- 21 Below

LIVING THE 6
in association with
BUGLE B CACTUS THREE
and
INDIEPIX STUDIOS
present
CONTACT:
Ryan Harrington
917-753-2518
[email protected]
[email protected] www.21BelowFilm.com
synopsis
SHORT:
21 BELOW is the story of a young woman going home to face family wounds that she
had hoped to escape. Shot in Cinema Vérité style, against the once industrial urban
landscape of Buffalo, 21 BELOW captures the real ‘real life’ of an American family in
crisis. Angry, complex and at times funny, the story unfolds as a compassionate portrait
of a family coming apart and the compromises required for reconciliation.
LONG:
21 BELOW is the story of a young woman going home to face family wounds that she had
hoped to escape. Sharon, who now lives outside of New York City, is pregnant with her first
child when she learns that the 14 month old daughter of her younger sister is dying from a
rare genetic disease. It’s then she realizes that she can’t start a family of her own until she
tries to help the family she’s left behind.
But back in Buffalo, Sharon discovers that the family feuds she hopes to alleviate could just
as easily destroy her. Her youngest sister Karen, 21, is pregnant with her third child, and has
a daughter, Maya, with only months to live. Their mother, Peggy is so hurt by Karen’s life
choices that every gesture of help turns into a fight. It’s near impossible for her to accept
Courtney, the 29 year old African-American former gang member who’s the father of
Karen’s expected child. Can the family find some common ground before the damage is
irreparable and they splinter forever? Can Maya’s tragic circumstances bring some
perspective to a seemingly hopeless situation?
Shot in Cinema Vérité style, against the once industrial urban landscape of Buffalo,
21 BELOW captures the real ‘real life’ of an American family in crisis. Angry, complex
and at times funny, the story unfolds as a compassionate portrait of a family coming
apart and the compromises required for reconciliation.
production
notes
Every now and again an event or an idea occurs that takes on a life of its own:
In the spring of 2004, Samantha Buck invited a group of young women to join her and her
mother at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, D.C., and decided to document the
event. This group included Jenny Maguire, an old acquaintance from the New York City
audition scene. Everyone was inspired by the speeches of Ann Richards, Molly Ivins and
Sarah Weddington. Ann Richards gave the women “Marching Orders” to make a real
difference in the 2004 presidential campaign. While a euphoric day was captured, it was
not enough. After the march, a reporter, who heard about the shoot, called and suggested
a young woman who lived upstate be brought in to help. Sophia Raab Downs was involved
in women’s rights issues and had a background in production. She came on board and our
summer of inspiration began.
Our Journey:
As three women from different artistic backgrounds with no documentary experience, we
were fearless, inspired and more than a little naïve. We began following a handful of young
female activists, seeking an answer to the question, “Will a generation of women risk losing
their rights by being politically inactive?” We spent the summer months traveling from one
event to another. We attended and filmed the DNC and the RNC, lobbied in Albany for the
morning after pill, interviewed young activists at Planned Parenthood and Naral, and were
granted an hour-long interview with Governor Ann Richards.
While we were connected to ‘issues,’ we knew it was vital to make a film that also told a
personal story. We wanted to involve our audience in crucial life choices and struggles in a
‘real’ way, rather than through over-politicized jargon. We came to realize that the personal
story we had been searching for was unfolding inside Sophia’s family walls. As it turned out,
Sophia’s family was very directly dealing with the same obstacles and choices we strove to
illuminate. It was a startling realization, and big leap for us to turn the camera on one of our
own. 21 BELOW was born.
We found initial production funding the very next day, hired a two-man crew, and began
planning the first trip to Buffalo, New York, to meet Sophia’s family. Over the next seven
months, we traveled upstate multiple times to capture her family in a time of crisis. The
members of Sophia’s family were not clamoring to tell their stories. Rather, they were intent
on trying to get through a very difficult time, which allowed the filming to achieve a rare
and unique intimacy.
Once the camera started rolling, we did not turn back, even though there were many times
we wished we could. To say the process was difficult at times would be an understatement.
One member of the family, a little girl named Maya, held us together. Maya had been
diagnosed with Taye Sachs disease, a terminal illness, and was growing sicker by the day.
We knew that somehow she was the innocent bystander keeping a watchful hand on the
filmmakers and the story.
After the initial period of shooting, we lost funding and were left with debt and 120 hours
of footage. We spent the next two years watching the footage over and over, shaping the
story, keeping creditors at bay, and trying to find just enough money to keep the film alive.
At times it seemed like finishing the film was impossible. In October of 2006, Maya passed
away, and we felt more compelled than ever before to finish the film. A year later, ‘miracle’
money came together for a final shoot. Our unfinished film was accepted into the IFP
Market, where we were fortunate enough to meet our future executive producers, and
obtain funding for editing and post-production.
