First Person Arts

For up-to-date listings and ticketing links, go to the main Festival listings page.

The 2008 First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art will be held at the Painted Bride Art Center this November 11th-16th.  We’ll be posting the entire schedule soon, but you can find information, plan your festival, and buy tickets right NOW at Brown Paper Tickets.

Make sure we’ve got your mailing address if you’d like to get a physical copy of the Festival Brochure when it goes out next week!  Send us a note with your complete mailing address, and we’ll make sure you’re in there!

Until then, here’s the text of the brochure.  (Download it here)

2008 First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art
Tuesday Nov. 11 thru Sunday Nov. 16

Thursday November 6

First Taste Preview Dinner
Location: Ristorante Panorama, Front & Market Streets in the Penn’s View Hotel
Time: 6-9pm
Cost: $100

Passion on the Vine: A memoir of Food, Wine and Family in the Heart of Italy

Special guest Sergio Esposito, author of Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy, will take your palate on a guided tour of Italy’s finest flavors in the dramatic setting of Ristorante Panorama’s hand-painted murals. The evening begins with wine and hors d’oeuvres and a special presentation by the author. Dinner will follow, with a different wine to accompany each course and a festival artist to accompany each table of guests.

Regarded as the leading expert on Italian wines in the U.S., Sergio Esposito is the founder of Italian Wine Merchants (www.italianwinemerchants.com). His book is both a memoir and a travelogue of the food and wine of Italy, linking stories from the vineyards to the flavors of the wines they produce.

Advance purchase required.

Special thanks to Italian Wine Merchants and Ristorante Panorama for donations of food and wine.

Friday November 7

American Fight Clubs
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 6-9pm
Cost: Free

Photographer Jim Lommasson shares the story of the 10 years he spent traveling to boxing gyms across the country, including such local boxing landmarks as the famous Blue Horizon and the Front Street Sym. Taken together, the photographs in this exhibit form a portrait of boxing gyms in all their “glorious grunge” and a tribute to the fighters and trainers whose dreams of glory are forged in sweat, sacrifice, and the will to survive.

Jim Lommasson is a photographer based in Portland, Oregon. He and writer Katherine Dunn were awarded the 2004 Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University for their collaboration on this book. Recently, he has been photographing and interviewing returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. “Recovery Mission,” a photo essay featuring their stories, appears in the September issue of Portland Monthly Magazine. The complete work will be exhibited at the New American Art Union this fall.

The exhibit will be on display in the Painted Bride Gallery during the Festival and throughout November and December.

Tuesday November 11

Edible World: East Passyunk
Location: Leaving from Paradiso at 1627 East Passyunk Ave.
Time: 6-9pm
Cost: $55

Join Inquirer food writer and culinary treasure hunter Rick Nichols for a tasting of his favorite South Philadelphia haunts. Delight in the output of the mysterious copper pots in Phil Mancuso’s basement, try out the specialties from the charming eatery, Le Virtù, that occupies the Italian Newspaper’s former home, sample goodies from a bakery with roots in Cambodia via Paris and much more. This private guided excursion offers tastes and stories straight from kitchens of South Philadelphia’s rapidly diversifying culinary main street!

Rick Nichols is a Philadelphia native. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and worked on the newspaper in Raleigh. After a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, he joined the Inquirer in 1978. He served as a member of the Editorial Board for many years and has won several journalism awards.

Advanced reservations required. This is a walking tour and will happen rain or shine.

Wednesday November 12

Complaint Choir
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 6-7pm
Cost: Free

You got a problem? Want to make something of it? How about a song? First Person Arts and SPECTORProjects bring the global phenomenon of the Complaint Choir to Philadelphia for the first time, with composer Evan Solot turning your frustrations into 4-part harmony. Stay after the performance to learn about the making of the Complaint Choir, its origins in Finland and its migration to the choruses of complainers throughout the world.

SPECTORProjects is the work of Shelley Spector, a Philadelphia artist, curator, and teacher.

Evan Solot composes for orchestras, jazz groups, pop recordings, dance and theater. His music has been performed by some of the country’s leading jazz and pop performances. His commissions include pieces for Alaska, Mississippi, Illinois and Minnesota.

