Synopsis and Production Stills

J-Dog Resurrected is a short documentary film about the life of Jason Kenuk (a.k.a. J-Dog), who lost his mother as well as his memory and suffered from fatal injuries including a coma and partial body paralyzation in a car accident almost ten years ago. In this film J-Dog reflects on the accident and explains what it’s like not remembering the first thirteen years of his life or his mother, but also focuses on the recuperation process that led to the charismatic character he is today. He looks forward to the positive accomplishments he is allowed to achieve because he is alive and does not dwell on the past but uses it to touch the lives of others.

Sundance Film Festival

www.sundance.org/festival

Sundance Film Festival
Park City, Utah
January 17 (9pm)-27, 2008

Sundance started in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival to attract more filmmakers to Utah. Robert Redford (Utah resident) was the festival’s first chairman and moved from September to January (ski resort town, more attention from Hollywood). In 1985 management of the festival was taken over by the Sundance Institute, a non-profit organization, and in 1991 was renamed the Sundance Film Festival

Mission: Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a year-round non-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Individual donations to Sundance Institute support theatre, film, and music artists as they receive guidance and resources at critical points in the creative process. The community of supporters help these artists navigate the challenges of creating new work and see their projects succeed. Individual donors support the Institute by making general contributions, providing program specific support, purchasing tables and tickets to the annual Gala in New York, or by joining the Patron Circle.

Registration has officially closed and will no longer be accepting applications or submissions for the 2008 Festival. Check back (www.sundance.org) in June 2008 for information about deadlines and submissions for the 2009 festival. For the 2009 Festival the film must have been completed in 2007 or 2008.

Received over 8,000 submissions this year. (If you had submitted a film you’d be notified via e-mail in early December) If denied you can submit next year, but you’d better rework the previous version.

Films should be submitted on a single DVD and packaged in a plastic DVD case and must be compatible with standard set-top DVD players. As of this year they will accept high-definition discs in HD-DVD format only. You’ll have to fill out an online application, send your film along with a copy of the page you’ll print out upon completing the online application.

What they’re looking for What stands out:
Independent spirit of interesting and original storytelling, interesting points of view. Diverse voices and films that push limits both stylistically and narrative (excite them).

There is no “student” category although anyone/age can enter if their film fits the certain requirements. They do have a Students at the Festival Program where High School and College students can apply (applications are closed, check back in June of 2008 for more info) to view screenings, attend panels, and learn more about independent filmmaking.

EARLY SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS ($25 ENTRY FEE)
Monday, August 20th, 2007
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES ($35 ENTRY FEE)
Monday, August 20th, 2007
OFFICIAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS ($35 ENTRY FEE)
Friday, September 7th, 2007
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES ($50 ENTRY FEE)
Friday, September 14th, 2007
LATE SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS ($60 ENTRY FEE)
Friday, September 21st, 2007
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES ($75 ENTRY FEE)
Friday, September 28th, 2007

(FYI: They do not judge on postmark dates, all films are viewed equally whether they are early, regular, and late. The only difference is the entry fee.)

Categories:
• Independent (dramatic) 16 dramatic narrative feature films from the U.S. Must be a world premiere and will compete for Jury and Audience Awards. (70+ mins)
• Independent (documentary) 16 feature length documentary films from the U.S. Must be a world premiere and will compete for Jury and Audience Awards. (50+ mins)
• World Cinema (dramatic) 16 dramatic narrative feature films from international filmmakers. Must originate from a country other than U.S. and Must be a U. S. premiere, will compete for Jury and Audience Awards. (70+ mins)
• World Cinema (documentary) 16 documentaries from all over the world. Must originate from a country other than U.S. and Must be a U. S. premiere, will compete for Jury and Audience Awards. (50+ mins)
• Premieres work from established U.S. and international directors (eligible by invitation only).
• Shorts more than 4,000 submissions a year (U.S and international) and either play before features or in one of eight Shorts programs. Eligibility requirements are not quite as strict as with features and films will compete for Jury Awards. Short films may be screened at other festivals or on the internet. MUST NOT have been broadcast on T.V. or released on DVD before the festival. (Narrative Shorts: 69 min or less, Documentary Shorts: 49 min or less)
• From The Collection a join partnership between the Sundance Institute and the UCLA Film and T.V. Archive. (No films submitted, they choose 2 from their archives to show each year)