Four and half years later we invite you in, as Sophia did, to take a close and incredibly
intimate look behind closed doors. Her family didn’t wish for us to come into their lives -to be part of what at times was an incredibly painful process. They agreed to let us into
their homes because their daughter/sister, our partner/friend, asked them to. For all of their
patience and acceptance, we are eternally grateful. Our lives are forever changed because
they allowed us to be witness to theirs.
With utmost respect,
Samantha Buck, Jenny Maguire, and Sophia Raab Downs
reviews &
recognitions
Writer Zeke Farrow nominated for the Writer’s Guild of America Documentary Screenplay Award
at Silverdocs for 21 Below
“Audiences are transfixed.”
- Sonny Bunch, The Washington Times
“A powerful, gripping observational work that takes you into the
heart of a family at breaking point.”
- Sheffield Doc/Fest
“The heart of 21 Below is a personal and intimate journey of
familial relationships, which at times is both humorous and heart breaking.”
- Brian Geldin, The Film Panel Notetaker
“21 Below gets straight to the heart of one American family and, in the process, tears your
own heart out. This is one of those rare and masterful pieces of work it’s impossible just to sit
back and watch. From the first you experience it raw. You are part of this family. It’s like a
Raymond Carver story on camera.. For anyone it would be an exceptional piece of work. As a
first film it’s astonishing.”
Jay Cocks
two-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter
and former film and music critic for Time
There’s a documentary film called 21 BELOW. It’s terrific. I saw it from beginning to end
-- cried, laughed. Sophia Raab (a film producer) is at its center: she’s a nice Jewish girl
from a dysfunctional Buffalo family, who returns home in her late 20s, pregnant with her
first child, to cope with tense relations between her mother and her baby sister, who had
her first kid at 17 and was then preggers with her 3rd, the child of an African American
drug dealer. It’s a terrific story of the collision of cultures -- Jewish and gentile, Black and
White, Middle Class and Welfare class, with very photogenic subjects and a lot of personal
grace and restraint.
I’m a big supporter of 21 BELOW, and think it’s a fascinating story about
real people (and mensches, too). Thelma Adams
Film & DVD Critic
Us Weekly
On the upper end of the scale was Samantha Buck’s “21 Below,” which had its world premiere in Sarasota. A largely vérité-style film about a middle class family in Buffalo, New York
trying to keep from irrevocably shattering apart, “21 Below” addresses complex issues of
class, race and gender, all within an extended Upstate New York family.
While difficult to describe in print, the intertwining threads of the story are easily grasped in
this well-edited portrayal of a family in the throes of dysfunction. The three women central to
the story—sisters Sophia and Karen as well as mother Peggy—are all struggling to make sense
of their situation and for Sophia that means trying to repair a long-standing feud between
Peggy and Karen, while dealing with being pregnant for the first time. This is a story with elements that most of us can relate to, but rarely would one family have to face so many different
issues at one time. “21 Below” gives us a look into a family that, despite myriad roadblocks
and a tragedy that would destroy many families, continues to work at repairing their relationships and lives.
Mark Rabinowitz
Film Critic
IndieWire
“There is a natural, almost traditionally narrative ease to 21 Below that makes it far more
engrossing than the unflattering synopsis of “Jewish girl goes home to broken family”
suggests. The documentary understands familial bonds and obligations, along with the sense
of defeat when someone’s cyclic pattern of negative behaviour proves too predictable and
implacable to not want to walk away, which is what makes the film so simultaneously
connecting and frustrating.”
Robert Bell
Film Critic
Exclaim!
On Thursday night, the big competition premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival, was
Samantha Buck’s documentary 21 Below. A heartbreaking and gripping portrait of a
dysfunctional middle-class family in Buffalo, New York, the film hits you over the head
with its powerful display of human flaw and a suffering trio of sisters.
Buck follows the family over a period of several years, as we see them learning to cope with
baby Maya’s impending (and devastating) death. Karen and Courtney exist as a defiant, but
co-dependent, strain on the rest of the clan. The two of them aren’t happy together, but they
don’t know how to exist without one another, while Karen keeps getting pregnant again and
again. 21 Below is sad stuff, but captured and crafted into a riveting film. There are countless
documentaries about dysfunctional families, and many of them can be depressing. 21 Below
stands apart as a rare example of everyday events molded into a powerhouse experience.
Within these homes, subtle nuances of cultural difference come into focus.
Matt Dentler
Film Critic
IndieWire Blog
Samantha Buck’s documentary about one Buffalo family’s tumultuous interrelations is a
very sobering experience. As the Q&A unfolded following the first screening, I coined a new
phrase to describe its impact on viewers: B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Prejudice). It was fascinating to witness the audience’s personal reactions, for they all seemed to bring their own
baggage to the story that had unfolded on screen. As for the footage itself, it too is fascinating; it’s like watching a strangely familiar train wreck (or maybe that’s just because I grew
up with three sisters). Buck’s film says a lot about how complicated and impossible families
can be, but it also works as a visceral update on the Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner theory.