Best Impressions
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 7-8pm
Cost: $10

At last! The winners of the First Person Impressions competitions are revealed. After carefully considering hundreds of entries from across the country, our esteemed panel of judges identified nine rising stars of memoir and documentary art. Experience the best, with presentations of these award-winning documentary films, memoirs and photographs!

Underground America
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 8:30-10:30pm
Cost: $15

In the overheated debate about immigration, voices of the immigrants themselves are seldom heard. Underground America changes that with a dramatic reading of oral histories by undocumented immigrants that reveals the harrowing ordeals and heart-rending choices they must make every day.

A discussion follows with a panel of experts who will address the legal, economic and humanitarian issues surrounding the immigration debate.

Panelists:

Pete Orner is editor of the book Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives. As a fiction writer, he has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, winner of the Bard Fiction Prize and the Rome Prize and a Guggenheim Fellow. He is an associate professor at San Francisco State University.

Sarah Paoletti heads up UPenn Law’s Transnational Clinic.

Jaykumar Menon is a human rights lawyer and writer and a fellow at the Center for International Sustainable Development Law at McGill University.

Moderator:

Judith A. Bernstein-Baker is the executive director of HIAS and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia.

Thursday November 13

Winging It!
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 6-7pm
Cost: Free

“My life was over. I was fifty-five.” As Catherine Goldhammer faces the prospect of any empty nest, she must revise her maternal expectations, but she now has a chance to refashion her future. Join Goldhammer as she recounts stories from her moving and funny memoir describing how she prepared the road map for renewed self-discovery.

Catherine Goldhammer is a graduate of Goddard College and was a poetry fellow in the master of fine arts program at the University of Massachusetts. She has been published in the Georgia Review and the Ohio Review.

Okie Noodling 2
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 7-8pm
Cost: $10

“Eccentric” doesn’t even begin to describe noodling, the unique and dangerous pastime out of Oklahoma in which fishermen (and women) dive underwater and catch giant catfish with their bare hands. In 2001, filmmaker Brad Beesley brought the practice of noodling to the world; now he goes back to see how the sport has evolved in the last decade. You have to see this to believe it!

Salon du Festival
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 8:30-10:30pm
Cost: $15
At First Person Salons at the Gershman Y each month throughout 2008, artists of all kinds pushed the boundaries of memoir and documentary art. The Salon du Festival brings this highly-acclaimed format to the First Person Festival, featuring a suitcase-puppetry performance by First Person Artist-in-Residence Beth Nixon and friends, a memoir-reading by StorySlam winner and host Katonya Mosley, a performance by Pete Pryor excerpted from his play Beautiful Boy about parenting an autistic child, and a new film by First Person Artist-in-Residence David S. Kessler.

The salons will resume in 2009 with innovative work from a new slate of memoir and documentary artists.

Friday November 14

Kinky Gazpacho
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 6-7 PM
Cost: FREE

When Lori Tharps pursued her dream of living in Spain, she never expected to meet her life partner let alone uncover an important piece of slave history that is buried there. Join her as she reads from her new book Kinky Gazpacho and reflects on the complexities of roots, romance and race.

Lori L. Tharps is a freelance journalist, author, editor, teacher and mom. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two sons. She has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. She spends her summers in Spain, is fluent in Spanish and can say “I love you” in seven languages.

Found
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 7-8 PM
Cost: $10

Davy Rothbart, founder of the wildly popular underground magazine Found (also a book and website) weaves some of his most fascinating finds into an energetic presentation. Join Rothbart for his entertaining elaboration on the stories behind the cast-off notes and letters plucked from the nation’s subways, schools, streets and sidewalks.

Davy Rothbart, creator of Found Magazine, is a collector, author, filmmaker, and frequent contributor to the public radio show This American Life. The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, a collection of Rothbart’s short stories, was published in 2005 by Simon & Schuster, and Geffen Records recently released Rothbart’s documentary film How We Survive about the punk rock band Rise Against. Rothbart lives in his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
And exhibit of Found items will be on display in the Painted Bride Gallery throughout the Festival. Audience members are invited to contribute their own discoveries to Found’s collection of anonymous ephemera.

