A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home had its Southeastern Premiere at the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival on Monday and what a success it was!
We nearly sold out the Cinema Paradiso for our 6 p.m. screening and everyone remained in their seats for the Q&A afterwards. Thanks so much to all who came out. The response was incredible! To the woman who told the audience she felt the documentary moved her to give back more and reaffirmed what it means to be an American, I appreciate all your kind thoughts. That’s what we’re aiming for. No matter how difficult the situation or critical the crisis, one person can always make a difference in the lives of others.
We’ll be going back to Florida in two weeks, this time on the West Coast for the Naples Film Festival. We’ll be screening there on Friday Nov. 6 at the Norris Center at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the brand new luxurious Silverspot Theatre at 6:30 p.m. You can purchase your tickets for one or both times via the Naples Film Festival Website. We’re also invited to the opening night gala and I’m thrilled to be catching up with my new friend, Louie Psihoyos, the director of the Sundance Award-winning doc, The Cove, who will be attending. Be sure and check out that excellent film as well.
I’ll have another update soon!
Josh
We recently had an extremely well written review by Eric Landau of the New Times of Broward/Palm Beach. What I liked about the article was that Mr. Landau seemed to understand both the reasons behind the documentary as well as its message. I encourage everyone to click on the link below and read the full article when you have a chance. Click here for full article.
Hi Friends,
I’m pleased to announce that “A Bridge Life” has won a “Chris” Award from the 57th Annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival! We have been tapped to receive a Bronze Plaque from the Film Council of Greater Columbus (Ohio). The festival runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 15. Not sure yet about screening details, but we’ve been invited to an awards dinner on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Columbus College of Art & Design.
Of course, I’ll be in Columbus four weeks before that for the Oct. 7 screening of ABL at the Wexner Center for the Arts. I’m really looking forward to that screening and Q&A, not only cause I have family in Ohio, but also because I’ll be joined by Steven Glaser, Professor of Piano at Ohio State and our illustrious composer. I also might be interviewed by a local radio program so keep checking back for details on that and other press “A Bridge Life” has been getting.
Last month’s private New York screening was fantastic! Thanks for all those who came out for it. Our email list keeps getting bigger and bigger. So if you’re reading this and haven’t signed up for updates, please send an email to info@abridgelife.com and we’ll be sure to give you the latest news.
Hopefully I’ll have some more good festival news to report in a few weeks.
Stay tuned!
Josh
The Wexner Center for the Arts (www.wexarts.org) in Ohio with their “year-round festival of independent filmmaking, international cinema, new documentaries, and classics from the familiar to the forgotten” will be screening “A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home” as part of their visiting filmmakers series on Wednesday, October 7th at 7pm! Ohio State music professor, Steven Glaser, composed the film’s score (minus the Johnny Cash song) will introduce the film along with director, Josh Grossberg. Come one and come all!
For our special and close supporters in the New York City area, we are excited to announce a private advanced showing of A Bridge Life!
BY INVITATION ONLY:
The Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue (btwn 37th & 38th Streets)
6:30pm Cocktail Reception
7:30pm Screening Begins, followed by Q & A
Please contact filmmaker Josh Grossberg with any questions.
Hi everyone,
Last week’s world premiere of “A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home” was a big success. We had a sizeable crowd despite our Wednesday afternoon time slot and I’m pleased to report hankies were needed at several points during the screening. We held a Q&A afterward and nearly everyone stayed and asked in-depth questions about the evacuees, dan’s journey and my own experience in the Astrodome. I’m excited because the premiere reaffirmed that we need to just continue to get this movie out there to as wide an audience as possible and once we do, people will definitely respond and be affected by it. Everybody was at Newport last Wednesday.
Aside from working on getting into other festivals (SilverDocs that means you), I’m looking into hold a private screening for friends and family in New York in June and one in Florida so Dan and his crew can finally see it. Details to follow in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, my team and I are going to savor our Newport debut.
Best,
Josh
I have some great news to share. The feature-length Katrina documentary that I produced, wrote and directed and finished recently after nearly four years, A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home, is going to have its world premiere at the Newport Beach International Film Festival on Wednesday, April 29th at 2:15 p.m.
I would love to invite each and every one of you to attend the premiere if you’re in the area and get the buzz going. Help keep the spotlight on the rebuilding process which is trudging along at a slow pace in the Gulf and New Orleans. Help us to remind government officials and the public about the need for continued support for the thousands of evacuees spread all around the country in a forced exodus who want to return home. Help us spread the word!
-Josh
Click on this link for more information and to buy tickets for A Bridge Life.
Newport Beach Film Festival
Good News Everybody!
After several long months of composing, arranging and recording, our composer, Steven Glaser, completed the original score for “A Bridge Life” and it has now been added to the picture. And let me be the first to congratulate him on a job well done. The documentary is now complimented by some wonderfully inventive music that I think raises the film to a whole ‘nother level. When you see it, I know you’ll agree.
So all that remains essentially is a final color correct and audio mix. To do that however, I still need to license archival footage featuring watermarks from various archival houses (Getty and Corbis for example) and replace those shots with high-res versions so we can color correct the film. We’re so close to the finish line that I barely can contain my excitement. I’m hoping in the next month or so to have some very big news regarding screenings. Thanks for your patience and please stay tuned!
Josh
The third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina arrived last Friday and with it a new hurricane to threaten the Gulf Coast’s shores. Gustav rumbled across the Louisiana coastline on Monday, bringing the Republican National Convention to a near halt and offering up a stark reminder of what Katrina had wrought there three short years ago.
The good news is that both local, state and federal agencies had learned their lesson and coordinated a successful evacuation of New Orleans and surrounding coastal areas from what Mayor Ray Nagin pronounced hyperbolically, the “storm of the century.” However exaggerated his words may have been, people heeded the warnings and made their way inland. Luckily, Gustav turned out not to be the cat 4 killer that some had feared but still an intense category three storm that dealt the Crescent City a glancing blow. This time around, there were not victims on rooftops, survivors holed up in dome stadiums hoping for authorities to come to the rescue.
But by no means does the lesser magnitude of the storm mean Gulf Coast residents weren’t in need of help. This time around, Dan Sheffer stayed in Florida. And for good reason. Hurricane Hannah and Ike are eyeing the Sunshine State coastline as I write this and he’s got to take care of his own family and home. After spending the last year or so helping people affordably hurricane proof their houses, our documentary subject may face his own potential Katrina if forecasts for Ike hold over the next few days.
While Dan couldn’t go to help Gulf Coast evacuees this time around, he hopes you’ll take the time to consider the importance of volunteering your time and money to help those devastated by Gustav or any other disaster. That’s what A Bridge Life is about: people helping people. I also would like to implore you to help us finish the film and tell Dan’s story by making a donation. In return, we’ll list your name in the credits. Just check out our See Your Name Campaign section for more details.
Thanks for your support.
Josh
Greetings one and all,