Ultimately, class, not race, appears to be the cause of so much of the friction between the
mother and daughter, but the insertion of an African American boyfriend nonetheless plays
a vital role in giving 21 Below a new angle on the family dysfunction non-fiction genre.
Michael Tully
Film Critic
Hammer to Nail
bios
SAMANTHA BUCK (Director/Creator)
21 Below is Ms. Buck’s directorial debut. Her television credits include Comedy Central’s Stella opposite
Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain. On Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Samantha
portrayed Detective G. Lynn Bishop opposite Vincent D’Onoforio. She has also had recurring roles on Third
Watch, David Milch’s Big Apple, Six Degrees, Z Rock and has appeared on Sex and The City. Film credits
include Searching for Paradise, Wirey Spindell, 24 Hour Woman and Woman in Burka (Spirit of Slamdance
Award 2008). She is a recent graduate of The Edit Center where she was an additional editor on the feature
films Cold Weather and For Once In My Life. Samantha is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School
of the Arts.
JENNY MAGUIRE (Producer/Creator)
Jenny has been a professional New York actor in theatre, television and film for over fourteen years. Most
recently she worked with Director Doug Liman on the upcoming feature film Fair Game starring Naomi
Watts and Sean Penn, and the short film The Regular (Dir. Jamie Kirkpatrick). She has guest starred on That
70’s Show, Law & Order: SVU, Stella, and appeared in the feature films The Baxter (Dir. Michael Showalter)
starring Michelle Williams, and The Girl In The Park (Dir. David Auburn) starring Sigourney Weaver. OffBroadway and regionally she has worked with award winning playwrights and directors such as David
Auburn, Steve Earle, Lee Blessing, Jessica Goldberg, David Lyndsey-Abaire, Michael John Garces, Kate
Robin, Lucy Thurber, Michael Greif, Pete Masterson and Kate Whoriskey. She stood by and went on for
Sarah Jessica Parker in the off-Broadway play Wonder of the World, MTC. In addition, Jenny worked with
Jerry Poynton at Swiss Effects, the digital video-to-film transfer company, helping to introduce and educate
filmmakers on the new technical and creative possibilities of digital video. With directing/producing
partner Jenni Tooley, she produced the16mm short film Somewhere is the Middle, 2009/10 festival circuit,
associate produced the High Def short, Break, and is collaborating on developing the feature narrative
Surrender, presently a quarter finalist in The Ultimate Filmmaker Competition and a documentary about 3
Irish sisters and a different generation of courtship, love & family. Jenny is a Summa Cum Laude graduate
of James Madison University.
SOPHIA RAAB DOWNS (Producer/Creator)
Sophia is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has worked in production on NBC’s Law & Order,
ABC’s Spin City, independent feature films and music videos.Her producing credits include the feature
film “Racing Daylight” directed by Nicole Quinn and starring Academy Award Nominees David Strathairn
and Melissa Leo, and “Gospel Hill”directed by Giancarlo Esposito, starring Angela Bassett, Danny Glover
and Julia Stiles. Both are scheduled for release in late 2008. She is in pre production on the film
SLAP&TICKLE, her sophomore effort with writer director Nicole Quinn, starring Gloria Reuben, Linda
Powell, Adam Lefevre, Giancarlo Esposito, Melissa Leo, and introducing Cailtin Quinn. The legendary
Ruby Dee has said of the script: “It is an engaging story, and its multigenerational focus and novel
perspective on race complexities intrigue.” 21 Below, which is the story of the women in her family, is
Sophia’s first foray into documentary.
PRODUCTION TEAM BIOS
RYAN HARRINGTON (Executive Producer)
Ryan Harrington runs the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and works as an independent producer; his
recent films include 21 BELOW, Entre Nos, P-Star Rising, and the upcoming Hungry In America and Radio
Unnameable. Harrington managed production for A&E IndieFilms, the theatrical documentary arm of the
A&E Network for four years. Throughout his time there he championed the Oscar-nominated films
Murderball and Jesus Camp, and the Sundance hits My Kid Could Paint That and American Teen.
CACTUS THREE (Executive Producers)
Cactus Three executive produces high-end documentary films and non-fiction programming. Founded in
2003 by Julie Goldman, Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens, Cactus offers a unique blend of
production and co-production expertise, creatively developing projects as well as securing both funding
and distribution. Cactus has developed a model that minimizes the financial risk of production by
identifying the most appropriate partners on a global basis and tailoring each project to specific
distributors, broadcast strands, private equity investment sources and end users to maximize revenue.
