"Power and Control" Update

We're moving closer to finishing the first rough cut of the film. After taking a couple of months away from post production, the editorial operation is ramping up, with the goal of completing the cut by mid-September.

Our new editor will be Dara Kell. Dara has worked extensively with Peter Kinoy and Skylight Pictures (Skylight made "The Reckoning," which had it's TV debut last night on POV). Peter worked on "Golden Venture." He's spending most of the summer on Block Island, working on ancillary material for "The Reckoning." Dara worked a bit on "Golden Venture" as well, so it's only natural that she'd join us to complete the new film.

Thavisouk Phrasavath, who had done a brilliant job bringing the film to where we are now, has had an amazingly busy schedule recently, spending most of his time in LA working on a TV show. With these demands on his time (to be expected -- his film "The Betrayal" was nominated for an Oscar), Thavi is passing on the FCP controls to his worthy successor.

I've spent the past few months focusing on building organizational partnerships and fund raising. I've solidified our plans to work on distribution with Connect in New York and DAIP in Duluth. We've pitched this exciting collaboration to funders -- still waiting to hear if it moves anyone (in this impossible funding environment) to step in and back our vision.

There's also been a bit of shooting. On June 11, DP Octavio Warnock-Graham moved back into action when we shot at a conference sponsored by the NY Council on Working with Abusive Partners. Two weeks later, I was in LA, shooting at a conference that brought together many of the leading academics who have challenged the power and control model. I was able to interview Richard Gelles (University of Pennsylvania), Murray Strauss (University of New Hampshire) and Donald Dutton (University of British Columbia). I also interview Erin Pizzey, founder of the world's first domestic violence shelter, Chiswick house in London.

This weekend I'm going back to Duluth, to spend more time filming Kim Mosher and her family. DP Dominick Howse is driving up from the Twin Cities to do the shooting.