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Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness
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Directed by Tiffany Shlain Written by Tiffany Shlain Maya Draisin Xandra Castleton Produced by Xandra Castleton, A Grottofilms Production Genre Runtime: 14 min Release Date: March 2008 Filmmaker's Website Send to Friends |
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Plot Outline
Playfully updating the 1950's school documentary, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" offers up political and social satire regarding the current state of reproductive rights in a fast-paced spoonful. Found-footage, animation and original images are interwoven into a collage containing the fictional stories of a conservative politician, a young couple, and a fundamentalist activist (portrayed by Survival Research Laboratories founder Mark Pauline) along with the decline in amphibian populations and the insidious creeping erosion of reproductive rights in the United States. All linked together through a Chinese dry cleaner.
Awards
TV Brodcast on The Sundance Channel, Oct & Nov, 2006
Inclusion in the Sundance Collection at UCLA, 2004
Best Documentary Short Film: Moab Film Festival
Jurors Citation: Black Maria Film Festival
Finalist: USA Film Festival: National Short Film & Video Competition
Affiliate Excellence Award from Planned Parenthood Federation
Golden Gate Award Official Selection
Honorable Mention for Best Women's Short Film Category at the Cleveland International Film Festival
Reviews
"It has an important message that needs to be heard whether or not you agree with it." Doug Brunell, Film Threat
"Brilliantly woven pastiche that combines archival and original footage in a highly amusing but incisive examination of the fight for reproductive choice." Time Out New York
Related article Beth Lisick, San Francisco Chronicle
Filmmaker Notes
Why I made this film...
"Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness" is a short film with
expansive aspirations - to highlight the rapidly evolving threat to a
women's right to choice. It aims to galvanize both the generation of
women and men who have benefited from nearly 30 years of freedom and
those who remember what it was like when it was criminal and dangerous
for a woman to exercise control over her own body.
I
originally wrote the proposal to make this film for Planned Parenthood
Golden Gate after my increasing concern and frustration of the erosion
of reproductive rights in our country. This film is my response to our
current administration's policies.
I was born shortly before Roe v. Wade and I know that our grandmothers and mothers fought hard to give us this right to make personal decisions about our bodies. While I, along with my collaborators, were not fully engaged in the feminist activist movement before making this film, our goal was to approach this intense, polarized subject in a new way. This film is both satirical and serious. We use humor and irony to open people up to this critical subject and enlist them in the important effort that lies ahead. We hope to reach a new audience and reinvigorate past supporters to continue to fight for this right. Hopefully, my daughter Odessa Simone (4-19-03) and her generation and beyond will have this right upheld without question.
Castlist
Liz Marks - Narrator
Sarah Mueller - Ashley Adams
Marcus Berry - Chad
Mark Pauline - Bud LaCroix
John Newmeyer - Mr. Adams
Nancy G. Heine - Mrs. Adams
Sud Zhu Xu - Mr. Lee
Rui Hui Li Xu - Mrs. Lee
Benson Wend Da Xu - Lee's son
Tina Lee - Lee's daughter
Cory & Nicy Lee - Lee's grandchildren
Fred the Frog - Frog
Stunt Frog......Sam
Music
Mark De Gli Antoni
Cinematographers
Sophia Constantinou
Film Editors
Jennifer Steinman
Screenings
Sundance Film Festival 2003
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2003
American Film Institute Film Festival 2002
Aspen Shortsfest 2003
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2003
San Francisco International Film Festival 2003
USA Film Festival 2003
Nashville Film Festival 2003
Atlanta Film Festival 2003
Black Maria Film Festival 2003
SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival 2003
Lunafest Film Festival 2003
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2003
Ohio Independent Film Festival 2004
Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival 2003
The Florida Room Documentary Film Festival 2004
Sonoma Film Festival 2004
Cleveland Film Festival- 2004
Portland International Film Festival 2004
12th International Women's Film Festival FEMINALE Cologne, Germany Oct, 2004