The following Festival programs are non-competition categories, meaning that the eligibility requirements are not as strict-- films do not need to retain any sort of premiere status, and are allowed to have screened at up to two other film festivals before Sundance.

• Spectrum dramatic and documentary films from new filmmakers from the U.S. and around the world.
• Park City at Midnight eclectic mix of horror, over-the-top comedies, surreal tales, explicit animations, and bizarre stories that defy categorization.
• New Frontier films that push boundaries of present-day cinema (experimental film, media-based performance, and any work that celebrates the convergence of art and film).
*You specify between U.S./International (where did at least 50% of funding come from) Narrative, Documentary, and Short. If chosen they place your film*


Funds go?
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization that provides many different programs and initiatives for film and theatre writers, directors, actors, producers and composers. Fees from festival submissions help fund programs such as these, and also help us keep the submissions process thorough and democratic. We strive to process every package promptly and watch every film with an attentive and unbiased eye.

Previous Years:
2007
• 3,287 feature films submitted (1,852 were U.S)
• 122 feature films selected (82 world premiers) from 25 countries
• Premiers (16 films-all feature length)
• Independent Documentary (16 films from 856 submissions-all feature length)
• Independent Dramatic (16 films from 996 submissions-all feature length)
• World Cinema Documentary (16 films from 506-all feature length)
• World Cinema Dramatic (16 films from 929-all feature length)
• New Frontier 18 films chosen (ranging from 1 minute to 110 minutes) All U.S. films with 2 from France, and 1 from Korea.
• Midnight (8 films-all feature length)
• Spectrum (27 films: 44 min, 60 min, and the rest feature length up to 353 min typically about 65% U.S. 35% international)
• Shorts (43 films running time: 4,8,9,9,9,10,10,10,10,11,11,11,12,12,13,13,14,14,14,14,14,15,15,15,15,15,15,17,17,17,17,17,18,19,19,2020,21,22,23,29,33,40)
• Shorts played before features (28 films from 3 min to 22 min)

2006
• Independent Documentary (16 films all feature length)
• Independent Dramatic (16 films from all feature length)
• World Cinema Documentary (16 films all feature length)
• World Cinema Dramatic (16 films all feature length)
• Spectrum 24 films
• Park City 8 films
• Frontier 5 films

No real themes except they do not seem to have more than one topic/story in the same category, so it’s easier to get your film seen if it’s an extremely unique topic or something that has never been done before. Documentaries range from history, gaming, Hollywood scandals, global warming, religious, tragic past events, and cancer documentations.

Weekend Update

I shadowed Jason for a while on saturday. Got him doing some daily activies, getting coffe, going to breakfast, driving around, I went to get him surfing but it was a little rainy and I didn't want to mess up the camera. So all and all some B-Roll footage but nonetheless something, I got some more footage of him explaining his daily list and some audio of him talking about his daily routine.

Open Forum

Hope everyone liked the dailies, I just wanted to set up a post to get responses, comments, and advice on the project... so feel free to leave any comments/suggestions: what you enjoyed, like to see, like to see more of, areas of improvement, do you see the vision? Thanks everyone! Really enjoyed checking out everyone's footage.

