Audience, Withoutabox

Arid Lands U S A

Directed by: Grant Aaker, Josh Wallaert
Country:U S A
Created:2007
Runtime:98 min.
Also Listed In: Eugene International Film Festival 2007
Member: josh
Average rating: 4.8 by 5 users



Film Description:

Synopsis

Arid Lands is a documentary feature about the land and people of the Columbia Basin in southeastern Washington state. Sixty years ago, the Hanford nuclear site produced plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, and today the area is the focus of the largest environmental cleanup in history. It is a landscape of incredible contradictions. Coyotes roam among decommissioned nuclear reactors, salmon spawn in the middle of golf courses, wine grapes grow in the sagebrush, and federal cleanup dollars spur rapid urban expansion. Arid Lands takes us into a world of sports fishermen, tattoo artists, housing developers, ecologists, and radiation scientists living and working in the area. It tells the story of how people changed the landscape over time, and how the landscape affected their lives. Marked by conflicting perceptions of wilderness and nature, Arid Lands is a moving and complex essay on a unique landscape of the American West.

Forms: Documentary, Feature
Genres: Nature, Independent, Environmental

Screenings & Events

Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
Nevada City, CA, U S A
January 2007

Eckerd College Environmental Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: "NEW VISIONS, NEW VOICES" SPECIAL JURY AWARD
St. Petersburg, FL, U S A
February 2007

Longbaugh Film Festival
Film Festival
Portland, OR, U S A
March 2007

Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: BEST OF FEST
Seattle, WA, U S A
March 2007

Rainier Independent Film Festival
Film Festival
Ashford, WA, U S A
May 2007

Seattle True Independent Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM
Seattle, WA, U S A
June 2007

Plymouth Independent Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM
Plymouth, MA, U S A
July 2007

DVD Release
Video/DVD
Bullfrog Films, U S A
August 2007

Globians Film Festival
Film Festival
Potsdam, Germany
August 2007

Big Sky Documentary Film Series
Film Festival
Missoula, MT, U S A
August 2007

Idaho International Film Festival
Film Festival
Boise, ID, U S A
September 2007

DocuFest Atlanta
Film Festival
Atlanta, GA, U S A
September 2007

Eugene International Film Festival
Film Festival
Eugene, OR, U S A
October 2007

Montana CINE International
Film Festival
Awards: FOCUS AWARD + BEST INDIE FILM
Missoula, MT, U S A
October 2007

Secret City Film Festival
Film Festival
Oak Ridge, TN, U S A
October 2007

Tacoma Film Festival
Film Festival
Tacoma, WA, U S A
October 2007

Sweet Onion Film Festival
Film Festival
Walla Walla, WA, U S A
October 2007

Ellensburg Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: BEST DOCUMENTARY
Ellensburg, WA, U S A
October 2007

The Chris Awards
Film Festival
Awards: BRONZE PLAQUE
Columbus, OH, U S A
November 2007

Northwest Film & Video Festival
Film Festival
Portland, OR, U S A
November 2007

Theatrical Premiere
Theatrical
Kennewick, WA, U S A
February 2008

Cast & Crew

Production

Grant Aaker (Producer, Director (1st Project,1st Feature)), Josh Wallaert (Producer, Director (1st Project,1st Feature))

Camera

Grant Aaker (Cinematographer/DP)

Post Production

Grant Aaker (Picture Editor)

Music

Dan Rabb (Original Music/Composer), Dao Strom (Original Music/Composer), Dustin Tanner (Original Music/Composer), Heidi Spencer (Original Music/Composer), J. DiMenna (Original Music/Composer), James Key (Original Music/Composer), Jeremy Patfield (Original Music/Composer), Jon Itkin (Original Music/Composer), Lee Cullivan (Original Music/Composer), Matt Keating (Original Music/Composer), Mike Chylinski (Original Music/Composer), Nate Shaw (Original Music/Composer), Thornton Bowman (Original Music/Composer), Tom Scheponik (Original Music/Composer), Vito Ricci (Original Music/Composer)

Representation

Josh Wallaert (Publicist)

