The New Girl.

[Kat Eiswald]

Howdy boys.

I am hotshot nobody arthouse director. My gig is silent film. So far Guerrella style, want for the real production values though.

I live in Oakland CA but I am working on getting out of the country more permenantly. I am about to shoot a feature Doc/melodrama in Buenos Aires in October-03.

If there are any DV members in BAires who read this...drop me a line. I am having a big party Oct 10th. and filming the results!

Oh and since most of you are guys...
"I have a GL2 although I've used a variety of cameras on my films...and they were all edited on iMovie! Although I am now going FCP"...

and the link to ye ol' website....

http://www.feminalefilms.com

oh yeah. and if any female persons read this, let me know of your existance...

[John Locke]

Not to worry, Kat. This is by no means a men's club by choice...just the way the chips have fallen. Glad to have you aboard.

Interesting explanation on your site of why you've chosen to pursue silent filmmaking, by the way.

What about the feature in Good Air? Tell us more about that. Will that be a silent film also?

[Kat Eiswald]

No actually it is my departure...and my cold sweat fear is my live voice audio..lol the "glamour of filmmaking"; nausea and cold sweats.

It's kind of a wierd "first feature". I've been resisting professional advice telling me to make a low-budget feature vs. a high budget short. Then 'it all came together"..idea, people, stuff, and my enthusiasm. and super talent behind as well as in front of the camera...strangely because still, it is a no-budget..

I actually have a reel of short docs but have only made them as the urge arise ...ranting hippies, drunk poets, and delusioned people

But seriously if i had a nickel every time a filmmaker said "I wanted to make a silent"...I could make my high budget short.

And if they would make them...I could put together a New Silent Cinema film Festival!
My little back burner project...

And You?

[Keith Loh]

Welcome, Kat.

[Kat Eiswald]

How's Lady X?

wanna come to Buenos Aires in October? Can't fly you down, but I have a house for the month of Oct..

I need 'boom' baby!...and camera jock. I can get PAs there, but you once offered...

I know you are busy and unemployed...thought I'd ask though...we are going to have fun.

and I am working channels to interview some very big people down there...

See ya around.

[Ivan Hedley Enger]

I wish you a warm welcome as well, Kat.

[Rik Sanchez]

welcome to DVinfo Kat, great seeing another person from the Bay Area. I used to live there (Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, the Mission) before I came out here. Your Buenos Aires shoot sounds like fun.

I also made the decision to get out permenantly, that was 12 years ago and I don't plan on going back. Life is so much fun on the outside.

Good luck with your Doc.

[Kat Eiswald]

Hello xpatriot!

Things haven't changed much since you left...just a little more barbed wire, curfews, and cattleprods...

So tell me: What do you do when you get a hankering for mexican food?

I lived in Asia few yrs back and that was the only thing I couldn't reconcile...especially being from San Diego and having Baja food; which is the best...

Seriously. I'm asking.

K

[John Locke]

Kat,

Rik and I are both ex-Texans (can you really ever be an EX-Texan, Rik? I think it's soaked into the bone). He's been in Japan quite a bit longer than me (I've been here just over a year) but before moving here I lived in Seoul for 7 years. I'll let Rik speak for himself, but as for me, those 7 years in Korea were dry as far as Tex-Mex is concerned.

I once had a chef there prepare a "Texas" meal for me on my birthday...he asked me what I wanted and I said enchiladas. Next day, he brought out this plate, set it down, and proudly said "Kimchiladas". Since they didn't have tortillas, he had fried some scrambled eggs very thin in tortilla shape and size, filled them with onions and steamed chicken, then topped everything off with mulched kimchi (as a salsa replacement). Pretty dreary as far as real Tex-Mex goes...but you know, it was good, and I was happy about the effort he went to and his creativity in substituting impossible-to-get ingredients.

Now that I'm in Tokyo, though...two words..."EL TORITO!" And it's the real California chain...not a knock-off.

So what were you doing in Asia before?

[Kat Eiswald]

Mushi Mushi John...