In 2009 Cactus is premiering a slate of wide-ranging films: 21 BELOW directed by Samantha Buck and
produced by Jenny Maguire & Sophia Raab Downs; Mandy Stein’s Tribeca Film Festival hit Burning
Down The House: the Story of CBGB; Bradley Beesley’s Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo; New World Order from
the Darkon filmmaking team of Andrew Neel, Luke Meyer and Tom Davis; Hair: Let the Sun Shine In
directed by Pola Rapaport and The Nine Lives of Marion Barry directed by Dana Flor and Toby
Oppenheimer.
Other recent feature documentaries include: Once in a Lifetime (Miramax); Sydney Pollack’s Sketches of
Frank Gehry (Sony Pictures Classics); Three of Hearts (THINKFilm/NBC-Bravo); BAFTA-nominated Black
Sun; Emmy-nominated What Remains (HBO/BBC); Doubletime (Discovery Films); SXSW
Audience Award winner Cat Dancers (HBO Documentary Films); Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother (A&E
IndieFilms/Channel 4) and loudQUIETloud: a film about The Pixies.
Previous productions range from the acclaimed HBO series Family Bonds to Don Letts’ PUNK: attitude
(IFC/Fremantle); Lewis Lapham’s The American Ruling Class (BBC/Sundance Channel); John Landis’
Slasher (IFC); Honky Tonk Blues: the Life and Death of Hank Williams (PBS/BBC); and Easy Riders, Raging
Bulls (Trio/BBC/TF1) based on Peter Biskind’s bestselling book.
Cactus is currently completing production on several films, including: Michel Negroponte’s I’m
Dangerous With Love and Burning Ice: Cape Farewell’s Expedition to Greenland. In addition to those films,
Cactus is developing a Neil Labute film based on his play, Autobahn and an animation series with Curious
Pictures.
www.cactusthree.com
ROBBIE STAUDER (Director of Photography/Field Director)
Robbie Stauder is a producer and cinematographer specializing in documentary and documentary style productions. His work has been broadcast on PBS, ABC, WE, A&E, MTV, FUSE, and TLC as well as having been
shown in many film festivals throughout North America. Notable productions include WARPED:
INSIDE AND OUT, a six-part series about the behind the scenes of the famed Vans Warped Tour,
HOOKING UP, a five-part series about internet dating produced by ABC NEWS and GUBERNATORIOUS, a
feature length documentary that is nearing completion which follows four average citizens that ran for Governor of California. He also produces and directs music videos, industrials and marketing films for a variety
of corporate clients such as Diesel, Smirnoff, Disney, Miller Lite, General Mills as well as several non-profit
organizations focused on education and international communication. Previously he was a
media producer for NBC’s multi-award winning web site for the 2000 and 2002 Olympic games. He
received his BA in Film and Sociology from University of California, Santa Cruz where he shot and
directed his first short film RECESSIONS, which premiered at Leicester Square in London at the 2000 BBC British Short Film Festival. He is an avid traveler and has made several extensive trips through out South America
and Asia.
BOB ALEXANDER/INDIEPIX (Executive Producer for Indiepix)
IndiePix is the world’s leading distributor of critically acclaimed and hard-to-find independent films. The
company was set up in 2005 by Bob Alexander and Barnet Liberman to break down barriers between
filmmakers and audiences in the global film community through the creation of a world leading shop
and online service dedicated to making independent films available to film fans everywhere. The company
is committed to supporting the independent film industry through its sponsorship of film festivals and its
unique business model that returns the highest share of sales straight to the filmmaker. Following the June
launch of IndiePix Studios - the world’s first virtual studio for independent filmmakers and the official
production arm of IndiePix - it has today unveiled its first film production and release slate. The five
independent films, which include a mixture of documentary and narrative, have been hand picked because
of their varied genres and strong themes. So far, IndiePix has invested over $700,000 in the projects and
serves as Executive Producers on all of them. This latest announcement comes at a time when many
independent filmmakers are struggling to find funding and distribution channels. Indiepixstudios.com
provides an online ‘virtual studio’ which enables independent filmmakers to submit their films for
distribution via Indiepixfilms.com. In addition, filmmakers are able to monitor sales and accounting
statements, review contracts, network with other filmmakers from around the world, and review news.
The IndiePix Studios also provide a major new production and distribution outlet for independent
filmmakers.