Silence on the Blog Feb 05, 2008 01:23AM
In case you're watching this, you'll notice we don't update the blog very much. The reason for that is that there is a problem with html coding on this site -- the techs folks here at Withoutabox have promised a fix for it, but they've been saying that for several months, so you know how that goes. We have a lot to share -- more stories from film festivals & a theatrical release next week in the Tri-Cities -- but the blog just doesn't work as well when I can't use html to provide links. As usual, you can keep tabs on everything that's happening over at the main Arid Lands website at www.sidelongfilms.com.
Tri-Cities Premiere Nov 08, 2007 06:39PM
When we showed up in Richland early this fall to screen <a href="http://www.sidelongfilms.com">Arid Lands</a> at the Battelle Auditorium -- literally across the street from the Hanford nuclear site -- we weren't quite sure what to expect. We've been to enough festival screenings that we have a pretty good sense of how audiences respond to the film, but we didn't know what the local community would think. Would they love it? Would they hate it? Would they even come?<br><br>I think they were a little nervous, too. One woman said, "I wasn't sure I wanted to be here. I was afraid it would be some kind of Hanford-bashing thing." But then the room started to fill up, and the lights went down, and the audience laughed good-naturedly during the opening crickets monologue, and they settled into the shimmering guitar of Mike Chylinski's title music sequence, and I knew we were in for a special evening.<br><br>We sold out the auditorium exactly. Filled 250 seats, but didn't have to turn anyone away at the door. And the response was wonderful. The best part was having seven of the film's participants on stage afterward for Q&A, and I want to acknowledge in particular former White Bluffs resident Walt Grisham, who brought the room to tears with the story of his family's eviction from the Hanford site in 1943. The audience members who spoke said the film had really given them something to think about. One woman said, "It's like you held a mirror up to this community, and for the first time we can really take a good look at ourselves." Thanks to all who were there.<br><br>Here are a few photos from the event. You can find a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7469339@N05/1398640107">larger version at flickr</a> to get a better look at them.<br><br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7469339@N05/1398640107"><img src="http://www.sidelongfilms.com/aridlands/images/battelle_small.jpg" title="" border="0" height="525" width="300"><a/>
DVD Release & Fall Screenings Sep 06, 2007 02:20AM
We're happy to announce that the Arid Lands DVD has been released from Bullfrog Films. Organizational copies are available from Bullfrog, and home video copies are available directly from our website.

We're celebrating the occasion with a very special screening back where it all began, in the Tri-Cities, Washington. This is the first time Arid Lands will be shown in the area, and both directors will be there for the event, along with many of the people featured in the film. We've invited all the participants to join us after the screening in a conversation with the audience, and it looks like about ten of them will be able to make it. For the first time, we'll have these folks together in the same room, and the audience will have a chance to meet the participants and ask questions. Those of you who've seen the film know how exciting a prospect that is. We've been looking forward to this one for a long time.

The next couple of months also look to be busy for festival screenings. We've got

The Tri-Cities premiere, September 15
DocuFest Atlanta, September 28
Idaho Film Festival, September 29-30
Montana CINE, October 1-7
Eugene International Film Festival, October 4-6
Tacoma Film Festival, October 6
Secret City Film Festival, October 7
Ellensburg Film Festival, October 7
and a Portland benefit screening for Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, October 12

I've recently moved back to the Northwest, so it looks like I may be able to attend in person for many of these screenings. As always, details are on the website at www.sidelongfilms.com.

This week marks the two-year anniversary of our leaving the Tri-Cities, after finishing the interviews in the summer of 2005. We're excited to be headed back there.
Massachusetts, Montana, Germany... Jul 12, 2007 02:31PM
More festivals coming up...

Plymouth Independent Film Festival, Plymouth, MA, July 21 and 22
Big Sky Film Series, Missoula, MT, August 3
Globians Film Festival, Potsdam, Germany, August 13

We're pretty excited about these ones. PIFF has us plugged into a great slate of environmental films alongside An Inconvenient Truth, Who Killed the Electric Car, and Everything's Cool. And I'm looking forward to attending Big Sky to do some camping in Montana and get a chance to meet the folks at High Plains Films -- some of the best documentarians of the New West (This Is Nowhere, Varmints, Libby, Montana). And then Globians Film Festival will be our European premiere. It's kind of fun to think about a Berlin audience sitting down to watch a film about a remote corner of Eastern Washington.

...as always, check out the screenings section on our website for details on fests & awards.

