Caveh Zahedi's career is largely founded on a yen for exposing himself on camera. No, not that kind of exposure. Whether it's documenting his own mushroom trip like he did in "I Was Possessed by God" or re-enacting his unrequited love for an art student in "A Little Stiff," Zahedi uses his camera to seek out reality as authentically as he can. His films are monuments to his life.
In a two-night showcase of independent filmmaking, the Virginia Festival Film Society brings Zahedi to Charlottesville for screenings at Vinegar Hill Theatre tomorrow and Thursday. Tomorrow evening's screening of Zahedi's "In the Bathtub of the World" shows Zahedi intimately recording his day-to-day life. Thursday's screening, "Underground Zero: Independent Filmmakers Respond to 9/11," is a collective film project spearheaded by Zahedi and fellow filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt.
Caveh Zahedi is fascinating both as a filmmaker and as a personality. Perhaps he is best known for his animated alter ego in Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" (he's the one who rambles about Andre Bazin until his head turns into a cloud), Zahedi has gained a cult following with off-the-beaten-path classics like the award-winning, controversial "I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore," in which Zahedi tries to prove God's existence. As a filmmaker, Zahedi's vision is singular. As a personality and as a character in his films, Zahedi lets it all hang out, inviting us to poke fun at the small obsessions and neuroses he unabashedly displays.
Beginning Jan. 1, 1999, Zahedi filmed one minute of his life every day for a year. The result - edited down to 79 minutes - is "In the Bathtub of the World," a video diary that puts reality television to shame. Perhaps the mere concept makes Zahedi self-indulgent, but what filmmaker isn't? A film is about a vision, and Zahedi's is as good as any and more interesting than most. He makes art out of the mundane and turns the camera into a confidante. In confessing the temptations he faces with food, his sexuality and his spirituality, he holds as little back as he possibly can. It's not voyeurism because it's aware. And "In the Bathtub" exposes not just Zahedi, but his camera-shy girlfriend, too, which becomes an issue as the film unfolds.
Zahedi's film is completely ego-driven. But it's also grounded in the belief that everyday reality is as artful as fantastical special effects. With "In the Bathtub," Zahedi is not paying homage to himself, but to the world he inhabits, of which John Ashberry, Michael Stipe, Rick Linklater and all of us are a part. By the end of the film, you will have spent a condensed year with Caveh Zahedi. You will have learned what he has learned, seen what he has seen and listened to what he has listened to. Whether you like it or not, you and Zahedi will have become quite close.
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Thursday night's screening brings to the table 13 responses to Sept. 11, each with a different focus, and all of them powerful. A week after Sept. 11, Zahedi and Rosenblatt called on over 100 experimental and documentary filmmakers to contribute to a collective project tackling Sept. 11's events and their aftermath. "Underground Zero" is a small sampling of the many responses received, including shorts by both Zahedi and Rosenblatt.
Ranging from the viewpoint of a New Yorker in China at the time (Eva Brzeski's "China Diary (911)") to an ethnic American's account of a violent encounter in the anti-Arab aftermath (Laura Plotkin's "21"), these short films run the gamut of post-Sept. 11 reactions.
Norman Cowie responds to the filmmakers' call to arms with the Adbusting "Scenes from an Endless War," a looped montage of the mass media's narrow, whitewashed coverage of events. "A Strange Mourning" by David Driver captures a spontaneous, nationalistic vigil in L.A., while Valerie Soe condemns this "sinister, mandatory patriotism" in her film short, "Carefully Taught." Paul Harrill asks a vice abbot whether there is an alternative to Bush's War on Terrorism in "Brief Encounter with Tibetan Monks." (The monk's reply? "We are not Americans. We do not have freedom of speech.")
Whether or not you agree with the representations of Sept. 11 given by these independent filmmakers, Thursday's program will surely provoke a response from you. Maybe resentment, maybe anger, maybe grief, forgiveness or nationalistic pride. Maybe all of the above. What is clear is that Sept. 11's aftermath is not yet over, and neither are our reactions to it.
Zahedi will be in attendance both nights to introduce the films and answer questions afterward. Admission is $7 for each event.
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