ZEKE FARROW (Writer/Associate Producer)
AS A SCREENWRITER: Outward Blonde (Miramax), Slo-mo (HBO, Sundance, Telluride, Atlanta Jury Award,
Austin Audience Award, Nantucket Special Jury Prize), the feature length Slo-mo (Single Cell), VOID
(Stellar Networks Screenwriting Award), In Your Dreams: The Hot New Teen Musical (soundtrack at
www.inyourdreamsthemusical.com), Drama School, Organics, My Mother the Rockstar, Five Year Plan,
Reality Check, Killer Blondes From Outer Space!, Gutter, Great Lakes, ...and Jane makes Five, Poolboys,
My Mother the Pornstar, Gowanus, and Abilities. Zeke is also the co-creator of the web series Sherri
Davis: R-CA (youtube.com/user/zekeness). AS A PRODUCER: Woman in Burka (co-producer, Slamdance
Spirit Award, Arizona Film Festival Merit Award), AS AN ACTOR: Daria (MTV), Gettin’ Stoopid (Comedy
Central), IN (Buena Vista Television), Woman in Burka (Slamdance), Karma Calling, Aspen Comedy
Festival, HBO/WB Workspace, Toyota Comedy Festival, Comedy Central Stage, Williamstown Theater
Festival, O’Neill Theater Center, Milwaukee Rep., P.S. 122, Arsnova NYC, The Westbeth, Here, Nada, Pure
Pop Festival, NY Performance Works, The Slipper Room, Fez. ADVERTISING: Creative consultant and
writer of national television and print campaigns for Old Navy (fall 2006, summer 2007, summer 2008,
Holiday 2008) and Baby Phat. Zeke is a guest lecturer in screenwriting at The New York Film Academy. DANIELLE DIGIACOMO (Associate Producer)
Danielle DiGiacomo is the Community Manager at IFP, the the nation’s oldest and largest membership
organization, and premiere advocate, for independent filmmakers. Previous to that, she worked for 5 years
as Head of Documentary Acquisitions for IndiePix Films, building up the documentary feature catalogue
and spea heading the successful multi-platform releases of films such as Jeremiah Zagar’s IN A DREAM,
Kristi Jacobson’s TOOTS, and Jason Hutt’s ORTHODOX STANCE. She also developed and produced the
first and second annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Film, and found funding for two major documentary features, Jennifer Venditti’s Billy The Kid (Best Documentary Feature, L.A. Film Festival 2007,
South by Southwest 2007 and Samantha Buck’s “21 Below” (premiered at Hot Docs 2009), for which she
is credited as “Associate Pr ducer.” DiGiacomo has programmed in conjunction with the Woodstock Film
Festival, Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series, Rooftop Films, and the Culture Project, and has presented
on panels about film distribution and production at Woodstock Film Festival, Newport International Film
Festival, Hunter College, IFF Boston, NewFest, Rooftop Film Series, Big Sky Documentary Festival, East
Silver Market in Jihlava, Czech Republic, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Krakow Film Festival, and Guth Gafa Film
Festival, among others. In addition, Danielle has taught “Contemporary Documentary” and “Documentary Distribution and Marketing” at NYU. She is now working on producing and consulting on several
independent projects, including Chris Kelly’s upcoming documentary CAUSE OF PROGRESS (funded by
Northern Irish Screen) and David Rosfeld’s fiction feature, VICTOR (for which she was shortlisted for the
Sundance Creative Producers’ Lab). She also consults as a panel programmer for several international film
festivals and is advising on the distribution strategy of several feature documentaries.
JENNY GOLDEN (Editor)
Jenny Golden began her editing career in London editing commercials and music videos for such notable
clients as Nike, Land Rover, Levis, Canon, BP, Showtime and Interpol. Returning to New York, Jenny
went to work with notable directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, as well as editing an episode of the
Frontline series entitled JEFFERSON’S CHILDREN for Tom Lennon and the Tom Lennon Documentary
Group. In 2005, Jenny started work editing MANDA BALA which was completed in 2006 and went on
to win the grand jury prize in the documentary category at the 2007 Sundance film festival and also the
2008 Indiepix Eye award for outstanding editing. In 2006, Jenny edited a video compilation as part of
an installation for Yoko Ono and her European museum tour, which included Moma in New York.
This led to a series of music videos comprising a featurette that was packaged with Sean Lennon’s 2006
record release. Also in 2006, Jenny edited the pilot episode for THIS AMERICAN LIFE, and continued
on the program as the lead editor for the first season. Jenny’s next feature documentary project was
GOGOL BORDELLO, NONSTOP-a documentary about the creators of gypsy punk music. Jenny lives
in Red Hook Brooklyn with her husband Steve and her daughter Odette.
FRANK REYNOLDS (Editor)
Frank has edited over seventeen feature films. His most well-known is Miramax’s IN THE BEDROOM,
which was a Best Picture nominee at the 2002 Academy Awards. Two of his films (2005’s CAPE OF GOOD
HOPE and 1999’s MAN OF THE CENTURY) have won the National Board of Review’s Special Recognition
for Excellence in Filmmaking. Another one of his films (2004’s UNKNOWN SOLDIER) was both a nominee
for the 2005 Independent Spirit Award’s John Cassavetes Award, and a winner for Best Editing at the 2004
Woodstock Film Festival. Other films he’s edited include the 2002 drama SWIMMING, the 1996 cult film
TROMEO & JULIET, and M. Night Shyamalan’s first film, 1993’s PRAYING WITH ANGER.
