Recent Screenings of ATLANTIC CITY and THE RUSSIAN FIVE

Throughout last spring and summer, I edited "Atlantic City," a short film written and directed by Miguel Alvarez. Shot on 16mm film, "Atlantic City" is about two drifters in South Texas who find themselves at an impasse.

Atlantic City

Miguel and I met at the University of Texas and have worked together on a variety of commercial shoots, but this was the first time collaborating as director and editor. We took our time editing the film in between other gigs which allowed us to experiment with structure and rhythm before locking the film for sound and color.

This spring, "Atlantic City" debuted at the Aspen Shortsfest, a great film festival that offers a unique backdrop for filmmakers to network with one another. It also recently played at Indie Grits in South Carolina and made its international debut at the prestigious Busan International Short Film Festival.

I'm very proud of our work on "Atlantic City." It's especially cool to see the grit and grain of 16mm film on the screen, big or small. Such an evocative look and texture to match the emotional tones of the narrative. Looking forward to seeing where else "Atlantic City" plays!

The Russian Five

Last fall, director Josh Riehl and producer Steve Bannatine brought an assembly/rough cut of The Russian Five to producer/story consultant Jason Wehling at Arts + Labor. Josh had been working on this film for nearly 6 years, a labor of love, and he was ready to take it across the finish line after such a long journey. I came on board as editor, Ryan Vaughn was our assistant editor and off we went at a furious pace, the goal being to debut the film during the 2018 film festival season. Probably the fastest cut of my career: Four and a half months to take a very rough cut of a documentary that charts decades of history and features dozens of characters and sub-plots.

The Russian Five tells the story of how the Detroit Red Wings, throughout the late 80s and early 90s, launched a desperate scheme to end their decades long hockey championship drought: The Red Wings organization drafted Soviet players when the Soviet Union remained our Cold War adversary. The Red Wings brass didn't know if they would ever see these players actually play for them in their prime - if at all - so they were taking a monumental gamble drafting these players. 

The movie traces the team's clandestine efforts to smuggle these players into the United States in order to build a juggernaut team which featured the first ever all Russian five-man unit in the NHL Imposing their will on opponents and revolutionizing the way the game was played, they came to be known as the Russian Five.

Spy thriller. Underdog story. It's a fun ride. 

On April 12th, The Russian Five debuted at the Detroit Free Press Film Festival. Dedicated to showcasing documentaries about Michigan or by Michigan filmmakers (director Josh is from Port Huron), The Russian Five was the opening night film and screened at the beautiful, historic Fillmore Theater in downtown Detroit.

The show was a sellout, with 2,500 Red Wings fans chanting "Let's Go Red Wings!" as the house lights began to dim. Screening this film to the hometown crowd was like going to a rock concert.

After the screening, Free Press writer and Michigan native Mitch Elbom hosted a Q & A with Josh and two of the subjects of the film: former Red Wings General Manager and President Jimmy Devellano (who executed the plan to draft the Russians) and former Red Wings player Darren McCarty (who was on the team and is a three time champion).

I only got to spend about a day and half in Detroit, so I need to go back to really get the full experience. But it was a helluva ride being a part of the post team for this movie and I enjoyed telling this story with Josh, Jason, Steve and Ryan. It was a gauntlet, for sure, with plenty of (respectful) yelling and passionate pleas for sanity and impossible deadlines we both blew and met all at the same time. But the story and the characters are so rich that it was worth the sweat and sleepless nights it took to tell it.

As a testament to Josh's journey and our work, the film received one of only three awards that were given at Freep: the Spirit of Michigan Award. This is the festival's only jury award. Hopefully this is a sign of more good things to come for Josh and the film - and for telling the world the epic story of the Russian Five.