Going through all our footage is very time consuming.. haha oh how i love final cut and technical difficulties. We've got some good B-Roll: Jason and his coach coaching lacrosse, and a good sunset. Some ideas on more B-Roll: Jason playing in a lacrosse game-goalie position and Jason surfing. His coach explained how he wanted to get Jason doing things, such as lacrosse and surfing, that could be of enjoyment to Jason as well as help him recouperate (balance, stance, use of mussles). Still waiting on his records, although I believe we could do the interview with the head of the psychology dept. w/out having them. The trip to NJ is going to be major for this project and I am anticipating the trip-can't wait. I feel by the end of this project I'll have two versions.. one that is 10-12 mins and one that is a taaaaad bit more than that :).

Its amazing how positive Jason is, I often think that he is so strong headed (because he's Jason-of course) and because he's not a female because with the amount of emotions females have.. well I could only imagine. To have no recollection of your mother, as coach puts it.. in a way, its better... and Jason doesn't dwell on it. He is SO positive. I can't wait to edit a final project.

Editing

Mario, lets plan on meeting up after ur class Monday around 3:30... Shame we didn't get to show our stuff wed. but oh well, I think we have some great footage so far. I'm very happy with the direction of the project. Hopefully his records will come soon, I'm planning on going to NJ the weekend before Thanksgiving. Until then I think we should get as much documentation with him on a daily business as possible... I'm thinking of a "shadowing" day soon, any days you have free? In response to the dailies we saw for acid park: I enjoyed watching their footage, I can't wait to see how it looks at night, i think they'll get a lot of stuff during the big show coming up and hopefully the shooting days will be more enjoyable now that the weather has cooled a bit. I'm looking forward to viewing the final project. So far it has that small hometown-secret-majestic kind of feeling, and it works well.

Gettin ready to view dailies

Looking at all the dailies I was very pleased. We've got about 6 tapes give or take a few minutes. The sound is better than I'd expected on most, the picture is mostly crisp and clean especially the beach interview with Jason and his coach. Mario's mic was on the coach and we got a bit of wind interference but luckily the mic I had on Jason picked up his coach's commentary. I wish I would have gotten some more close ups but towards the end I noticed more, so that's good. We're going to have so much footage by the end of this which is awesome and a downfall.. awesome because we'll capture enough to capture his story and personality, a downfall because it's a lot to examine. Any-who hope you all enjoy what we've got to show you tonight!

Medical Records

One more thing I forgot.. Jason and I have contacted the two hospitals he was in post accident and have requested his medical records of his stay. I'm hoping once we get those in the mail I can have enough info to interview the head of the psychology dept. here at UNCW whom also runs a memory center. I feel this will be a very solid opinion of Jason's experience and miraculous recovery.

Big Weekend

So we had a big weekend these past few days.. Jason had recently been on a surf trip with the kids he coaches at cape fear. He also had to fly home to NJ because his uncle is in the hospital and wasn't doing too well. Luckily after a few days his uncle made major improvements but his health is still uncertain, Jason is hopeful and positive as usual. Thursday I got some footage. We took a car ride to the end of the beach right at sunset and he told me of his surf trip to the outer banks as well as his trip back home. He filled the camera with thoughts about his weekend with the kids as well as thoughts about his family and uncle... conveying that his family tends to use humor to ease the pain of a tragedy. His lacrosse coach came into town on Friday... what an amazing person. I see so much of who Jason is today by just briefly meeting with Coach Curran. Luckily I got to spend a lot of time with his coach. Saturday Mario and I filmed their lacrosse clinic @ cape fear academy. We also got an interview later on with Jason and his coach. After the clinic Coach Curran wanted to beach it up. We had to tape them on the beach, my only concern was the audio with the wind, however I feel it will contribute to the essence of the documentary as the two seemed to be in a state paradise with their reunion as well as the thought of how he's turned out today. We also got a quick word on Jason, his character, and coaching style from the head lacrosse coach at cape fear. Today (monday) I filmed Jason in class. In his senior seminar globalization class he gave a speech on Comparative Advantage. I think it will be a good scene for some type of voice over narration.