Frank is a graduate of the New York University film school, where his editing mentors were Paul Barnes
(THE THIN BLUE LINE, THE WAR) and Lora Hays. He also graduated from the editing program at the
American Film Institute, where his editing mentors were John Burnett, Steven Cohen, and Brian Chambers.
PETER SALETT (Composer & Singer/Songwriter of 21 BELOW theme song)
Peter Salett has been both movie scoring and writing songs for film, most recently writing, arranging and
performing songs for Universal Pictures’ “Role Models”, starring Paul Rudd, Sean William Scott and Elizabeth
Banks, which was released in November of 2008. He also co-scored Harris Fishman’s HBO documentary “Cat
Dancers”, which premiered in December 2008 after winning the SXSW Special Jury Prize.
Salett was extensively involved in the Universal Pictures romantic comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, executive produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad), which was released in April of 2008. Peter and star
Jason Segel co-wrote three songs sung by characters in the film, “Inside of You”, “We’ve Got to Do Something”
and the Dracula puppet musical finale “A Taste For Love”.
In 2007 Salett wrote and performed an end title song for David Wain’s film “The Ten”, starring Winona Ryder,
Famke Janssen, Paul Rudd, and Jessica Alba.
In 2006 Peter scored David Jacobson’s “Down in the Valley”, starring Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood.
Five of Salett’s songs, written for the movie, are featured as well, including the opening title. When “Down in
the Valley” was released in May 2006, Salett received press from around the country for his unique contribution. “Peter Salett’s song score is haunting” - Houston Chronicle. “The movie starts to float away on its longueurs, propped up by a lovely soundtrack of Peter Salett’s acoustic ballads “ - Boston Globe. ATO Records
released the soundtrack.
In 2005 he contributed 3 songs to Michael Showalter’s IFC film “The Baxter,” a collaboration that includes
Salett’s end title song for Showalter and David Wain’s cult classic, “Wet Hot American Summer”, which
starred Janeane Garofalo. Salett’s 2000 release “Heart Of Mine” was the main theme of “Keeping The Faith,”
a film directed by and starring Edward Norton, with a remix by T Bone Burnett on a Hollywood Records
soundtrack that included Tom Waits and Elliott Smith. Salett also scored Bittersweet Place, starring Seymour
Cassel, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2005.
Other films that have featured Salett’s music include two songs in Salma Hayek’s Showtime film “Maldonado
Miracle”, (with Peter Fonda and Mare Winningham); Dan McCormack’s “Other Voices” (2000, with Campbell Scott) in which Salett’s epic song “Only Mine” was used on the closing credits in a collaboration with Lili
Haydn and the Russian National Symphony; and 1997 Sundance Audience Award winner “Hurricane Streets”
for which Salett co-wrote (with noted composer Theodore Shapiro) and sang the song “Beautiful Dream” as
the end title.
In July of 2008 Salett released his 5th record for Dusty Shoes Music entitled “In the Ocean of the Stars”. The
record features Salett’s longtime crew - Bill Dobrow on drums (Martha Wainwright), Jeff Hill on bass (Rufus
Wainwright), Joe McGinty on piano and organ (Ryan Adams), and the great Don Piper on lap steel and electric
guitar. Chris Carmichael (Steve Earle) added the voluptuous string arrangements. The record was mixed by
Todd Burke (Ben Harper, Jack Johnson) with additional mix production by Marvin Etzioni (Lone Justice). Onstage Salett has performed in support of David Gray, Rufus Wainwright, They Might Be Giants, Ron Sexsmith,
and Patty Griffin.