In other news, Grant pulled off a heroic feat, editing a new (slightly shorter) cut of the film in the middle of med school exams. The DVD from Bullfrog Films is coming soon, along with screenings in Spokane and the Tri-Cities!
Rainier & Seattle (2nd time)... Apr 20, 2007 01:50AM
It's been a busy month for Arid Lands. We had sold-out screenings at the Longbaugh and Hazel Wolf film festivals, a big crowd in Minneapolis for a hometown screening, and a good review in City Pages. We have a distribution deal with Bullfrog Films that we're very excited about -- more on that when DVDs are released this summer. And we're on a roll with screenings.

Next up:

Rainier Independent Film Festival, Ashford, WA, May 6
Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Seattle, WA, June 2

We're looking to schedule some Pacific Northwest screenings -- including a DVD release party in the Tri-Cities, where the film was shot -- toward the end of the summer, maybe do a small tour of community screenings and independent theaters.
ST. PETERSBURG, SEATTLE, PORTLAND, MINNEAPOLIS... Mar 07, 2007 11:57PM
We're really happy to see the film finding such great festival audiences. We've just come back from the Eckerd College Environmental Film Festival -- a very cool fest in St. Petersburg, FL, that managed to screen wildlife films about elephants and dolphins alongside the South Korean horror film The Host. The fest directors were fun to hang out with, the audience was engaged, and we picked up a "New Visions, New Voices" Special Jury Award.

Next up:

Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival, Seattle, March 31
Longbaugh Film Festival, Portland, March 31
Science on Screen @ The Bell Museum, Minneapolis, April 12

We've been looking forward to the Northwest premiere for our little Northwest film, & strangely enough, we get two premieres on the same day. Should be twice the fun. We're going to split up for the events. I'm headed up to Seattle, and Grant is hoping to make it to Portland. So we'll see you there.
People's Choice at the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival Feb 21, 2007 10:53PM
Wonderful experience for our first film festival. Good local food, friendly filmmakers, amazing films. We had an enthusiastic audience for our Saturday afternoon screening, and they voted us "People's Choice" for the festival, so we were lucky enough to have an additional screening Sunday afternoon.

And we were in excellent company. I especially loved Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon, about the cultural split in a rural timber town very near where I grew up; The Queen of Trees, one of the most accessible entries into the complexity of an ecosystem that I've ever seen; and America's Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie about the remarkable disappearance of an ecosystem that has gone largely unnoticed. If you've seen Arid Lands, I would highly recommend Source to Sea, about Christopher's Swain's heroic swim down the length of the Columbia River, through the Hanford nuclear site and all the slackwater lakes behind the dams. Gates of the Arctic. Drowned Out. Many other great films, as well.
Here we go! Dec 05, 2006 10:32PM
Arid Lands will have its world premiere January 13 at the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Nevada City, California. Many great films playing at the fest, and we're excited to be in such good company. Both directors will be present at the screening.
TRAILER Aug 17, 2006 04:09AM


Visit the Arid Lands website for a higher quality version of the trailer.
SHOUT OUT! TO THE MUSICIANS Jun 30, 2006 12:15PM
One of the challenges facing independent filmmakers on a low budget is finding good music that matches the tone of the film. From the beginning, we knew that music would be important to this project, but we didn't know how we could afford it. It's a problem that seems to come up often on the message boards at Withoutabox.

Here's how we solved it. We wrote an open letter to independent musicians and posted it on craigslist in about twenty cities across the country. We described the film and the kind of music we were looking for. We were upfront about our budget, and we asked musicians to send us their work. We couldn't ask anybody to compose music specifically for the film, but we felt comfortable asking for a burned CD of previously recorded work. We were professional, and we heard back from professionals in return.

We got inquiries from about 400 musicians and received CDs from more than 150 of them. That gave us a wide selection of music to choose from in the editing room, much of it very good. When we had a rough cut of the film finished, we contacted the musicians and signed licensing agreements with payment deferred until (and unless) the film makes a profit. We can't promise that Arid Lands will be distributed, and the musicians know that, but they're all happy to be involved because they support the project and are well matched with us creatively.

Now we have a film with songs by 15 musicians, some folky, some electronic, all with a feel for the open landscapes of the North American West, and we couldn't be happier with how it sounds. One of the added benefits is that we get to talk with independent musicians across the country and bring more people into the collaborative fold.

