Live via satellite: the first digital premiere
Documentary filmmaker David Leigh finds himself entangled in a bizarre murder in the Pine Barrens in "The Last Broadcast."
Photo by Rob Featherstone
The 21st century is still three years away, but a piece of it will arrive early on Friday, Oct. 23. That's when Bucks County filmmakers Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler will give their new film "The Last Broadcast" its first theatrical release in five U.S. cities simultaneously via satellite. The filmmakers themselves will be on hand for the Philadelphia simulcasts at 8 and 10 p.m. at International House. "The Last Broadcast" has been called "the first desktop feature film," and it showcases the potential of digital technology to make filmmaking more accessible. Shot for the ridiculously low sum of $900, the film is a whodunit focused on a filmmaker's attempt to discover why a young psychic, aiding a crew producing a cable-access TV program about the Jersey Devil, would viciously murder them. As the film's plot progresses, the question shifts from "Why did he do it?" to "Did he do it?" as the videotapes reveal their secrets.
Wired magazine named the duo to their list of the 25 new players who are "reinventing entertainment... helping to bring 21st-century Hollywood to life." "The Last Broadcast," created using the latest digital video and desktop editing systems, shows why.
- "THE LAST BROADCAST": Oct. 23-29 at International House, 3701 Chestnut St.; see day-by-day listings for show times. Tickets $6.50, students/seniors/International House members $5.50, children 12 and under $3. Info: 895-6542.
-S.S.
