.

It is apparent that we have a Mobile Cultural Revival underway which, although loosely tied to the past, is being driven by its young people, many of whom have spent time elsewhere, and fostered in our resurrected Downtown.

Rootsy Hip (directed by Isabel Machado) is a perfect example of this.  It is a downright enjoyable film to watch – and just as good technically as any documentary we have seen recently.  The downfall of a documentary is when you ask “When is this going to end?” – and that is not a problem for Rootsy Hip. That is because of its combination of its glimpse of an element of Underground Mobile that most are only vaguely aware of, and the artists themselves.  You could imagine that it would take some unique people to be white Southern hip-hop artists, and they certainly are. But then to see them in the audience afterwards at the Crescent was incredible.  This film would be appreciated not only by young Mobilians, but also by all except the most closed-minded of our older generations.  We hope Ms. Machado stays in Mobile to make more documentaries – we need them.

Triptych (directed by Danny Mollise; produced by Steven Rockwell; written by Thomas Lakeman) was also better than 90% of recent Hollywood movies.  The story is its dominating element – with many convolutions and literary and cultural allusions by Mr. Lakeman.  The acting is also very good as the director was able to draw upon a wide array of local talent – particularly Harrah Friedlander as Anya, as well as Eric Browne as Jake, and Terrell Roberts as Zero.  In short, a good mix of mystery, comedy and drama that all Mobilians should see.  Again, we hope to get more from Tea Tree Productions.

We would like to see these films played several times outside of the festival – be it at the Crescent, Ben May Library, local coffeehouses or bars, and the Eastern Shore – to  raise money for the filmmakers to do more projects.  If so, please see them.  Also if the producers make DVDs commercially available, we will announce it.

The main point here is that, being as objective as possible, the Mobile-made movies were better than most of the cultural junk being thrown upon us by Hollywood, New York, and other “big cities”.

Brief Interview with Mr. Mollise:

CA.TV: Is this your first film?

DM: Yes, this is our first film - however, we have years of experience in similar arts  - I have been the director of the Playhouse-in-the-Park for many years and Steve Rockwell has been a communications/ film teacher at South for a long time also. We both have experience making short films, Triptych was made for under $500.00.

CA.TV: How did you come up with Triptych?

DM:  Local novelist Thomas Lakeman wrote the screenplay for me. He was the Playwright in residence at the Playhouse for several years and in fact, still writes for us on a regular basis. He is now Playwright in residence at Sewanee.