FILMS
(To view Dan's recent documentaries CALLING EARTH and SCOLE: THE AFTERLIFE EXPERIMENT,
click on NEW SCIENCE in the menu above and scroll to the bottom of the page.)
SUNDAY
1961
17:09
SUNDAY has been widely honored as the first social-protest film of the 1960s. It was shot in one day (April 9th, 1961) on 16mm black and white film, and took three months to edit.
Shortly after SUNDAY’s initial release it garnered numerous international festival awards. In 2003 it was featured at the Viennale festival in Vienna, and in 2008 it was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, with the support of Martin Scorsese's Film Fund. As of 2021 it is still being shown at international film festivals, including the Oberhausen festival, where it had premiered 60 years ago.
SUNDAY's awards include: The Robert Flaherty Award • Prix Special du Jury, Tours • 1st Special Jury Prize, Oberhausen • Three awards at the Boston Intl. FIlm Festival • Special Jury Prize at San Francisco Intl. Film Festival • Awards at the Spoleto and Bergamo Festivals
SUNDAY is part of the permanent film collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art and has been shown at numerous film festivals and symposia since its restoration in 2008
LIKE, TOTALLY...
2003
2:20
“Like, Totally...” is a short cultural satire, written by, and starring, the offspring of my best Los Angeles friends. It premiered at the 2004 Mill Valley Film Festival.
“One of my all-time favorite short films.”
- Karen Davis, Senior Programmer, Mill Valley Film Festival
MAKE A WISH
2004
4:09
I shot “Make a Wish!” by accident one day in 2004 at the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair in San Francisco. Someone I’d planned to meet there didn’t show up, so having an hour to kill and a camera in my hand I decided to make a home movie, just for fun.
IT'S ALL IN THE BALANCE
2002
7:04
While shooting a documentary about San Francisco rock-balancing artist Bill Dan, I encountered yoga teacher Dina Amsterdam. Dina had become enchanted with Bill’s remarkable work and teaching, and took Bill’s lessons into her yoga classes. When she was offered the possibility of hosting a TV show she asked if I might put together a quick demo for her. This was the result.