Swallow Your Pride
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 8:30-10:30 PM
Cost: $15

El Wingador. Humble Bob. The Black Widow. Joey Chestnut. These are the players, and Philadelphia’s own WingBowl is the stage for this gluttonous free-for-all: the greatest competitive eating event in the world. Swallow Your Pride follows an intrepid band of professional and aspiring eaters as they prepare for the legendary battle, culminating in what is widely considered the most gripping WingBowl finish in history. Come early for this one: El Wingador himself will be in the house, flanked by his Wingettes and serving up his signature sauce on, you guessed it, chicken wings!

Saturday November 15

Storysmithing 101
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 9AM-12 Noon
Cost: $35

Everybody has a story to tell. Come share yours in an intimate setting with other storytellers. We’ll begin with an introduction to the art of telling a personal story in any form, then break into three groups, each focusing on a different approach: written, oral, or digital. In the breakout session of your choice, you will learn techniques for discovering your authentic voice and have a chance to share your first attempts, ask questions and receive professional guidance.

Those who wish to develop their own projects more fully may return for extended sessions to be held in the following weeks. See www.firstpersonarts.org for more details.

Digital Storytelling
Lansdowne, Pennsylvania native Lisa Nelson Haynes is Associate Director of the Painted Bride Art Center and works with the Center for Digital Storytelling as a workshop facilitator. A graduate of Hampton University, she has completed her graduate coursework in film at Temple University.

Memoir Writing
August Tarrier is a writer, editor and publisher. She is the Editor in Chief of New City Press and Professional Writer in Residence at the University of Baltimore. She has recently completed a short story collection and a memoir.

Oral Storytelling
For over fifteen years, professional storyteller Tina Devine has been performing her original material, folkloric adaptations and literary tales to a wide variety of audiences. Her engaging workshops assist participants to develop the art of storytelling as not only a tool of self-revelation, but as an instrument of shared experience, community building and social transformation.

Mural Arts Tour
Location: Departure from Painted Bride
Time: 10AM-1PM
Cost: $45

Bold, colorful, diverse and collaborative, Philadelphia’s murals tell some of the city’s best stories. Get up close and personal with North Philly’s recent contributions to this expansive canvas with Mural Arts Program founder Jane Golden and the community artists who created them. Jane will lead a behind-the-scenes tour of North Philly murals, joined by community participants who will tell the stories behind the stories of these artistic collaborations. The tour includes lunch with Jane and the mural artists at Las Cazuelas, known for its authentic Mexican cuisine.

Jane Golden, Director of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, has supervised the completion of thousands of indoor and outdoor murals across the city since 1984.

Advance purchase required.

Crazy Sexy Cancer
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 11:30AM-2:30PM
Cost: $35

“Cancer has been my guru,” says Kris Carr, who set out to document her struggle to heal from what seemed to be an incurable form of the disease. With an entertaining blend of humor and emotion, the film accompanies her through her encounters with both the medical establishment and an astonishing variety of holistic healers. Finally, Carr’s illness goes into remission, and she discovers the irony that rather than challenging her will to live, cancer has furnished her with a life-affirming wisdom. A discussion by experts in various aspects of holistic treatment will follow.

Before the screening, enjoy a lunch prepared by natural food chef Christina Pirello whose journey to health followed a similar trajectory. She will share her own story and sign copies of her new cookbook This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species.

Christina Pirello is the Emmy Award-winning host of Christina Cooks, now in its 9th season. She also published Christina Cooks, a bi-monthly magazine.

In partnership with the Linda Creed Foundation. Food generously donated by Essene Market & Café.

Girls Rock
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 4-6 PM
Cost: $10

Loud, bold and irreverent, Girls Rock follows one life-altering week at a camp for girls as they learn to play instruments, collaborate to produce a song and finally perform in front of a screaming crowd! This uplifting documentary shows the power that is released by girls when they are unbound by conventional cultural expectations. The results speak for themselves in a performance by all-girl Philly rockers after the film!

Join girl rock gurus Katy Davidson, sts, and Nicole Georges to learn more about this empowering movement, hear some great music, try a little rock drumming yourself and pick up a signed copy of the newly released book, Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls.