“It’s easy to understand why the accessible sounds of Peter Salett often serve as cinematic backdrops. On songs
of loneliness and love lost, Salett proves that less is indeed more, letting his rich vocals soar over a sole piano
accompaniment or spare acoustics. His every yearning and pang feels like your own.” - Entertainment Weekly
DIRECTOR:
SAMANTHA BUCK
PRODUCERS:
JENNY MAGUIRE
SOPHIA RAAB DOWNS
CREATORS:
SAMANTHA BUCK
JENNY MAGUIRE
SOPHIA RAAB DOWNS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
RYAN HARRINGTON
JULIE GOLDMAN
KRYSANNE KATSOOLIS
CAROLINE STEVENS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FOR INDIEPIX:
BOB ALEXANDER
BENEFACTOR:
ELI ABI
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY:
ROBBIE STAUDER
EDITORS:
JENNY GOLDEN
FRANK REYNOLDS
WRITER:
ZEKE FARROW
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS:
DANIELLE DIGIACOMO
ZEKE FARROW
COMPOSER &
SINGER/SONGWRITER
OF ORIGINAL 21 BELOW
THEME SONG:
PETER SALETT
SOUND DESIGN:
Fredrick Helm
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO:
THE RAAB FAMILY
THE STOKES FAMILY
THE ALTHOFF FAMILY
THE DOWNS FAMILY
THE MAIER FAMILY
ESSENTIAL CARE OF
WESTERN NEW YORK
FIELD DIRECTOR:
ROBBIE STAUDER
CHOIR DIRECTOR:
MAUREEN J. REILLY
CAROLERS:
KENT CARDON
MARIA DROZ
LIZ HAMSHER
WHITNEY HAWKI
MAE HUO
JENNY KULWICKI
STEPHANIE MACK
NETHRAL MADURAL
DAN MELIDONA
BRIAN MILLER
ALEXANDRA MOSCATI
EMILY NEIMANIS
SARA NEIMANIS
LAURA RUTECKI
JEREMY WILLIAMS
MIKE WILLIAMS
STORY EDITOR: MISHA VOLTRUBA
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPY
2007 FOLLOW UP SHOOT:
BRANDON ZIEGENFUSS
ADDITIONAL CAMERA:
JASON DOWNS
GABRIEL MILLER
SOUND MIXER:
GABRIEL MILLER
ADDITIONAL SOUND MIXERS:
KEITH CECERE
RANDALL HALL
ASSOCIATE EDITOR:
HARRY WATSON II
POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR:
MARY ANGELICA MOLINA
TITLE DESIGN:
THE NUNCLE GROUP
LOGGERS:
KATHERINE ALLEGIER
ANGELINE GIRARD
KANOKO NAKAO
SOUND EDITORS:
BRIAN O’HARA
GARY MILLUS
GREG MAUER
RICK OWENS
MARK GARCIA
RE-RECORDING SOUND MIXING:
STEVE SIMONS
MIXED AT:
SOUND ONE, NY
DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE SERVICES:
FINAL FRAME
DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE COLORIST:
WILL COX
DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE EDITOR:
CHARLIE ROKOSNY
FESTIVAL TRAILER:
MATT POSORSKE
POSTER/PRESS: JORDAN DOWNS, KONCEPT MEDIA
GRAPIC DESIGNERS:
MATT POSORSKE
KYLE WALTERS
WEB DESIGNER:
KYLE WALTERS WORKING PRODUCTION TRAILER:
PHILLIP LEFESSI
JONATHAN LISECKI
WORKING PRODUCTION DUBS:
THIRTEEN WNET NEW YORK PBS
IFP DESIGN MATERIALS:
JAMES MALLEY
PRODUCTION LEGAL:
EMERSON E. BRUNS, PLLC
PETER FLANNIGAN
PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT:
ANTHONY J.BONSIGNORE, C.P.A.,
ALTMAN, GREENFIELD & SEVLVAGGI, LLP
PRODUCTION BANKING:
STEVEN DENEFF,
SIGNATURE BANK
PRODUCTION INSURANCE:
KATIE KNOWLES,
USI NORTHEAST, INC.
MUSIC CONSULTANT:
SUZANNE HILLEARY,
WACBIZ
SCORE RECORDED AND MIXED BY:
DON PIPER AT
BETWEEN THE TRAINS STUDIO,
BROOKLYN, NY
ADDITIONAL RECORDING BY:
JIM SMITH AT SALTLANDS STUDIO
BROOKLYN, NY
GUITARS, WURLITZER:
PETER SALETT
LAP STEEL:
DON PIPER
VIOLA, CELLO:
CHRIS CARMICHAEL
SONGS
“21 BELOW”
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY PETER SALETT
COURTESY OF DUSTY SHOES MUSIC (BMI), © 2008
“NO MATTER WHAT”
ALBUM “THE BEAT-EP”
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY RAHMAN JAMAL
COURTESY OF WACBIZ (BMI)
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/RAHMANJAMAAL
“IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS”
WRITTEN BY MEREDITH WILSON
FRANK MUSIC CORP & MEREDITH WILSON MUSIC (ASCAP)
COURTESY OF MPL MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC.
