Spring 2009 and Paper Covers Rock

Greetings OFFscreen-ers,

The team put was hard at work over the holiday season and put together a mouth-watering lineup of films for the Spring semester. There are some big names (Rainer Fassbinder, Woody Allen, and David Lynch) as well as some up and comers in what looks to be a fantastic season.

It starts with a bang. This Sunday we are proud to present Joe Maggio's film Paper Covers Rock featuring a question and answer session with the director after the screening. Not to be missed!

The film itself is what Mr. Maggio calls an incidental film. The concept comes with only one rule: "that no creative decision be made based on future commercial considerations, such as securing distribution or protecting the film's budget." Although a pretty straightforward idea, anyone with knowledge of the independent film industry should know how demanding this maxim is. For DIYers and fans of independent cinema it is a real breath of fresh air, especially in today's economic situation.

Paper Covers Rock premiered at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas last year. The film is a portrait of a young woman in turmoil. She loses custody of her daughter after attempting suicide and moves in with her older sister. Maggio explores their complex and often ambiguous relationship.

In an e-mail to OFFscreen Joe Maggio eloquently describes his work. "In the end, what I wanted to do was tell a simple story about someone who has fallen hard and is trying to find her way back to some kind of peace. I wanted to create characters who are complicated and unwittingly undermine themselves and those they love. I also wanted to explore a specific kind of redemption, not the typical movie kind where all of one's problems are solved and all of one's dreams come true, but the kind of redemption that, at best, delivers you all bruised and bloody to the next challenge, alive to fight another day." He continues "There are moments in Paper Covers Rock that for me, even after having watched the film thousands of times in the edit room, still rattle me, or make me really pissed off, or make me laugh. And I suppose that's what this film is to me, and what I hope it will be for the audience - a kind of intensification of life for 88 minutes." This has the makings of a great discussion, so if you are interested in what you heard make sure to stick around and continue this conversation with the director after the film.

Here is the review from Variety

So there you have it. We are looking forward to see both old and new faces at this screening, so round up the troops and come to the Newcomb Hall theater on Sunday, January 18 to get your life intensified. We at OFFscreen are convinced that this should be a fantastic first-showing and a great season.