If you've seen Arid Lands and you like its sound, help support independent music and buy a CD at one of the sites below. If you're a filmmaker looking for music, we would highly recommend working with these folks. Follow the links to their websites:

Mike Chylinski, "Wading Home" and "Transmissions"
Dustin Tanner, "Paquette"
Matt Keating, "No Further South"
Unlearn, "Safety in Numbers"
Vito Ricci, "View 14" (from Fourteen Views from My Window)
Jeremy Patfield, "P80"
Lee Cullivan, "A Distant Pioneer" and "So Pretty"
Gringo Motel, "Basket of Flowers"
Heidi Spencer, "Feeding"
Jon Itkin, "My Work Is Never Done"
Dan Rabb, "Short Blues"
ThorNton Creek, "Dead Man Sleeping"
Nate Shaw, "Cruel Wind"
Dao Strom, "When U Go Out"
J. DiMenna, "Awkward Buildings"
SHOUT OUT! TO THE WEB DESIGNER Jun 30, 2006 11:18AM
After three months of interviews and nine months of editing, we've finished our environmental documentary Arid Lands. We've submitted to our first film festivals, and now we sit back for a few months while we wait for the verdict.

Like many independent films, Arid Lands is a homegrown project fueled by peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches, and not by a big pile of cash. We're lucky to have the support of our friends and family. Now it's time to thank some of the folks who've helped us out along the way.

One of the biggest shout outs goes to Jonas Lerman of Jonas Lerman Studio, who designed our beautiful new website at www.sidelongfilms.com.

If you're a filmmaker looking for strong, clean design, please send some business his way.

Ratings

wordmcsee
    5 Stars
Mauricio
    5 Stars
janieg
    4 Stars
shanecollins
    5 Stars
purplecat
    5 Stars

Visually breathtaking, emotionally engaging. One will be thinking about this film for days afterwards. Arid Lands a unique film about a unique place.

10 Comments about Arid Lands

joeIII
Jul 20, 2007 01:09PM

Josh can't wait to see it. Don't be a stranger, I heard you were coming home. I hope the best and success for you always. joe

josh
Mar 07, 2007 07:22PM

Hold up, I guess we should set the record straight here before we get too far into Chadland. The co-director's name is Grant.

But thanks, Patty & Keith, for your kind comments!

And thanks for the correction on the Hanford waste, Keith. Good eye. You're the first one to point that out. We're aware of the distinction between tank-waste and contaminated water, but we didn't realize that the mismatch between the audio + the photo at that spot would be misleading. We'll try to fix that.

kasmithjr
Feb 27, 2007 12:51PM

Many thanks, Chad and Josh, for this fine work! I am very pleased with the result. It was especially nice to meet both of you and talk with you about this area, and Hanford.

You should know, however, that Hanford did not discharge tank-type waste into that open pond. It was contaminated water, which is bad enough, and there were several such ponds, but not the kind of waste that went into those huge underground tanks.

Keith Smith

purplecat
Jan 15, 2007 09:25AM

Chad & Josh,
The People's Choice Award! I knew it! I knew you would win an award! The best honor in my opinon for this festival! Or any festival for that matter. Well here is to many more!
Congratulations,
Patty

purplecat
Jan 14, 2007 07:50AM

Josh & Craig,
What a wonderful film. You got a standing ovation! Remember that. The audience connected, the arc worked, it is unique, it won't be ignored, and I got to meet both of you at the moment of it's birthing. What an honor.
You two are the epitome of what it is to be an independent filmmaker. Your souls shine through in your interviews, the editing and the filming. You are inspiring.
I hope to get your autographs today!
Keep the vision always in your hearts,
Patty

purplecat
Jan 13, 2007 07:16AM

Today is the day guys. For both of us a world premiere. May the audience connect with our messages. May we find contentment in knowing that we have begun to change the world.

Great site and inspiration here at the Withoutabox Audience page. I love your endeavors with the musicians. Collaboration is the new paradigm for transformative awareness within ourselves as well as within our planet.

Best always,
Patty - (Josh I interviewed you, informally, in the Mekka Cafe in Nevada City at the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival yesterday)

swamper
Dec 23, 2006 06:36PM

Please send this into STIFF. I grew up in the Tri Cities and am really interested in checking this out.

Thanks,
Clint Berquist
Director, Seattle's True Independent Film Festival
www.trueindependent.org

saskiawb
Dec 21, 2006 09:58AM

how did you get that header at the top of the site???

MuchoMas
Dec 21, 2006 09:57AM

trailer looks amazing.

wab-audience
Dec 20, 2006 11:57AM

Welcome to Film Focus.

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