“WAR”
FROM GROWN & SEXY VOL. 2
ASCAP
WRITTEN/PRODUCED BY: KINGSLEY GARDNER FOR KGMENT & NEFEESHA PASHA FOR FLAWLESS WORKS
PERFORMED BY: FLAWLESS
COURTESY OF WACBIZ & BREAKING RECORDS MUSIC
WWW.BREAKINGRECORDSMUSIC.COM
“CLOUDS”
WRITTEN BY DEAN JONES
PERFORMED BY DOG ON FLEAS, DEAN JONES, EMILY CURTIS,
JOHN HUGHES, JOHN PARKER, HOLLY BROWN AND KEN MCGLOIN
COURTESY OF DEAN JONES (BMI), ©2002
WWW.DOGONFLEAS.COM
“LAZY SUNDAY”
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY JORDAN DOWNS
COURTESY OF DUBTERRANEAN RECORDS, ©2007
“BASS FISHING”
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY JORDAN DOWNS
COURTESY OF DUBTERRANEAN RECORDS, ©2007
“MERCY”
SOMOBE
ALBUM “THE GREAT COMMUNICATION”
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY JONATHAN OWENS AND ROLAND LLAPTIAN
REGISTERED ASCAP
COURTESY OF WACBIZ & REDWING
WWW.SOMOBE.COM
“COMIN’ AROUND”
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY JASON DOWNS
REGISTERED ASCAP, © 2008
VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Governor Ann Richards
Molly Ivins
Sarah Weddington
Adrienne Shelly
Hon. Louise Slaughter
John & Rachi Farrow
Tim Disney
Jack Sharkey
David Auburn
Michael Ian Black
Richard & Rose Bates
Lee Blessing
Lorenzo Dalla Vedova
Marcia DeBonis
Nina Hellman & Jeremy Shamos
Adelia Heuer
Dee & Pat Keister
Monica Koskey
Susan May Pratt
Lindsay Naze
Dr. M. Padukone
Jerry Poynton
David Wain
Susan Buck
Richard & Janey Buck
Lory Glory
Judy Maguire
Patrick & Sharon Maguire
Scott Mason
Louis Moreno
Ed, Kelly, Eleanor & Loudon Trask
Kim Bauer & Karen Oleszak, Residence Inn
Barbara Buckley
Terri L. Good
Paul J. Calandra, Communiquip
Rose Collins
Antoine Flloyd
High St. Deli
Jill Mazola, Jewish Community Center
Tim McIver, USA RENT-A-CAR
Dawn Mulingenter
Dr. Rebecca Mulner
Lisa Randaccia
Donna Ringholz
Ange Shun, Healer
Constance Strothers, Studio Arena Theatre
The Staff & Administration of Millard Filmore
Williamsville Pediatric Center
Tom Butler
Michael Canzoniero
Joe Davenport
Steve Earle & Allison Moorer
Tricia Evans
John Gilroy
Donn Gobin
Pamela Hops, MD
Dr. Jaffe, Hudson Valley Women’s Health Center
Julia Jordan & Doug Unis
Chiemi Karasawa
Chris Kikis & Thoma Kikis, Ovie Entertainment
Jamie Kirkpatrick
Elise Konialian
Lillian LaSalle
Jason Liebrecht
Katherine Linton, Linton Media Inc.
Michelle,Tony and Carolina McCool
Vanessa McMullin
William Migliore, Class 5 Films
Moby
New Garten Birthing Center, Northern Duchess Hospital
Cori & Wally Nichols
Tom & Mary Jane Nussbaum
Conor O’Kelly
Paul Pinto
Jerry Poynton
Tanya Preminger
Karen Quimby
Nicole Quinn
Rondeena Ross
George Routolo
David Sampliner
Kim Santerre
Rachel Sheedy
Jeremy Schwartz
Jim Stark
Elizabeth & Matthew Swibel
Jenni Tooley
Jennifer Venditti
Susan Vromen
Merritt Wever
Jenny Wonderling
Donna Alesia, Chromavision
Robert Bahar
Isaac Webb
Ben Noble
Howie Blau
Robby Cavalina
Chris Beardslee, production central
Ayres & Helen D’Cunha, Analog Digital Intl, Inc.
Dan DeFilippo & Dave Marken, Pipeline Talent
Eric Funk. Vudu Lounge
Carl Hayden, Empress Media
Nigel Noble, Magic Lantern Media Inc
Lisa Ruffler & Sara Alexander, Elevation Talent Agency
Neil Hurwitz, Spitfire Limited
Alicia Balestrino, Karen Barrett, Eric Bertrand & John T. Miller,
Moving Images
Rebecca Brillhart
Shannon Burkett
Sasha Eden
Patrick Farrell
Anne Joyce
Sig Libowitz
Bradley McCormick
Marc Meyers
Mike Pinto
James Sizemore
Richie Vincencio
Anthony Viera
David Wheir
Julie Arrue
Avner Kam
Cynthia Rockwell
Milton Tabbot
Jordan Mattos
Scott Abramowitz
Zack Boger
Helen Chen
Charlie Ciuffo
Arielle DiGiacomo
Liz Ogilvie
Abraham Saenz