Results tagged “crawford”

As we told you yesterday, an historic event is taking place today on the internets: the first ever feature film debut on Hulu.com. Adding a double scoop of awesomeness to the occasion is the fact that said feature film happens to have local roots: CRAWFORD is a documentary about the tappity-tap-tap dancing of folksy political stagecraft and a small town population embroiled in a tensile political climate, directed by David Modigliani.

We've followed Crawford, the Austin-made documentary about a tiny Texas town thrust in the international spotlight after would-be President George W. Bush relocated there to perfect his wholesome good-old-boy image, since it was but a work in progress. After a tremendous world premiere at SXSW, Crawford went on to screen at festivals worldwide and earned plenty of praise — it inspired multiple standing ovations at SXSW, had Texas Monthly calling director David Modigliani "one of four next great Texas directors," and was even described as a "deeply committed piece of high-def storytelling" by the normally conservative (and recently departed) New York Sun.

When CRAWFORD screened at SXSW, we were incredibly impressed with the level of intimacy Modigliani had with the townspeople, relationships with whom he had built and nurtured well in advance of the flood of media scrutiny. By doing so, he gave Editor and Austinite Matt Naylor, of super awesome 501 Post, a rich palette of original and archival footage that he could pare down, crystallizing each individual's experience over the course of the last two presidential terms, which would altogether tell the story of the boom and bust of W era Crawford. Luckily, we had the chance recently to talk with Naylor over the wonderful world of email about political stagecraft, tolerance of beliefs and the benefits of being a film editor.

"I was initially drawn to Crawford, because I'd been effectively duped. I didn't know that Bush wasn't from Crawford."