Now i'm set for the trip! Light, mic and cool ergorest tabletop/carmount support.

but back to what's important here: food.

i once had curried califlower on top of a chapati...."Pizza". I would prefer 'Kimchiladas' any day.

You know, travel, teach english, try to figure out how to not return...10 yrs on and off in India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore...but mostly Indonesia.
Been to Korea for layovers only...and Hong Kong for a couple of weeks.

No Japan yet. Want to have a reason I guess...The only reason being to work with Miyazaki/Ghibli who is a god to me..

[Rik Sanchez]

Kat,
we always make our own Tex-Mex food when we get the craving. I taught my wife(she's Japanese) how to make it, we used to have a mexican dinner for all my friends when we had a bigger place. One of these days I'll get around to making some menudo.

Today they are having a mexican independance day festival downtown, it's sponsored by the Mexican consulate. All the mexican restaurants in town have a booth and according to Japanese tradition, they all try to Japanize the taste so it's not the greatest. I mainly go there for the music and to see friends, the few Chicanos in town will end up there so I can hook up with them and we can make fun of the Japanese who dress up in mariachi uniforms and try to sing in Spanish, back home in Texas they would be shot on sight for doing that. I'm sure the Japanese feel the same way of foreigners who put on kimonos and butcher their Japanese songs.

They used to have a Pollo Loco here but it went out of business. I'm going to have to check out El Torito the next time I'm in Tokyo. I went to one in San Diego and it was good. I tell my wife we ought to open up a Taco Cabana over here, it's a chain restaurant in Texas. The last time I went back home to El Paso, I brought back a suitcase full of beans and tortillas. All this talk of food is getting me hungry, I hope the booth run by some real mexicans is open this year, they are the only ones who had good food. The little old lady cooking it up was great. Just spoke with my friend and he told me which booth to go to.

If you ever come to Japan, there are plenty of DVinfo members here.

[John Locke]

Diez y seis! I forgot about that, Rik. No where is the Mexican embassy...hmmm

[Kat Eiswald]

In asia is going to be BIG!

There is an absolutely terrible mexican restaurant in Bali.. But when I went to the restroom, and heard Sonoran music pumping from the kitchen, it brought tears to my eyes...

And not to dis San Francisco..but if you are NOT in the Mission, they put all sorts of 'weird' things in the Mex food too! Like cinnamon/clove salsa...not mole..salsa. This is definately el Norte when it comes to what we Southerners are used to.

And since I'm staying with you guys, I'll see you next year! ;)

[Rik Sanchez]

John, I think the Mexican Consulate here in Osaka actually closed because of budget cuts, they used to sponsor the festival, they still might but the merchants now probably more sponsor most of it. The Mexican Consulate usually had a semi famous Mexican singer or group come in from Mexico. I didn't go last year so I'm curious to see how it is now.

Kat, I know what you mean of the bay area mex food, I think there are too many people from Latin America cooking in mexican restaurants, they usually add their own countries flavor into the mix which always pisses me off. I once ordered some menudo in the mission and I refused to eat what THEY called menudo and I returned it. This was from the place which my friend said had the best menudo in the Mission. For me, I'm used to the food from El Paso, it's right on the border and the food in California never really hit the spot for me, except for the San Diego food, tacos at 3am in Tijauana can't be beat, that was great food. Haven't tried the food in L.A. And in my home town, I can get menudo 24 hours a day, anywhere around town, and in Califas, the only on sunday for menudo is very annoying.

I'll introduce you to my Vampire, S/M Queens, Butoh Dancing friends over here if you ever come to Japan.

Here's their websites and you can see where I spend part of my time filming:

www.visona-viseri.com
www.territory-d.com

I got back this morning from shooting a Visona fashion show, stayed up all night and I just woke up an hour and a half ago, it's 1:30 now.

I prefer staying underground, but I occasionally have to go above ground to shoot weddings in order to pay the bills.

[John Locke]

[sigh]...I've gotta get out more...