decades of experience as a University administrator to handle their print logistics, festival scheduling, screener-sending, tour planning, database-programming, and endless back-and-forth emailing? Like everyone else involved with Sita Sings the Blues, she’s extraordinarily talented, extremely smart, and doing this for love. Not only does she … [...]

The Midwest: kind of interesting, actually

It turns out my Moms is a good photographer. All those years growing up it was my Dad who carried cameras everywhere, built a darkroom in the basement, walked around in a khaki vest stuffed with oversized lenses… but last year my Moms decides to get a digital camera, and the next thing you … [...]

My Parental Units

I wonder who they’re gonna vote for? [...]