QUALITY OF LIFE graffiti film comes to Santa Cruz 1/19

SANTA CRUZ FILMMAKERS HOST HOMECOMING SCREENING OF QUALITY OF LIFE

Rio Theater, Santa Cruz (1205 Soquel Ave)
Friday, January 19th
8pm

Relentless Company is pleased to be hosting the homecoming screening of Quality of Life at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz, Friday January 19.

Shot on location in San Franciso's Mission District, the award-winning QUALITY OF LIFE tells an authentic and gripping story of two young graffiti writers whose friendship and lives unravel after they get arrested.

From Seattle to Stockholm, Berlin to San Francisco, Quality of Life has made its mark on film festivals around the world. Directed by self-taught filmmaker and former Santa Cruz resident, Benjamin Morgan, and co-written with childhood friend, Santa Cruz High grad, and lead actor of the film, Brian Burnam, Quality of Life tells the story of two San Francisco graffiti writers grappling between the passion for their craft and the consequences that come with it.

Morgan, who honed his filmmaking skills at Santa Cruz Community TV, set out to make three no-budget features in place of a traditional film school education. Refusing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on film school, Morgan instead spent under $5000 (raised from friends, family, and local businesses) to produce these three films, which quickly won him critical acclaim and a reputation for creating entertaining, incredibly realistic films with little or no resources. Once completed, he and his filmmaking partner, Brant Smith, began work on Quality of Life, their first film intended for international distribution.

Smith lived in Santa Cruz for eleven years, where he met Director Benjamin Morgan. As a UCSC student, Smith was one of the most outspoken campus activists of his day, starting with the quixotic and imaginative "Kresge Succession" movement in 1990. He served as UCSC SUA Chair (a position similar to Student Body President) where he successfully fought off the controversial Meyer Drive Extension and protested the UC fee increases during the budget cuts of the early 90's. As Chair of the UCSC College Democrats in 1992, he helped win the historic first-ever progressive sweep of Santa Cruz city council elections. After college, Smith started and led Internet wunderkind Imagesmith, Inc. in Downtown Santa Cruz, which was Santa Cruz County's pre-eminent web develpment agency prior to the Dot-Com bubble-burst. He studied film at UCSC and met Morgan through legendary Santa Cruz filmmaker and writer Geoffrey Dunn.

Morgan originally set out to make Quality of Life to "expose the absurdity of so-called 'quality of life' laws. As a country, we spend over $15 billion annually to eradicate graffiti. Yet politicians and bureaucrats insist that we cannot afford education, prevention services, and the arts. These facts made my blood boil," explains Morgan.

After working with Burnam, who is a former graffiti writer, gathering stories from friends from the graffiti world, incorporating not only his experiences as a troubled teen but the 14 years of professionally working with at-risk youth in the juvenile justice system, Morgan took the movie in a different direction. "I quickly realized that my politics needed to take a backseat to the story," he states. "They provided me with a reality check through their real stories of real people, beyond the politics."

After an incredibly successful film festival run, Quality of Life was released theatrically in SF, LA, and NYC among over a dozen other major markets, garnering critical acclaim from the SF Chronicle, NY Times, LA Times, Village Voice, New York Magazine, Variety, Filmmaker Magazine and others. The filmmakers also wrote a behind-the-scenes book entitled Putting the Pieces Together: The Graffiti Model for Indie Filmmaking, which delves into the film's revolutionary, grassroots production style. The book was released by Soft Skull Press in the Fall of 2006 and is available for review upon request.

The screening begins at 8PM, and will be followed immediately by a Q & A session with Morgan and producer, Brant Smith, who is also a long-time Santa Cruz resident.

The reception party at Cardiff Lounge (529 Seabright Ave) will round out the night with DJ WYZEONE and guests on the decks until 2AM.



8:00pm Screening of Quality of Life

9:30pm Q & A with filmmakers
10:00pm Reception party at Cardiff Lounge



http://www.qualityoflife-themovie.com



For high res images go to:

http://qualityoflife-themovie.com/download/stills.html




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Quality of Life
http://www.qualityoflife-themovie.com/

"Extraordinary"
- Berlin International Film Festival Jury (WINNER - Special Mention)

"Skillful storytelling"
- Nathan Lee, The New York Times

"A powerful and emotionally satisfying film"
- Jane Ganahl, San Francisco Chronicle

"High quality....impressive"
- V.A. Musetto, NY Post

"Well-acted, sharply observed and authentically gritty"
- New York Magazine