Mario, lets meet up tomorrow after Spanish class to check out the rest of the Dailies ... to date we've got about 6 tapes, so we should have some good stuff to show in class.

The more we hear of his story and especially this past weekend with his coach, I realize more and more how fast his recovery was in relation to his injuries, and it really does amaze me. Jason had every tooth knocked out (and has already grown in his second set) Everyone (docs, orthadontist, dentist) told him he'd have to get replacement teeth... when he began to grow his third pair of teeth they all said it was just calcium deposits that wouldn't last... oh but they did.

Updates:

So updated info, Mario check it out and let me know what you think...

*This weekend: Jason is going to chaperone a surf trip for the Cape Fear Acadamy- he leaves friday afternoon and gets back monday.. I've told him to try to get atleast some still pics and he says he might be able to bring a video camera/the school may bring one. So we'll see about that but I told him I'd def. want to get some footage of what happened on Monday when he returns-I've requested to check out the panasonic, a wireless mic, and a boom mic from tony (from fri-tomorrow until after break-more than 4 days so we'll see if that's possible.. if not is there a way we could use your panasonic? will you be in town over the break?)
*Next Weekend-Jasons Lacrosse Coach coming to town: He'll be in town Fri. Oct 12 through Sunday Oct 14th. That Satuday at 10am they have a clinic, I'm blocking off my entire Saturday... I normally work all weekend every weekend but hopefully we'll get enough on Saturday and can possibly record some friday night or sunday afternoon.
**I've just emailed Jason's senior seminar teacher about filmming his presentation which is Monday October 15th @ 2pm (do you have class during this time? I have a break from 1pm until 7pm that night). His name is Dr. Kim-a fan of Jason.. in the email i asked if he'd like to say a few quick words about Jason, so maybe we'll get a little character comments from him.

I've began developing some questions for both Jasons coach, and a few for the head of the psychology dept: please add/begin thinking of some ?'s as well and let me know what you think:

For His Coach:
- Did you know Jason before the acciedent? (and if yes) Any differences you can describe from before and after?
-Did you visit him in the hospital (and if so) can you describe the visit (how you felt/what you saw)?
-How did you hear about the accident (time/place/thoughts)
-From the accident Jason suffered memory loss, was this an apparent problem during the rehabilitation process- of re-learning locross cognatively? or was it more just the physical process? (Mario, maybe you can help me rephrase this ?... I think you have more interviewing experience than I do)
--Jason didn't have a lot of encouragement, in the way that he'd be able to do the physical things it takes to play lacrosse again. When was it that you knew he could?

For the Psychologist/Memory specialist
-Jason was 13 when he experienced a severe head trauma leaving him unconscience in a coma for about a month. Can you describe what happeens to the brain during this (for a lack of a better word) "process"?
-Have you done any research/studies of subjects who have experienced memory loss? (if so) What have you found both cognatively and physically?
-Any kind of statisticks you can provide of the likelyhook of this kind of recovery?

I'm meeting with Jason tomorrow morning to get the contact information for the two hospitals he went to after the accident, Hopefully while I'm there we can call and get those records on their way to us, I'm trying to wait until we have those to email the head of the Psychology Dept.. that way we'll have some actual medical info to ask him about.

I've been blogging...www.creedsthoughs.com/www.creedthoughts

So this past Sunday Mario and I got some great footage of JDog. He went to Myrtle Beach for the weekend for a Lacrosse Tourny and had just gotten back, they went undefeated and won it so he was stoked. I was very pleased with what we got. I have been wondering if it would be possible to 'capture' his essence on tape but after Sunday I feel that will most defiantly not be a problem. We ended up shooting for a while, taking breaks and grabbing the camera trying not to miss anything. JDog spoke of a lot of different things, we got him talking on the phone with his grandma on loudspeaker-adorable. Ended up using an entire minidv tape, it's going to be hard to keep it down to only 6 tapes-but for the editing process I know it will be easier if we do. Anywho thats an update on whats up.