In partnership with Girls Rock Philly

Doubletime!
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 6:30-8:30 PM
Cost: $10

The cadences are familiar to playgrounds across America: knees pumping, ropes whirling at blinding speed, the martial sing-song of the double-dutch rhyme. But less well known, to many, is that there are two rope-jumping Americas. In this heart-pounding documentary by Stephanie Johnes, jump rope sheds its segregated history as the Bouncing Bulldogs and Double Dutch Forces meet for the first time on stage at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. The thrilling conclusion proves that sometimes just telling the story can change the ending!

Grand Slam
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 9-11 PM
Cost: $15

You think you’ve got stories? Wait until you hear from the 11 winners of the 2008 StorySlams! They’ve tested their mettle before standing-room-only audiences at our monthly slams, where their hilarious, moving, outrageous and (most importantly) TRUE stories were judged to be the best of the lot. Now they will face off for the championship and one of them will walk away with the title of “Best Storyteller in Philadelphia.”

Advanced purchase is recommended; this event is expected to sell out. Sponsored by Beau Monde/ L’Étage Cabaret.

Sunday November 16

Trail of Crumbs:
Brunch with Kim Sunée @ Fork
Location: Fork Restaurant
Time: 11AM-1PM
Cost: $45

Kim Sunée has always clung to food. Abandoned as a child in South Korea with no more than a fistful of crackers, she came of age over bowls of Poppy’s Crawfish Bisque in her adoptive New Orleans and then set off for Europe looking for love. While romance came and went, her passion for global cuisines endured. From Kimchi to Croque-Madame, her influences are as eclectic as her travels and her Asian-American roots. Fork Restaurant will prepare a brunch based on recipes from Sunée’s food memoir Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home. A reading and discussion of her search for her origins and identity will accompany the brunch.

Kim Sunée has been featured in The New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, People, ELLE, and Glamour. She is the founding food editor of Cottage Living and worked previously as a food editor for Southern Living. She is currently working on a second book. www.kimsunee.com

Advance reservations recommended.

Anmoku (Unspoken)
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 2:30-3:30 PM
Cost: $10

Lise Yasui’s Academy-Award nominated documentary A Family Gathering pierced the veil of silence surrounding her Japanese relatives’ experiences during World War II. Unspoken for decades, their stories are illuminated by newsreel footage, family photos and interviews, bringing a perspective to this dark period of American history, in which thousands of Japanese immigrants were interned. The film has taken on new resonance in recent years as the U.S. government revives policies of detaining citizens and resident aliens considered to be security risks.

Lise Yasui is a graduate of Temple’s MFA program in media and has taught at Scribe Video Center and Temple University. She serves on the board of the Independent Public Television Service (ITVS) and consults for independent documentary projects. A Family Gathering is available from the Center for Asian American Media. catalog.asianamericanmedia.org

A discussion with the filmmaker will follow the screening.

Relative History
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 4-5:30 PM
Cost: $10

Authors Daniel Mendelsohn and Lise Funderburg have devoted years to dissecting the minutiae of family stories, framed by the grand sweep of history. Mendelsohn’s Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million is a gripping account of six of his own family members—Holocaust victims—uncovered through a detective-like search for facts about their lives and deaths. Lise Funderburg’s Pig Candy reconstructs the Jim Crow South as she tends to her dying father who is living out his final years in his boyhood home in rural Georgia. Mendelsohn and Funderburg will read from their work and discuss how family stories personalize the abstractions of history.

Lise Funderburg is a journalist, essayist, and critic. She is currently an instructor in creative nonfiction writing at The University of Pennsylvania.

Daniel Mendelsohn is an award-winning author and critic. He is the author of three books and his essays have been widely anthologized. He currently teaches at Bard College. www.danielmendelsohn.com

Sponsored by the National Museum of American Jewish History

Soul Supper
Location: Painted Bride
Time: 6-9PM
Cost: $25

Bursting with raw emotion to match its soulful score, the documentary Everybody Needs Somebody tells the story of Solomon Burke, a young Philadelphia musician lifted out of obscurity, catapulted to fame, and then largely forgotten. But the film and a new album by Solomon Burke are creating a revival of interest in his music and introducing him to new audiences. A blistering live performance by Philadelphia R&B sensation The Barbara Walker Story will follow the screening and will have you dancing in the aisles.

In partnership with the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.